Golden Indie Music Awards Winners Announced: Trout Fresh, Chiu Pi, And Magaitan Each Takes Home Two Awards

Nov-05-2018

Results of the ninth Golden Indie Music Awards (金音獎) were announced at Oct 27 (Sat). Rapper Trout Fresh (呂士軒), electronic music singer CHIU PI (邱比), and indigenous folk singer Magaitan Lhkatafatu (瑪蓋丹.石卡達法度) were the biggest winners, each pocketing two trophies.

Trout Fresh was nominated for 5 awards, winning the Best Hip-hop Album with Awesome by Accident (誤入奇途) and Best Hip-hop Single with "The Wimp Has Left the Building (孬種走了)." Inspired by the trout's upstream battle to their spawning grounds, the rapper gave himself the stage name Trout Fresh as a self-encouragement to fight against all odds no matter how hard life gets. As a member of the hip-hop trio SmashRegz (違法) in 2008, Trout has worked with numerous Taiwanese artists. His contributions could be seen in the works of Miss Ko (葛仲珊) and J.Sheon. Songs in Awesome by Accident are based on Trout's life stories in all their tears and laughter, winning fan's hearts while being so relatable. For example, "The Wimp Has Left the Building" is about his experience of being bullied as a child, the fear and how it had been overcome.

Another big winner CHIU PI bagged Best Singer-songwriter and Best Electronics Album with his third release SPLENDOR (大放). As a prolific creator, he has published 16 digital concept albums on the internet. Sung in his ethereal whisper in the floating, psychedelic electronic atmosphere, coupled with rich philosophical lyrics, CHIU PI's music is fashionable and Zen-like. In SPLENDOR, he explores the possibilities of audio expression with music and voice. Taking the concept of the refraction of light, voices from four directions cross and layer on each other. Their fantastically realistic theatrical interaction reflects that of the four components of a person: essentiality, rationality, sensibility, and physique.

Native Taiwanese singer Magaitan Lhkatafatu of the Thaos (邵族) won Judges' Choice Award and Best Folk Album with his la mathuaw maqitan apiakuzan (美好的,怎麼了?). Sandee Chan (陳珊妮), chair of the jury, says "This is Taiwan's first contemporary folk album written in Thao, which UNESCO listed as an endangered language. The entire album is genuinely beautiful and moving." Magaitan comes from a journalism background and had scored soundtracks for films in the past. After discovering that his mother tongue and tribal songs were on the verge of extinction, he decided to record the album in Thao in an effort to keep the heritage alive. The album is a rich collection of songs about life stories as well as ancestral hymns of the Thao people.

No-nonsense Collective (無妄合作社) got crowned Best Band with their album Escape from Freedom (逃脫時間的鎖). Founded in 2016, this punk-based band demonstrates a skillful fusion of folk, reggae, blues, and grunge. Their lyrics describe the plight of workers facing exploitation, reflecting the reality of society and at the same time giving people courage.

Now in its 9th year, the Golden Indie Music Awards has always been working towards encouraging new generations of creators. This year, in order to be more in line with the original intention. A new judging system has been introduced. A jury formed by the chairperson would take the place of a group of judges invited by the Ministry of Culture (文化部). Members of the jury consists musicians young and senior so that artists of different generations would have a chance to express and exchange ideas. The inclusion of international judges helps connect Taiwan with other parts of Asia and also bring Taiwanese music beyond, to the broader worldwide stage.

List of Nominees for the Golden Indie Music Awards 2018

GENERAL FIELD

Best Album
Yeemao Song - Yeemao
Cassa Nova - Sunset Rollercoaster
Awesome by Accident - Trout Fresh
SPLENDOR - CHUI PI
Brothers Shouldn't Live Without Dreams - Sorry Youth
Hi, Matelin - Matelin

Best Band
EggPlantEgg
Accusefive
Sunset Rollercoaster
No-Nonsense Collective
LEO37+SOSS
Flesh Juicer

Best Singer-songwriter
Trout Fresh
Puzzle Man
CHUI PI
Paige Su
Dlrkloc

Best New Artist
Accusefive
No Nonsense Collective
Trout Fresh
Dlrkloc
Your Woman Sleep With Others

Best Musician
Minyen Hsieh
Tseng Kuo Hung
FunQ
Yuying Hsu
Toshi Fujii
Lee Chen-Chung
Chung Yufeng
Adriano Moreira

Best Live Performance
Flesh Juicer - Flesh Juicer Pighead's Farewell Party
Go Go Machine Orchestra - Al Yakubouskaya x Go Go Machine Orchestra
Cosmospeople - Our Bizarre Adventure
TRASH - Flight to Mars: Launch Pad
EggPlantEgg - Debut Album Cartoon Character Mini Tour

Best Overseas Album
Circle Circus - Power Milk
QUARTER - Sophy
7 - Dean Kiva
Ends - Per se
Moonlight is Very White - Moxi Zishi

GENRE FIELD

Best Rock Album
Cartoon Character - EggPlantEgg
Jet Generation - Random
Alter Ego - PUMPKINney Fan Club
Asia Impact - LTK Commune
Brothers Shouldn't Live Without Dreams - Sorry Youth

Best Rock Song
"Ms. Doremi" - EggPlantEgg
"How Much Do You Know About the Melon" - Accusefive
"Betel Nuts" - No Nonsense Collective
"Missing You" - Sweet John
"Largest Era" -- Outlet Drift

Best Folk Album
Meet - Zy Co
Yet Again, My Romantic Masculinity - FiftyBodyFifty
la mathuaw maqitan apiakuzan -Magaitan
Lesha - Lesha
Homecoming - Bobby Chen

Best Folk Song
"Save or Sell me" - Zy Co
"Countdown" - Night Keepers
"Suihua" - Bobby Chen
"Name" - Midi Yang
"Save Me Baby" - The Chairs
"Cram Schools Killed the Children" - Your Woman Sleep With Others

Best Hip Hop Album
Bombard the Headquarters - Zhong Xiangyu
Yeemao Song - Yeemao
Awesome by Accident - Trout Fresh
Organic Melodies - Puzzle Man
Be Well World - LEO37+SOSS

Best Hip Hop Song
"2017 Space Odyssey feat. DJ Didilong" - Yeemao
"Empty Seated" - Chang Wu
"The Wimp Has Left the Building" - Trout Fresh
"They Don't" - LEO37+SOSS
"Peace?" - Kung Fu Entertainment

Best Electronic Album
ADDICT - JADE EYES
SPLENDOR - CHUI PI
Hi, Matelin - Matelin
Pale - Ruby Fatale
tek.experience - 3R2

Best Electronic Single
"VIVIAN" - JADE EYES
"Happy Matrix Day" - P.C.B.
"ROLE MODEL" - CHUI PI
"Enigmatic Self" - Matelin
"Whisper" - Ruby Fatale
"Undergrounds of Taipei" - 3R2

Best Jazz Album
Animal Triste - Ying-Da Chen Quartet
happened, happening - Yuying Hsu
Blue Bear - Toshi Fujii
Light Through Cracks, Folds in Time - Circo
In Our Blood - Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band

Best Jazz Single
"Animal Triste" - Ying-Da Chen Quartet
"Banana" - Jay Hung
"Twilight" - Toshi Fujii
"Fuego del Fuelle" - Circo
"Dreamer's Blues " - Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band

Best Stylized Album
Dirt Road - Ayugo Huang
Swasieq - Yawai Mawlin
Pendulum - Chung Yufeng
Rooty Mental - A Root

Best Stylized Song
"Dirt Road" - Ayugo Huang
"Cila Cisan Rgyax Myen La" - Yawai Mawlin
"Pipa-menco" - Chung Yufeng
"Dance Party of Gods" - A Root
"Floral Cluster" - Prairie WWWW

JURY AWARD

Jury Award
la mathuaw maqitan apiakuzan -Magaitan

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD

Outstanding Contribution Award
Radish Records