Electronauts awards unveil top in local electronic music scene

The best of artists, festivals, labels and performances of the year on Georgia's electronic and experimental music scene were unveiled at the annual Electronauts awards this week.

Moving into a digital format due to pandemic circumstances, the awards - broadcast live on social media - turned out popular among the audience and critics.

The 11th edition featured performances by artists called an "amazing musical programme" by organisers who expressed their gratitude to performers in the show.

Juries of the awards gave out prizes in 10 categories, with the KayaKata band taking three of the honours. Beside the Electronaut XI Award for the best act, they earned the Track of the Year distinction for Polo Palace and Album of the Year recognition for Sadaa.

The acknowledgement follows the album's nomination for the European Independent Album Of The Year in January, where the release -  featuring 11 tracks and praised by local reviews - was picked among nominees including Serbian electro pop duo Buč Kesidi, Hungarian indie pop band Goodbye Darjeeling and celebrated Danish composer Trentemøller.

In other awards, JD J was named DJ of the Year while artist Erekle Getsadze earned the Discovery of the Year title for himself.

MokuMoku, another band popular among local music enthusiasts, were singled out for Live Performance of the Year and also claimed Video of the Year for Sugar Glider.

From musical projects and events, Acoustics - a Georgian Public Broadcaster programme - took the Media Project of the Year distinction. Hosts of the programme invite artists for talks and run features with particular focus on subjects including Georgian cinema scores and musical traditions from various parts of the country.

Tbilisi Open Air/AlterVision - which cancelled this year's edition due to pandemic - received Festival of the Year prize for their work, as Lenø Records took home Label of the Year honour to round off the awards.

The full recording of the live broadcast from the awards is available for viewing on social media.