The DJ Awards’ highly anticipated 23rd anniversary event takes place on October 2nd at Chinois, Ibiza. The ceremony will see category winners announced once all public votes are counted. Ahead of that, winners of the Industry Awards as chosen by a panel of experts can now be announced.
Founded in 1998 by José Pascual and Lenny Krarup, the DJ Awards have long been recognised as the ‘Oscars for electronic dance music.’ Now under new ownership and with fresh investment after a four year hiatus, the awards make a welcome return and continue to champion excellence in global dance music.
Doors open at 10pm with awards ceremony taking place 11.30 to 12.30. BBC Radio 1 tastemaker Jaguar returns to present the awards alongside respected electronic music personality Katie Knight, a regular face in Ibiza, who will also be interviewing artists backstage after the ceremony while the after-party kicks off in the club at 12.30am
The winners of each of the voted for categories International DJ Of The Year 2024, Live Act, Breakthrough, House, Tech House, Drum & Bass, Techno, Progressive House, Organic House, Afro and Trance have been chosen by the public and will be announced on the night with nominees listed below.
The reboot of the DJ Awards was always planned to recreate what’s been done before but better, which is why the number of awards has been reduced to 19 with a surprise award announced on the night. The new categories reflect the new state of the scene and also lay the foundation for the DJ Awards to expand its reputation and reach beyond Ibiza and promote dance music culture to a broader global audience while returning the integrity of the brand.
Interspersed with voted categories, the winners of these special Industry Awards will be presented with their trophies and they have been selected by a specially assembled team of industry professionals.
Ibiza Icon
Luciano
This award goes to anyone who has, over a long time, made a profound impact on the scene in Ibiza. Someone who has played multiple venues, grown with the success of the island, and given back to it in a social capacity.
Cadenza boss Luciano is very much that man. He has DJed in the local prison, hosted talks at public schools, played every venue on the island, held legendary residencies, lived in Ibiza for years and made Spain his home. He has always stayed true to his art and will always be synonymous with the White Isle.
He very much helped to transform the Ibiza scene from the early years of Ushuaia to the famous residencies at Pacha, bringing real underground quality and forward thinking sounds before anyone else.
Ibiza Party of the Summer
David Guetta’s F*** Me I’m Famous at Ushuaia and Future Rave at Hi Ibiza
This award does what it says on the tin. The success of a party isn’t judged by the number of attendees, it’s about the commitment to creating a unique experience, the loyalty to a venue and ability to showcase a wide spectrum of creative sounds and abilities and have a real impact on dancers.
The famous Frenchman is the only DJ on the island to host two of his own parties and they are the only place he plays in the summer which is a throwback to how parties used to be run back in the day. They very much showcase different sides of his sounds – FMIF is more commercial and VIP lead, while Future Rave offers up and comers a chance to shine. Both events place huge attention on the production with dancers, performers and the VIP experience all taken care of.
Ibiza Track of the Summer
Adam Port, Stryv – Move feat. Malachiii
Historically, this has always been a track you hear in the day, at night, on the beach, in the super clubs.
And that is certainly the case this year. This track has been played by everyone from all different musical backgrounds, in beach bars and in the main room, on terraces and at villa parties. It has had more than 200 million streams on Spotify and crossed over into so many different worlds. It’s catchy, singalong and the true sound of summer.
What’s Hot Global
Keinemusik
This is a new category given to a brand or artists that have elevated themselves in the last year onto a whole new level of popularity and success.
Keinemusik have done just that and have been everywhere this year playing standout sets in Ibiza but also hosting their own unique events under their iconic cloud. They are able to pull in crowds of up to 35000 people at festival sized events and they always sell out, such is their appeal to a wide range of clubbers from all musical backgrounds and ages. The trio have also done lots for up and coming artists., have remained true to their core and even recently raised 100, 000 euros for charity in Ibiza.
Global Festival
Defected Croatia
This award is given to a festival that has been newly or re-established and is doing something fresh on a global scale such as invigorating a new territory, promoting a certain sound or genre and putting a scene or place on the map.
Defected’s superb three day festival in Tisno, Croatia has done just that. It is loyal to the label’s famous house roots with a wonderful mix of established, new and upcoming artists. The audience is diverse in terms of age, gender and sexuality with local and international acts all featuring in a house-centric soundtrack that is both quintessential and cutting-edge.
Play It Back Award
Michael Bibi’s One Life Campaign
This is an award given to a person, institution or event that has bettered the scene socially, charitably or in a humanitarian fashion.
After his very public battle with central nervous system lymphoma and recent return to full health, Michal Bibi has put great focus on raising awareness about the rare form of brain cancer he suffered from. He has put a real spotlight on it with his One Life campaign and deserves great recognition. He has raised plenty of money including £124,832 made from his Finsbury Park takeover in London which went to Royal Marsden Cancer Charity but also has a policy of creating awareness at his events. That one in London had a stem cell transplant charity on site to help recruit attendees to sign up to the stem cell register. This forward thinking, positive, altruistic action has all been done from the dance floor up so makes Bibi a more than worthy recipient.
Eye on… USA
Gospel New York
This annual award shifts the focus onto a different territory, starting with America, the birthplace of house music.
New York’s Gospel club has had great success in just a few short years. James Huddleston and Juriel Zeligman are the co-founders and the venue is well run with a great mix of regular guests doing their own promotions. It’s a great throwback to how the scene was when it was first born in the 80s with serious focus on the music and residents. The club is a great modern addition to the city but one that never forgets the roots of the scene.
Dance Floor Moment
In the run up to the awards, people all over the world will have the chance to come to Ibiza dn collect a genuine DJ Award on stage with all the other winners. People have been uploading clips of their favourite dancefloor moments to instagram and tagging @thedjawards with the hashtag #DANCEFLOORMEMORY. This is the start of an annual campaign that will see us recognise the best moments every year of the people who make it all possible, the fans and clubbers of the world.
For more information https://djawards.com/dancefloor/
This unmissable night marks the welcome return of the rejuvenated DJ Awards and will be a unique night of celebration for the dance music industry after another epic year.
