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The winners for the 2009 ARIA Artisan and Fine Arts Awards were announced this afternoon at a combined event in Sydney’s iconic The Rocks. As a prelude to this year’s ARIA Awards, to be held on Thursday 26th November, the Artisan Awards recognise the outstanding achievements in Australian production, engineering, videography and graphic design, while the Fine Arts Awards celebrate the finest Australian Jazz, Classical, World Music and Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show albums of the year.
This year the Artisan Awards have been dominated by creatives who contributed to the psychedelic pop experience, Empire Of The Sun. The prestigious honour of Producer of the Year was awarded to Empire Of The Sun and Donnie Sloan with Peter Mayes for their work on the classic debut album Walking On A Dream. Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore teamed up with South Australian pop wunderkind Donnie Sloan (producer and bass player for Sneaky Sound System amongst others), and Peter Mayes (member of Pnau alongside Littlemore) to produce an album that has captured imaginations, hearts and dance-floors around the world.
Artwork from Walking On A Dream was recognised in the category of Best Cover Art with multi-ARIA Award winners Aaron Hayward & David Homer of Debaser, receiving their 3rd Award in this category, for the intergalactic images that graced the album sleeve. The Debaser team has developed artwork and imagery for many Australian and New Zealand artists, including Tim Finn, The Cat Empire, Pete Murray, Something For Kate and Paul Kelly, and has previously won ARIA Artisan Awards for their work on the multi-platinum albums Dream Days At The Hotel Existence from Powderfinger, and Bernard Fanning’s Tea & Sympathy.
Josh Logue of the multi award winning production house Mathematics, received an ARIA Artisan nod for Best Video for his direction of Empire of the Sun’s film clip “Walking On A Dream”. For this video they took Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore’s quirky threads and theatrics to the hazy streets of Shanghai to capture the ethereal feel of this infectious pop song. Josh Logue, together with his partner Louise Davis, have made clips for Hilltop Hoods, Architecture in Helsinki, Empire of the Sun, The Living End, Kisschasy and many more.
This year the category of Engineer of the Year rounded out with two equal winners who worked with very different genres of music. Hilltop Hoods member, DJ Debris (Barry Francis) has been recognised for his work on State Of The Art, the follow up to their 2006 ARIA Award winning album, The Hard Road. Also lauded for his work in the studio is Sydney engineer extraordinaire Greg Wales who engineered and produced You Am I’s eighth album Dilettantes. Wales has become a fixture of the Australian music scene and successfully guided many artists including Radio Birdman, The Clouds, Cog, The Living End and Magic Dirt, through the intricacies of the recording and mixing process.
The 2009 ARIA Fine Arts Award winners showcase a stunning array of brilliant releases from classical, jazz, soundtrack and world music. Best Classical Album was awarded to Australia’s finest period-instrument orchestra the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (Artistic Director Paul Dyer) for their release, Handel: Concerti Grossi Opus 6. Recorded over 4 years, this recording is a collection of the complete Opus 6 Concerto Grossi (concertos for a small group of soloists) and is a triumphant homage to one of the towering musical talents of the baroque – George Frederick Handel.Advertise here
Meanwhile, Australia’s favourite Jazz chanteuse Katie Noonan has continued to impress with her releases, receiving the Award for Best Jazz Album for Blackbird – The Music of Lennon & McCartney, a collection songs recorded in New York and backed by the cream of veteran jazz players including Grammy award winning renowned saxophonist Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash and Melbourne-based keyboard player Sam Keevers. This is Katie’s fourth ARIA Award.
The soundtrack to the political thriller Balibo took out the category of Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album. The music from the film Balibo combines an original score by internationally renowned Australian composer Lisa Gerrard, with powerful traditional Timorese songs including the evocative “Balibo” from East Timorese artist Ego Lemos. Additional music from Balibo was composed by Marcello de Franchesci, Timor Kmanek Foun, Alexandrino Da Costa & Jose Mesquita, Anin Murak Choir, Osme Gonsalves, Sam Petty and the Dili Allstars.
And at the grand age of 80 years, legendary Torres Strait Island singer-songwriter Seaman Dan has received the ARIA Fine Arts Award for Best World Music Album for his fifth album Sailing Home. The album, which he says will be his last, is a celebration of his deep and ongoing relationship with the sea. Seaman Dan was an ARIA Music Award winner in this category in 2004 for his album Perfect Pearl.
ARIA, together with Events NSW, would like to congratulate all winners.
The countdown is now on, with less than three weeks to go until the ARIA Awards roll around on Thursday 26 November at Acer Arena in Sydney, a night that promises to dazzle with special musical performances from some of Australia’s leading entertainers and international superstar Robbie Williams. This year’s Awards ceremony will be hosted by leading personalities Kate Ritchie and Gyton Grantley, and staged ‘In the Round’ for the first time, giving fans a chance to see their favourite artists from a new and unique perspective.
Events NSW CEO Geoff Parmenter said, “We’re thrilled to support the 2009 ARIA Awards in Sydney, the biggest event in the Australian music industry calendar. As Australia’s only global city, Sydney is the creative capital of Australia and home to our recording industry with 42 percent of the music sector employed in NSW. Our investment in the Aria Awards reinforces the NSW Government’s commitment to the creative industries and showcases our city’s vibrant magnetism to the world.”
The 2009 ARIA Awards will be the telecast on the Nine Network from 8.30 on the evening of Thursday, 26 November, followed by an encore screening on MTV on Friday, 27 November at 5.30pm. General public tickets to attend the 2009 ARIA Awards are still available via Ticketek – www.ticketek.com.au or phone 132 849.Advertise here
2009 ARIA Awards Artisan Winners
Best Cover Art Aaron Hayward & David Homer – Debaser – Empire Of The Sun, Walking On A Dream (Capitol/EMI Music Australia) Best Video Josh Logue for Mathematics – Empire Of The Sun, Walking On A Dream (Capitol/EMI Music Australia) Engineer of the Year – * Note two equal winners * DJ Debris – Hilltop Hoods, State Of The Art (Golden Era/Universal Music Australia) Greg Wales – You Am I, Dilettantes (Virgin/EMI Music Australia) Producer of the Year Empire Of The Sun and Donnie Sloan with Peter Mayes – Empire Of The Sun, Walking on A Dream (Capitol/EMI Music Australia)
2009 ARIA Fine Arts Awards Winners
Best Classical Album Australian Brandenburg Orchestra/Paul Dyer – Handel: Concerti Grossi Opus 6 (ABC Classics/Universal Music Australia)
Best Jazz Album Katie Noonan – Blackbird (Sony Music Entertainment) Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album Soundtrack – Balibo (ABC Music/Universal Music Australia) Best World Music Album Seaman Dan – Sailing Home (Steady Steady Music/MGM)
2009 ARIA Awards Thursday, 26 November 2009 Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Telecast on Nine Network, 8.30pm, Thursday, 26 November A very special live red carpet broadcast will take place on MTV from 7.30pm on Thursday, 26 November followed by an encore screening on Friday, 27 November - red carpet at 4.30pm and 2009 ARIA Awards at 5.30pm
GENERAL PUBLIC TICKETS: On sale NOW, from Ticketek– www.ticketek.com.au or Phone 132 849 Arena Floor 'Premium Plus' – *$85 – SOLD OUT Main Concourse 'Premium' – *$70 Club Level 'A reserve' - *$70 *All prices include GST and booking fees, but transaction fees apply INDUSTRY TICKETS: on sale now For all enquiries please contact Neha Potalia - neha@markpopemusic.com Platinum - $495 incl. GST Gold - $445 incl. GST – SOLD OUT Silver - $395 incl. GST