Aldous Harding Awarded Taite Music Prize 2018 For 'Party'

Lyttelton songwriting icon Aldous Harding was awarded the Taite Music Prize 2018 for her album Party last night, at a presentation held in the lush surrounds of Auckland's Civic’s Wintergarden. Presented by Independent Music NZ (IMNZ) and named after legendary New Zealand music journalist Dylan Taite, the award "recognises outstanding creativity for an entire collection of music contained on one recording," bestowing $10,000, recording time at Red Bull Studios Auckland and a year’s supply of Red Bull product upon the recipient. Harding accepted the prize via a projected video stream from London, thanking “everyone involved in the making of Party, not just the music itself but the air around it, things around it and the people supporting the future of 'Party.'” The artist also dropped hints about her next record, stating “We start recording in the next couple of days, the new album, so I’ll put the money towards making the same mistake.”

Harding was one of eight nominees for the prestigious award, the lineup of artists in the running included Fazerdaze, Grayson Gilmour, Kane Strang, Mermaidens, Nadia Reid, TEEKS and The Bads. 

Alongside the main prize, two additional awards were presented, the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award which was awarded to The Miltones for their self-titled debut album, and the Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award which went to the Headless Chickens for their landmark album Stunt Clown. The Headless Chickens reunited to play their classic tune 'Untitled' from the album, bandleader Chris Matthews paid tribute to recently deceased band member Grant Fell in an acceptance speech which was accompanied by a scattering of his ashes on stage.

Watch Harding's acceptance speech for the Taite Music Prize 2018 below...