Malaysian garage punk band No Good have emerged as the big winners at the annual TAPAUawards.
The trio came out on top after clinching four of the eight categories contended during the livestreamed ceremony, which took place on Sunday (December 27).
No Good bagged the awards for Best Music Video for their song ‘Che Using’ directed by Nizam Omar, and Best Album Art done by Djin Khai and Zulamran Hilmi. The band also won the category for Best Artist, beating other nominated acts like Couple, BTSWT and Monoloque.
No Good also earned the Best Release award for their EP ‘Demo Kawe’, which landed at Number 10 on NME‘s best Asian releases of 2020.
PEMENANG2 untuk #TAPAUawards2020 so far :
💥BEST NOISEMAKER – HASHTAG MEDIA and KAMAR SENI for Anugerah Lagu Indie
🖼 BEST ALBUM ART – DJIN KAI & ZULAMRAN HILMI for Demo Kawe EP (No Good)
📺 BEST MUSIC VIDEO – NIZAM OMAR for "Che Using" (No Good))— jennthompson2811 (@Jenn_Thompson) December 27, 2020
The TAPAUawards, organised by indie platform TAPAUasia, aims to recognise young and creative talents in Malaysia’s independent scene. The award show, which is in its second year, was streamed online in light of the pandemic.
Elsewhere during the ceremony, psychedelic rock group Ramayan snagged the Best Song award for their track, ‘Lamunan Anak Bulan’, while rappers Gard Wuzgut took home The Jeremy Award, named in honour of the late music producer Jeremy Little, earning the title of ‘breakthrough artists’.
PEMEMANG2 seterusnua Part2 #TAPAUawards2020
💫JEREMY AWARD : GARD WUZGUT
🎙 BEST SONG : RAMAYAN – “Lamunan Anak Bulan”
📀BEST RELEASE (ALBUM/EP) : NO GOOD – "Demo Kawe EP"— jennthompson2811 (@Jenn_Thompson) December 27, 2020
On the other hand, The Yasmin Award, named after the late director Yasmin Ahmad, went to famed singer-songwriter Yuna, for her contribution to the growth of Malaysia’s independent music scene.
Meanwhile, event organiser Hashtag Media and its production house partner Kamar Seni took home the prize for Best Noisemaker, which highlights outlets that have created buzz in the independent music scene this year.
PEMENANG2 Part3 #TAPAUawards2020
🌟 BEST ARTIST – NO GOOD
✨YASMIN AWARD – YUNA— jennthompson2811 (@Jenn_Thompson) December 27, 2020
TAPAU announced its list of nominees last week, which included 14 artists contending in the eight categories. Apart from the Jeremy Award and the Yasmin Award, the six other categories were based on votes from fans.
Other nominees included indie rock veterans BTSWT and Couple, as well as rapper Airliftz and more.
The online ceremony, hosted by actors Sharifah Amani and Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin, also saw performances by experimental rock artist Monoloque, Gard Wuzgut and Ramayan.
The inaugural TAPAUawards held last year saw modern rockers Iqbal M. clinching the trophies for the Best Album Art, Best Song and Best Artist categories.