BY THE EDITORS
PHOTO CREDIT: GIMA
The Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA) are back for their 15th edition, with this year’s theme, Shout Out / Shout Out to, GIMA aims to pay tribute to the pioneers of the music industry. The highly anticipated awards ceremony is set for Saturday, November 2nd, at the Taipei Music Center, and will be broadcast live on Japan’s Space Shower TV YouTube channel and South Korea’s media platform PRIZM.
This year, GIMA’s registration numbers are record-breaking, with 3,877 entries, including 842 albums/EPs and 41 live performances. The “Best Asian Creative Artist” category, which highlights artists from outside Taiwan, received 79 submissions—its highest ever—pointing to the award’s growing international recognition. Entries poured in from Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.
The nominees for “Best Asian Creative Artist” include Korean leading indie rock outfit Silica Gel, Japanese new breed punk band Age Factory, Japanese iconic math rock band LITE, Hong Kong-based instrumental group Virgin Vacation, Mongolian band NaraBara, who’s known for their fusion of folk music and jazz, and Chinese singer-songwriter Yeoian.
This year’s top contenders include the most internationally renowned math rock Taiwanese band, Elephant Gym, whose decade anniversary album World was released last year; the champion of Taiwan’s hip-hop talent show The Rappers (大嘻哈時代),” and psychedelic rock group Bremen Entertainment Inc. also made a splash with five nods for The Great Bremen Show.
Additionally, eccentric musical genius and pop/hip-hop producer Dac was nominated for 4 awards for his album Love Hereafter,and his show Snack earned him a nomination for “Best Live Performance” at the 15th GIMA.
GIMA’s most talked about “Best Band” award includes Plutato, Wayne’s So Sad, I’mdifficult, Sorry Youth, Elephant Gym and Bremen Entertainment Inc.
The 15th GIMA ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 2nd, at the Taipei Music Center. The Asia Rolling Music Festival, which was held from October 27th to 29th, featured a series of events, including the finals for the “Best Live Performance” award. This year’s ceremony will also feature a special appearance by South Korean singer-songwriter and women’s rights advocate, Lang Lee, who will join Taiwanese singer Enno Cheng for a special collaboration.
The ceremony will be simulcast on the Space Shower TV YouTube channel for a Japan-only broadcast, moreover, for the first time, GIMA will also partner with South Korea’s PRIZM platform for a global livestream, welcoming international audiences to join in the grand event of Taiwanese indie music scene.
