Arlo Parks, Fontaines D.C. and more up for 2021 AIM Awards

Arlo Parks leads the list of nominations for the 2021 AIM Awards, picking up four nods – see the full list below.

This year’s ceremony for the Independent Music Awards will be held in London on August 25, and also sees the likes of Fontaines D.C. and Working Men’s Club pick up nominations.

“What an honour to be nominated for four AIM Awards!!” Parks said of the news, which sees her nominated for UK Independent Breakthrough, Best Independent Track (‘Hope’), Best Independent Album (‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’) and Best Independent Video (‘Hope’). “This is far beyond my wildest dreams and I’m so glad my work has reached this far and touched so many, especially in these tumultuous times.”

AIM boss Paul Pacifico added: “Every year I find myself saying how exciting and diverse the list of nominees is at the AIM Independent Music Awards, and 2021 is no exception. These awards genuinely represent the incredible array of talent and breadth of success in our community.

“The artists and creative entrepreneurs we recognise are innovators at the cutting edge of culture. Building on our first ever virtual event last year, we’ve got some very special plans for the show in August and look forward to delivering a dynamic and spectacular interactive show.”

Fontaines D.C. are also up for two 2021 AIM Awards. Credit: JMEnternational/JMEnternational for BRIT Awards/Getty Images.

See the full list of AIM Awards nominations for 2021 below.

UK Independent Breakthrough in association with YouTube Music
Arlo Parks (Transgressive Records)
Conducta (Kiwi Rekords)
India Jordan (Ninja Tune)
Rina Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
Working Men’s Club (Heavenly Recordings)

International Breakthrough in association with Deezer
Bicep (Ninja Tune)
Fontaines D.C. (Partisan Records)
Jayda G (Ninja Tune)
박혜진 Park Hye Jin (Ninja Tune)
Tkay Maidza (4AD)

Best Independent Track in association with Facebook
Arlo Parks – Hope (Transgressive Records)
Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Heartbreak (OUTLIER – Ninja Tune)
ENNY – Peng Black Girls ft. Amia Brave (FAMM)
Katy J Pearson – Take Back The Radio (Heavenly Recordings)
Lava La Rue – Magpie (Marathon Artists)
Mustafa – Air Forces (Young)
serpentwithfeet – Fellowship (Secretly Canadian)
Shygirl – TASTY (Because Music)
Squid – Narrator ft. Martha Skye Murphy (Warp Records)
Tkay Maidza – Shook (4AD)

Best Independent Album in association with Spotify
Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams (Transgressive Records)
Che Lingo – The Worst Generation (7Wallace Music)
Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg (4AD)
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises (Luaka Bop)
Krust – The Edge of Everything (Crosstown Rebels)
Moses Sumney – græ (Jagjaguwar)
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher (Dead Oceans)
Speaker Music – Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry (Planet Mu)
Rian Treanor – File Under UK Metaplasm (Planet Mu)
Working Men’s Club – Working Men’s Club (Heavenly Recordings)

Best [Difficult] Second Album in association with BBC Radio 6 Music
AJ Tracey – Flu Game (Revenge Records)
Bicep – Isles (Ninja Tune)
Dream Wife – So When You Gonna… (Lucky Number)
Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death (Partisan Records)
Leon Vynehall – Rare, Forever (Ninja Tune)

Best Independent Remix in association with SoundCloud
Bon Bon (Mike Lindsay Remix) – Songhoy Blues (Transgressive Records)
Fair Chance ft. Ty Dolla $ign & Lil B (Floating Points Remix) – Thundercat (Brainfeeder)
megapunk (Elkka Remix) – Ela Minus (Domino)
soulboy (IZCO Remix) – p-rallel, Greentea Peng (Different Recordings)
Sweat ft. LIZ (SOPHIE Remix) – Sonikku (Bella Union)

One To Watch in association with BBC Music Introducing
Che Lingo (7Wallace Music)
ENNY (FAMM)
Lava La Rue (Marathon Artists)
Nova Twins (Nova Twins Ltd)
TSHA (Ninja Tune)

Best Creative Packaging
AJ Tracey – Flu Game (Special Edition) (Revenge Records)
Figaro de Montmartre – Emotion Soap (Figaro de Montmartre)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Eco Wax Editions (Heavenly Recordings and Flightless Records)
Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs (Rough Trade Records)
Working Men’s Club – Working Men’s Club (RAW Edition) (Heavenly Recordings)

Best Independent Video in association with Vevo
Arlo Parks – Hope (Transgressive Records)
Julien Baker – Hardline (Matador Records)
Kojaque – No Hands (Different Recordings)
Novo Amor – If We’re Being Honest (AllPoints)
Wesley Joseph – Thrilla (EEVILTWINN)

Best Independent Label in association with [Integral]
4AD
Dead Oceans
Forever Living Originals
Partisan Records
Transgressive Records

Best Small Label in association with Believe
Athens of the North
Finesse Foreva
Killing Moon
Sonic Cathedral
Strut Records

Indie Champion in association with MCPS
Bandcamp
Love Record Stores

Diversity Champion
Paulette Long

Arlo Parks also won at last year’s AIM Awards, picking up the One To Watch award. Elsewhere, FKA twigs picked up the award for Best (Difficult) Second Album for 2019’s ‘MAGDALENE’, an album NME called “an unstoppable force of nature” in a five-star review, while Little Simz picked up the Pioneer Award, referring to her musical journey in an acceptance speech as “the stairs and not the escalators” and calling herself a “one-woman army”.

Also at the ceremony, the late Tony Allen was honoured with an Outstanding Contribution To Music Award.

The post Arlo Parks, Fontaines D.C. and more up for 2021 AIM Awards appeared first on NME.