The Australian Music Prize has awarded a hip-hop act for the first time in its history.
Now richer by $30,000 thanks to the PPCA, Hermitude received the eighth annual AMP for their self-produced fourth album, HyperParadise. The duo, childhood friends Angus Stuart and Luke Dubber, accepted the honor at a lunchtime ceremony held today at Sydney’s Basement. They triumphed over a diverse array of competitors, including Daily Meds, The Presets, Urthboy, Liz Stringer, Jess Ribeiro and The Bone Collectors, Grand Salvo, Flume, and the immensely popular Tame Impala, whose second album, Lonerism, was named album of the year by FL and others in their end-of-year polls.
Founded in 2000, Hermitude debuted their first EP, Imaginary Friends, via Elefant Traks in 2002. The singles featured on HyperParadise include ‘Get In My Life’ and ‘Speak Of The Devil,’ the latter of which won the 2011 J Award for “Music Video of the Year.”
The Australian Music Prize from the previous year, awarded to The Jezabels for their album Prisoner, faced considerable scrutiny, with at least one judge resigning prior to the announcement and others calling it “safe.” To counteract some criticisms, the AMP eliminated the entry fee this year and invited around 230 musicians to participate, ultimately narrowing it down to a longlist of 60 albums.
This year’s AMP judges include: Chris Berkley (Red Eye Records), Deborah Conway, Dave Faulkner (Hoodoo Gurus), Tim Freedman, Mike Glynn (JB Hi-Fi), Chris Johnston (The Age), Sam Lockwood (The Jezabels), Shannon Logan (Jet Black Cat Music), Christopher Powell (Blackwood Sound), and Bernard Zuel (The SMH).
