Arts-focused website Douban have unveiled the winners of its annual Abilu Music Awards, with Shanghai artists picking up a number of prizes.
Douban asked its database of users to vote on their favourite records as well as calling upon music aficionados across the country – including Time Out Shanghai – to cast their votes in categories from pop to folk. The public votes went toward the 'Most Popular' awards, while the judges' votes were used to calculate the 'Annual' awards, with tracks from the winning artists set to be compiled onto a special edition vinyl record.
'Shanghai son of techno' MHP claimed the Most Popular Electronic Album prize for his LP Folding Traces, a record which incidentally was just given an attractive vinyl release.
Duck Fight Goose
Long-time Time Out favourites Duck Fight Goose came away with a haul of four awards: Annual Electronic Artist, Most Popular Electronic Single and Annual Electronic Single (both for 'Horse'), and Annual Electronic Album for Clvb Zvkvnft. Listen to Duck Fight Goose's 'Horse' below:
Completing a trifecta of Shanghai artists picking up Abilu prizes were the Shanghai Rainbow Chamber Singers, known for their humorous vocal takes on working overtime and heading home for Chinese New Year. They were awarded Most Popular Classical Artist.
Although two-thirds of the Shanghai artists who won prizes happen to have had releases on Douban's own D-Force Records in 2016 (MHP and DFG), the awards seem legit and it's an interesting, varied list overall.
Future Orients
Other notable winners include Beijing's faux Foals outfit Future Orients, who were declared Most Popular Newcomer, No Party for Cao Dong, who confirmed their phenomenal rise with both of the rock album awards, and JaJaTao who pipped No Party to the rock single awards. Elsewhere, Daily Vinyl were recognised for their work to do with 'everything about vinyl and cassettes' in the unranked Publication of the Year awards.