Middle Kids, Gurrumul, Kwame, & Mojo Juju are your 2018 J Awards winners

triple j’s annual J Awards have wrapped up for another year, with Middle Kids, Gurrumul, Kwame, and Mojo Juju winning big at this year’s event.

Earlier this month, triple j announced the nominees for their annual J Awards. Now in its 14th year, some of the best and brightest Australian musicians received nods in categories for Australian Album, Double J Artist, Unearthed Artist, and Australian Music Video of the year.

Now, following an announcement ceremony at beloved Melbourne music venue Howler, this year’s winners have been revealed.

Taking out the prestigious honour of triple j Australian Album of the Year, Middle Kids have emerged victorious, with Lost Friends winning out against releases by Amy Shark, Courtney Barnett, Tash Sultana, DMA’S, and many more.

“From Middle Kids’ first Unearthed upload through to their incredible debut album and beyond, their song-writing is instantly familiar while being refreshingly original,” explained triple j Music Director Nick Findlay. ”

“This is nowhere more evident than on their J Award winning album Lost Friends. Most records have peaks and troughs, but it’s all peaks on this release.”

“At the heart of every song is Hannah Joy’s golden voice; combined with Hannah, Tim and Harry’s instrumentation it creates a rich sonic palette that traverses anthemic rock, alt-country and bitter sweet indie ballads.”

The award for Double J Artist of the Year was undoubtedly a bittersweet moment, with late indigenous artist Gurrumul being recognised for his stunning posthumous record, Djarimirri.

Completed only weeks before his untimely passing in 2017, the record was released in April of this year, and has received widespread critical acclaim, along with a well-deserved position atop the ARIA chart as well.

Sydney rapper Kwame took home the award for Unearthed Artist of the Year, having gone from strength to strength following the release of his stunning single, ‘WOW’, back in February.

In the ensuing months, this amazing musician has gone on to perform at Splendour In The Grass, triple j’s One Night Stand, and even BIGSOUND, where he celebrated his 21st birthday onstage.

Finally, the Australian Music Video of the Year award was presented to Mojo Juju for the stunning clip to the amazing ‘Native Tongue’.

Co-presented by Rage, this Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore-directed video is well on its way to becoming one of the most iconic film clips of the year. This stunning collaboration also includes the likes of the Djuki Mala Dancers and The Pasefika Victoria Choir, and has seen the powerful message of ‘Native Tongue’ realised, as it conveys themes of themes of identity, displacement, and belonging.

Check out the list of nominees and winners below.

Check out Mojo Juju’s ‘Native Tongue’:

J Award 2018 Winners

triple j Australian Album of the Year

WINNER
Middle Kids, Lost Friends

NOMINEES
Amy Shark, Love Monster
Camp Cope, How to Socialise & Make Friends
Courtney Barnett, Tell Me How You Really Feel
DMA’S, For Now
Hockey Dad, Blend Inn
Ocean Alley, Chiaroscuro
Polaris, The Mortal Coil
RÜFÜS DU SOL, Solace
Tash Sultana, Flow State

Double J Artist of the Year

WINNER
Gurrumul

NOMINEES
John Butler Trio
Mojo Juju
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Sampa the Great

Unearthed Artist of the Year

WINNER
Kwame

NOMINEES
Angie McMahon
G Flip
Kian
Slowly Slowly

Australian Music Video of the Year, co-presented by Rage

WINNER
Mojo Juju ‘Native Tongue’ (Director: Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore)

NOMINEES
B Wise ‘Feel Something’ (Director: JÁEN Collective)
DZ Deathrays ‘Like People’ (Director: Guss Mallmann)
Golden Vessel ‘Bigbright {Ft. Elkkle, E^st & Duckwrth}’ (Director: Harry Deadman)
Sampa The Great ‘Black Girl Magik {Ft. Nicole Gumbe}’ (Director: Sanjay De Silva)

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.