Everything you need to know about Taiwan’s 2023 Golden Indie … – NME

In partnership with the Golden Indie Music Awards

As we reach the tail end of the year, there’s a bristling excitement that can be felt among the Taiwanese indie music community. Many pivotal moments occur around this time of year, such as the mad rush to release music to be eligible for the next year’s prestigious Golden Melody Awards. But more crucially, the diverse scene and its independent, underground acts are fervently awaiting the Golden Indie Music Awards, which has blossomed into one of the most respected original music award ceremonies in Asia.

This year’s GIMAs will take place on October 28 at the Taipei Music Centre for its 14th year running. It’ll come after the Asia Rolling Music Festival, which will welcome exciting acts from Taiwan and beyond to showcase their unique sounds from October 23 to 27.

Read on for everything you’ll need to know to fully appreciate this year’s Golden Indie Music Awards festivities.

What are the Golden Indie Music Awards?

Launched in 2010, the Golden Indie Music Awards (or GIMAs) have long been a sought-after milestone for local Taiwanese independent musicians wishing to cement their bona fides in the music scene.

Known for prioritising Taiwanese music, originality and catering to a wide range of genres rather than focusing on languages or dialects, the awards have quickly become a respected yardstick and a platform for a diverse bunch of musicians to gather and celebrate the best of what the rich local scene has to offer.

Shining a spotlight on various music genres through their awards categories such as rock, folk, electronic, hip hop, jazz, R&B and alternative music, the GIMAs have created turning points for many of Taiwanese music’s brightest stars. For instance, prolific hip-hop artist Kumachan is enjoying a full-circle moment as the host of this year’s GIMAs. Most recently securing three momentous wins at the prestigious 2023 Golden Melody Awards, the sharpshooting rapper first made waves with his critically acclaimed 2015 concept album ‘∞無限 Infinity’ which won him Best Newcomer, Best Hip-Hop album and Best Hip-Hop Single at the 6th Golden Indie Music Awards.

In recent years, the awards have widened their scope to support promising artists across the region through the Best Asian Creative Artist category, which intends to recognise individuals or groups from any Asian country or region excluding Taiwan. Won by Indonesia’s Rich Brian in 2020, this category further enhances the cross-pollination of the diverse Taiwan music scene with other vibrant music markets across Asia.

When and where are the Golden Indie Music Awards 2023?

The Golden Indie Music Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday October 28 at 7PM at the Taipei Music Centre.

Who is nominated at the Golden Indie Music Awards this year?

Given the abundance of promising work this year across all genres, the judging panel, led by electronic music expert and Bugs of Phonon guitarist Lu Luming, must have had their work cut out for them. This year, over 3,600 works were submitted for consideration, nearly 800 of those being albums and EPs. Sixty-six entries were submitted for Best Asian Creative Artist, setting a new record for the most entries in the category’s history.

Up-and-coming R&B artist Crane boasts five nominations in both genre-specific and wider categories (Best Album, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best New Artist, Best Singer-Songwriter), while seasoned jazz pianist YuYing Hsu has bagged seven nominations for her experimental genre-crossing album ‘In The Cave’ in the Best Electronic Song, Best Electronic Album, Best Instrumentalist, Best Album, Best Band, Best Alternative Pop Album and Best Rock Song categories.

Electro-rock upstarts The Loophole have garnered four nominations for their sophomore album ‘Beautiful World’, while singer-songwriter and harpist Paige Su’s return to the music scene with her deeply personal album ‘You’ll Live Forever In My Songs’ won audience and the jury’s hearts, evidenced by its four nominations.

Given that the band scene in Taiwan is one of the most vibrant in Asia, it’s no surprise the Best Band category is seeing stiff competition between local veterans and newcomers. Old favourites in this category like soft rock outfit Sunset Rollercoaster continue to break new ground with their soothing yet rich sonic palette on ‘Infinity Sunset’; while perennial favourites The Chairs never cease to delight with their delightful harmonies, fluffy, trilingual songs addding a cosmic twang to their repertoire on 2022’s ‘Shangri-la Is Calling’.

Competition also comes from wildcards The Loophole, who seem to have found their niche in the electro-rock space, and quirky folk rock unit Little Shy on Allen Street. On the other end of the spectrum, critically acclaimed death metal band Dharma, whose music is heavily influenced by Buddhist sutras, manage to keep things exciting.

An interesting development is the nomination of R&B artist ØZI in the Best Rock Album category for ‘ADICA’, a pivotal EP for the young talent which combines his R&B and hip-hop roots with a luxuriously dark blend of rock and metal elements. After his 2019 win in the Best R&B Album category, this genre-crossing artist continues to prove his ability to stay creatively fresh year after year.

See the full list of nominations here.

Which Golden Indie Music Award winners have already been announced?

The Outstanding Contribution Award category winner and the Jury Prize category winner was announced alongside the nominations on September 12, with the Outstanding Contribution Award going to Daniel Shen, who has been lauded for his devotion to the expansion of jazz music in Taiwan through his performance, education and mentorship efforts. The Jury Prize went to Mong Tong. The psychedelic trio have been recognised for their incorporation of traditional Taiwanese and Southeast Asian sounds and cultural elements such as folklore and religion into their sonic palette on their work ‘Tao Fire’.

Who is performing or hosting at the Golden Indie Music Awards 2023?

Besides rapper Kumachan, who will be the main host for the 2023 Awards, the night will feature fellow presenters and GIMAs alumni Dizzy Dizzo, Delafat and Starr Chen, who are also judges on Taiwanese reality rap competition The Rapper 2.

The night would not be complete without performances by some of Taiwan’s most promising acts. This year that comes from Jerry Li and The Crane, both exciting emerging artists whose paths will officially cross for the first time. Sharing a style characterised by retro, psychedelic urban elements, their collaboration will be one to watch at this years’ ceremony.

Rock band TRASH, YouTuber pianist “Teacher Chiang” and eclectic up-and-comers A Root will also be featured during this years’ ceremony, as will Japanese singer Yama, who’s known for the theme songs of anime series including Spy x Family and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.

“I’m very honored to perform at the Golden Indie Music Awards, which represent the freedom, diversity, and creativity of Taiwanese musicians. I hope to be nominated in the future,” Yama said in a statement. “Although I’m a little nervous about meeting friends in Taiwan for the first time, I hope to enjoy the exchange with everyone on the day of the performance.”

How can I attend or watch the Golden Indie Music Awards?

The awards will be streamed online through the Golden Indie Music Awards’ official channels, such as their official YouTube, Facebook, LINE TODAY and MyVideo pages. If you’re in Japan, check out the official broadcast on the SPACE SHOWER YouTube channel.

What is the Asia Rolling Music Festival?

Held in tandem with the Golden Indie Music Awards since 2018, the showcase festival’s main aim is to encourage exchanges between the local and overseas music scene. It’s since established itself as a respected platform for music creation and communication across Asia.

This year’s Asia Rolling Music Festival has been curated by Sunset Rollercoaster frontman Tseng Kuo-Hung. The multi-hyphenate has experience taking on world stages outside of Taiwan, having toured in the US, Europe and Asia. Sunset Rollercoaster notably performed at Coachella this year, making them the first Taiwanese band to ever grace Coachella’s stages.

Who is on the line-up of the Asia Rolling Music Festival 2023?

This year’s festivities are themed “Making Friends with Music. In-depth Exchange” and will feature performances by this years’ Best Live Performance Award finalists, curated music parties, as well as workshops and networking sessions.

The three music parties will be divided into electronic, psychedelic and classic sets. This year Asia Rolling Music Festival has invited promising musicians from Taiwan, Hong Kong, UK, Philippines, Canada and more to host workshops together and perform back-to-back as part of unique curated experiences.

Tseng told NME that he wanted to “make some breakthroughs” by disregarding geographical boundaries when curating a diverse and eclectic lineup.

“This year, I want to expand on the concept of Asia and go beyond its physical confines. There are many musicians among the Asian diaspora and … they still bring an Asian perspective into their work. For example, this year I approached Michael Seyer from Los Angeles, who has Filipino heritage, and also Kamaal Williams, who has Taiwanese and British heritage,” he explained.

Hong Kong’s Room307 and Taiwan’s LINION, both avid singer-songwriter and producers, will run the “Classic Party” on October 25, while indie rock/dream pop Filipino-American artist Michael Seyer joins forces with Taiwan’s most kawaii heavy rock band Iruka Porisu to take on the ‘Psychedelic Party’ on October 26. The UK’s Kamaal Williams and Taiwan-based Canadian artist LEO37 will perform the following day at the “Hip-hop Party”, alongside Taiwan’s most spontaneous and fun-loving band Robot Swing.

How can I get tickets to the Asia Rolling Music Festival 2023?

Tickets for the themed parties and Best Live Performance Award shows are available in limited quantities for free through INDIEVOX.

The Golden Indie Music Awards will be held at the Taipei Music Centre on October 28, while the Asia Rolling Music Festival will be held from October 23-27 at CORNER MAX in Taipei. Find more information on the official GIMA site here.