The Music Producers Guild reveals 2021 Awards Shortlist

12 December 2020 - Press release

The MPG board becomes 60% female as two new directors are announced 

 

The Music Producers Guild is excited to reveal the shortlist for its 2021 Awards, which will take place on 10^thJune 2021.

Women are once again strongly represented, for the first time a woman is featured in all but one category. Names include Marta Salogni, (UK Producer Of The Year), lau.ra (Re-mixer Of The Year), Georgia (Breakthrough Producer Of The Year), Grace Banks (Breakthrough Engineer Of The Year) and Dua Lipa 'Future Nostalgia' (Album Of The Year). 

Producer and songwriter Inflo, who has worked with Tom Odell and Little Simz has had a strong showing, with nominations in both the writer-producer and the self-producing artist categories, as well as his work with Michael Kiwanuka being recognised in the best album category.

New for 2021, the UK Original Score Recording of The Year and UK Writer-Producer of The Year award categories also have female nominees. Steph Marziano (UK Writer-Producer of the Year) has worked with the likes of Boniface and Denai Moore and in the UK Original Score Recording of The Year category, composer Hannah Peel for her work on 'The Deceived (Original Television Soundtrack)', and score mixer Kirsty Whalley, on Alexandre Desplat's "Little Women" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

Tony Platt, Managing Director of MPG Awards, commented: "In spite of the current situation we were delighted to find an increased engagement with both the submissions process and the voting resulting in a very varied shortlist. Music has been a lifeline for many during the dark days of lockdown and the resilience of our music makers finding innovative ways to keep music alive deserves to be recognised across the board. We are looking forward to a fabulous event in June when we will hopefully be celebrating the start of a return to some kind of normality. Keep safe."

This comes as The MPG also announce the election of two new directors, Matt Taylor and Katie Tavini tipping the board to be 60% female. 

Existing MPG directors, Olga Fitzroy and Rhiannon Mair commented on the news and being re-elected: 

Olga Fitzroy said; "Being re-elected to a board that is now 60% female in a part of the industry where women are often under-represented is a significant step for the MPG and I'm proud to be a part of it. I look forward to continuing to support our members through the covid -crisis and championing their diverse talents as the industry begins its recovery.

Rhiannon Mair said; "I am really pleased to be re-appointed a director of the MPG. I feel proud to be a part of an organisation that campaigns tirelessly to ensure the role of producers and engineers are valued within our industry. I also acknowledge the important work that still needs to be done to ensure all ethnicities backgrounds, gender and LGBTQ+ creatives are welcomed, seen, heard and celebrated."

Now in its 13^th year, the MPG Awards feature 16 award categories that celebrate the best and brightest talent in music production, along with the industry's rising stars. Previous award winners have included Sir George Martin CBE, Skepta, FKA Twigs, Roni Size, Sylvia Massy, Brian Eno, Trevor Horn and Dave Stewart.

 

The shortlists for each of the MPG 2021 Awards categories (in no particular order) are as follows:

UK PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Ben Hillier
Inflo
Marta Salogni

RECORDING ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Dani Bennett Spragg
Daniel Moyler
Richard Woodcraft

MIX ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Cenzo Townshend
Dan Grech-Marguerat
David Wrench

RE-MIXER OF THE YEAR
lau.ra
Matthew Herbert
UNKLE

BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Burke Reid
Cameron Gower Poole
Georgia

SELF-PRODUCING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Four Tet (Kieran Hebden)
Glass Animals (Dave Bayley)
Inflo

BREAKTHROUGH ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Grace Banks
Jonathan Gilmore
Shuta Shinoda

UK WRITER-PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Ben Hillier
Inflo
Steph Marziano

MASTERING ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Cicely Balston
Katie Tavini
Stuart Hawkes

UK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Dua Lipa: 'Future Nostalgia'
IDLES: 'Ultra Mono'
Michael Kiwanuka: 'Kiwanuka'

UK SINGLE SONG RELEASE OF THE YEAR
Harry Styles: 'Adore You''Mura Masa: '
Deal Wiv It (with Slowthai)'Stormzy: '
Own It (feat. Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy)'

UK ORIGINAL SCORE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Alexandre Desplat: 'Little Women (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'
Geoff Barrow, Ben Salisbury, The Insects: 'Devs (Original Series Soundtrack)'
Hannah Peel: 'The Deceived (Original Television Soundtrack)'

THE STUDIO OF THE YEAR AWARD
Metropolis Studios
Parr Street Studios
Rockfield

 

The MPG 2021 Awards categories in the gift of the MPG are:

The MPG Inspiration Award

PPL Present The MPG Award For Outstanding Contribution To UK Music, sponsored by PPL

The Special Recognition Award