Aotearoa Music Award for Best Alternative Artist
Annual New Zealand music award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Best Alternative Artist (Māori: Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau) is an Aotearoa Music Award that honours New Zealand artists for outstanding alternative recordings.
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| Te Manu Taki Whanokē o te Tau Best Alternative Artist | |
|---|---|
Unknown Mortal Orchestra have won the award three times. | |
| Awarded for | Excellence in New Zealand Music |
| Presented by | Recorded Music NZ |
| First award | 2011 |
| Currently held by | Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn |
| Most wins | Unknown Mortal Orchestra (3) |
| Most nominations | Unknown Mortal Orchestra (4) |
The inaugural award was presented as Best Alternative Album in 2011 to The Naked and Famous for their album Passive Me, Aggressive You. In 2017, the award was changed to Best Alternative Artist. The change was made to all the genre-specific awards, and was to reflect the changing release climate in which full albums had become less common. Under the new rules, an artist who has released "an album OR a minimum of five tracks" can be nominated.[1]
Unknown Mortal Orchestra have the most awards with three wins, followed by The Beths who have won it twice.
Recipients
Best Alternative Album (2010 - 2016)
| Year | Winner | Album | Other finalists | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Naked and Famous | Passive Me, Aggressive You |
|
[2][3] |
| 2012 | Opossom | Electric Hawaii | [4] | |
| 2013 | Unknown Mortal Orchestra | II |
|
[5] |
| 2014 | Tiny Ruins | Brightly Painted Ones |
|
[6] |
| 2015 | Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Multi-Love |
|
[7] |
| 2016 | Lawrence Arabia | Absolute Truth |
|
[5] |
Best Alternative Artist (2017 - present)
| Year | Winner | Other finalists | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Aldous Harding | [8] | |
| 2018 | Unknown Mortal Orchestra |
|
[9] |
| 2019 | The Beths – Future Me Hates Me |
|
[10] |
| 2020 | The Beths | [11] | |
| 2021 | Na Noise |
|
[12] |
| 2022 | Vera Ellen |
|
[13] |
| 2023 | No awards held | ||
| 2024 | Princess Chelsea |
|
[14] |
| 2025 | Jim Nothing – Grey Eyes, Grey Lynn |
|
[15] |