The MPG Awards has revealed its shortlist for 2018 with a list of finalists of which nearly a quarter are female.
Catherine Marks, Manon Grandjean, Lorde, Marta Salogni, Steph Marziano, Mandy Parnell, Adele White, Avril Mackintosh and Jane Third have all been shortlisted for these prestigious Awards for their various production, engineering, mastering and A&R talents.
The artists they have worked with are among the music industry’s most successful and critically acclaimed names and include Stormzy, The Amazons, London Grammar, The xx, Kasabian, Feist, Goldfrapp, Frank Ocean and Slaves.
“Winning or being nominated for the MPG Awards shortlist is a huge honour – it’s a big acknowledgement and achievement to even be considered,” said artist and producer Youth, who received the PPL-sponsored MPG Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK Music in 2016.
“What’s great about the MPG Awards is that they recognise the diversity of the music industry – something that is very important today. It’s refreshing to see that the 2018 shortlist includes men and women from lots of different backgrounds and genres.”
Now in its 10th year, the MPG Awards feature 15 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, FKA Twigs, Roni Size, Sylvia Massy, Brian Eno, Trevor Horn and Dave Stewart.
Neil Tomber, who was originally nominated in the Recording Engineer of the Year category, withdrew his place on November 7. He said: “While I am incredibly grateful for the MPG nomination, the engineering work I have undertaken has only been in relation to producing and mixing these records. For this reason, I feel there are people far more deserving to be shortlisted who work predominantly as recording engineers.”
Final judging for 2018 will take place at RAK Studios on December 4 2017. The winners will be announced on March 1, 2018 at Grosvenor House, London, where broadcaster Shaun Keaveny will host the awards ceremony.
“Producers rarely get recognition for all the work they do, as they are behind the scenes,” adds Youth. “What makes the MPG Awards so great is that they celebrate all the talent and work producers do across all genres. Winning an MPG Award changed my life because you win from the votes of your peers – other music obsessed, kick ass producers like yourself. That’s what makes winning so very special.”
The shortlists for each of the MPG 2018 Awards categories are as follows:
UK Producer Of The Year
Catherine Marks
Charlie Andrew
Tom Dalgety
Recording Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by AMS Neve
Manon Grandjean
Matt Wiggins
Avril Mackintosh
Mix Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by Solid State Logic
Cenzo Townshend
David Wrench
Mark ‘Spike’ Stent
Re-mixer Of The Year, sponsored by Novation
Ewan Pearson
Matthew Herbert
UNKLE
Breakthrough Producer Of the Year, sponsored by Focusrite
Ben Baptie
Guy Massey
Jolyon Thomas
Self-Producing Artist Of The Year, sponsored by Spitfire Audio
Brian Eno
Glass Animals (Dave Bayley)
Sleaford Mods (Jason Williamson & Andrew Fearn)
Breakthrough Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by Genelec
Jake Gordon
Marta Salogni
Steph Marziano
International Producer Of The Year, sponsored by British Grove Studios
Garret ‘Jacknife’ Lee
Lorde
T Bone Burnett
Mastering Engineer Of The Year, sponsored by Miloco Studios
Barry Grint
Mandy Parnell
Matt Colton
UK Album Of The Year, sponsored by Universal Audio
alt-J: ‘RELAXER’
Glass Animals: ‘How To Be A Human Being’
Royal Blood: ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’
UK Single Song Release Of The Year, sponsored by Shure
Arcade Fire: ‘Everything Now’
Harry Styles: ‘Sign Of The Times’
Royal Blood: ‘Lights Out’
The A&R Award
Adele White
Ben Durling
Jane Third
Studio Of The Year, sponsored by RME
Abbey Road Studios
RAK Studios
Strongroom Studios
Tickets for the 2018 MPG Awards are now on sale. For price information and bookings, click here.
