2021 Taite Music Prize

2021 Taite Music Prize
Awarded forThe best NZ album released in 2020
Sponsored byRecorded Music NZ
Date20 April 2021
VenueQ Theatre
CountryNew Zealand
Hosted bySarah Thomson
Acts
Reward$12,500
WinnerReb Fountain. by Reb Fountain
Highlights
IMNZ Classic Record"Poi E", by Pātea Māori Club
Best Independent DebutWaiting For You, by Na Noise
Independent Spirit AwardPete Rainey & Glenn Common (Smokefree Rockquest)
Websiteindies.co.nz

The 12th annual Taite Music Prize, along with three other New Zealand music industry awards, was presented on 20 April 2021 at a ceremony in Auckland, organised by Independent Music New Zealand (IMNZ). The winner of the main award was Reb Fountain for her self-titled album Reb Fountain. The night's other winners were Pātea Māori Club, Na Noise, and the long-time runners of Smokefree Rockquest, Pete Rainey and Glenn Common.[1]

Main Prize

The ceremony and its main award share the "Taite Music Prize" name. Sometimes called the Taite Main, this award recognises New Zealand's best album of the previous year (2020). The winner, Reb Fountain by Reb Fountain, was selected by a panel of twelve judges who were not publicly named until after their decision was announced.[2]

Criteria for the award, which came with a cash prize of $12,500 from Recorded Music NZ, include artistic merit, creativity, innovation and excellence.[3]

Winner

In her acceptance speech American-born Fountain, who moved to New Zealand in 1979 with her family, said "I’ve always felt like an underdog. Being a migrant, I've always felt like I’ve missed something or have not belonged. To be honoured in this way, it feels like I belong. It is really special."[4]

Judging panel member Sarah Illingworth said, "Reb Fountain sees its eponymous creator at the top of her game – or perhaps preparing to climb to new and headier peaks. The album and Reb's path to releasing it captures the independent spirit championed by the Taite Music Prize while sparkling with the high caliber of production and performance that makes an artist a star."[2]

It's a great honour, and also quite strange. Peer recognition through awards is wonderful. It's also important to see an award is just one way of recognising the work. You have to be careful of thinking awards are a marker of who you are, of whether you achieved success. It’s beautiful and special but you are equally as valuable without it. I have to hold both spaces – the genuine gratitude I feel for being honoured and the knowledge that it’s the work that is important. I do think it can help a ‘career’ because our industry values the accolades. It’s great when you can add to your bio that you’ve won something, because somewhere out there that stuff is valued. And it is cool, but it’s not everything. — Reb Fountain, Interview with NZ Musician (abridged)[5]

Nominations and finalists

An open call for nominations ran from 13 January to 8 February. This list went to a vote of all IMNZ members which found ten finalists.[3] They were announced on 12 March.[6] Troy Kingi, 2020's winner, became the first current holder of the Taite Music Prize to return as a finalist the next year.[7]

2021 Taite Music Prize finalists
ArtistAlbumLabel[8]Result
The BethsJump Rope GazersCarpark RecordsNominated
Anna CoddingtonBeamsLoop RecordingsNominated
Reb FountainReb FountainFlying Nun RecordsWon
Ria HallManawa WeraLoop RecordingsNominated
Troy KingiThe Ghost of Freddie CesarAAA RecordsNominated
L.A.B.L.A.B. IVLoop RecordingsNominated
Tami NeilsonChickaboom!Neilson RecordsNominated
The Phoenix FoundationFriend ShipPhoenix Foundation Ltd. / UMGNominated
Nadia ReidOut Of My ProvinceSlow Time RecordsNominated
Wax ChattelsClotFlying Nun RecordsNominated

Judging panel

The judges of the 2021 Taite Music Prize were:[2]

  • Nick Bollinger
  • Savina Fountain (no relation to Reb)[9]
  • Sarah Illingworth
  • Karl Lock
  • Nadia Marsh
  • Rebekah Ngatae
  • Hamish Pinkham
  • Charlotte Ryan
  • Pip Ryan-Kidd
  • Jeremy Taylor
  • Sarah Thomson
  • Mikee Tucker

IMNZ Classic Record

"Poi E", a 12" single by Pātea Māori Club first released in 1983, was announced as 2021's winner of the IMNZ Classic Album award on 1 April. There was no public nomination process or vote.[10]

The modern day Pātea Māori Club, including some members who are heard on "Poi E", performed to a standing ovation at the award ceremony. The song's composers, Māui Dalvanius Prime and Ngoi Pēwhairangi, had died in 2002 and 1985 respectively.[4]

Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award

The award for the best debut album released in 2020 went to Na Noise, for Waiting For You.[1] Like the Taite Main, the three finalists for the Best Independent Debut Award were found through a vote of IMNZ's full membership.[11] They were announced about five weeks before the award ceremony.[6] Guitarist Hariet Ellis, a member of both Na Noise and Dick Move, was a double finalist.[12]

2021 Best Independent Debut Award finalists
ArtistAlbumLabel[8]Result
AmameliaWOW!SunreturnNominated
Dick MoveChop!1:12 RecordsNominated
Na NoiseWaiting For You1:12 RecordsWon

Independent Spirit award

In recognition of the 33 years that they had spent supporting young musicians by running the national Smokefree Rockquest competition, Pete Rainey and Glenn Common were joint winners of the 2021 Independent Spirit award.[1] An annual competition for musicians at schools all around New Zealand, Rockquest had grown to include 40 regional competitions as well as national finals. Rainey described the pair as "humbled and thrilled", and said that Rockquest was not about them but about the "kids wanting to participate [and] get involved in the music industry".[13]

Award ceremony

The 2021 Taite Music Prize returned to being a live event after COVID-19 forced the 2020 ceremony online. It was held on 20 April at Q Theatre, Auckland and hosted by Sarah Thomson. Na Noise, winners of the Best Debut Album award, performed a version of 'Faster' from Reb Fountain's Taite-winning album. IMNZ Classic Record winners Patea Māori Club and Troy Kingi, winner of the 2020 Taite and a finalist again in 2021, also performed. The awards were attended by over 400 invitees.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Reb Fountain wins 2021 Taite Music Prize". RNZ. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Reb Fountain wins 2021 Taite Music Prize". Muzic.NZ. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Nominations Now Open for the Taite Music Prize". Muzic.NZ. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  4. 1 2 McConnell, Glenn (21 April 2021). "Hard work and the enduring classic Poi E finally receive due recognition at music awards". Stuff. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Reb Fountain: Now You Know Who She Is". NZ Musician. May–June 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Taite Music Prize Finalists 2021". RNZ. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  7. ↑ McConnell, Glenn (12 March 2021). "A possible back to back win for Troy Kingi as 2021 Taite Music finalists announced". Stuff. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  8. 1 2 Reid, Graham (12 March 2021). "The Taite Music Prize Finalists (2021): The independent spirits". Elsewhere. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  9. ↑ Powell, Kate (26 June 2019). "Five wāhine toa of the industry". Audioculture. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "Patea Māori Club's 'Poi E' selected for Classic Record award". New Zealand Herald. Whanganui Chronicle. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  11. ↑ The Label (12 March 2021). "The Taite Music Prize 2021 Finalists Are Announced". Scoop. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Dick Move Star In LIVE MUSIC BAR — New Episode Out Now!". New Zealand Music Commission. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2026. Dick Move are...Hariet Ellis (Na Noise)...
  13. ↑ Bohny, Skara (21 April 2021). "Rockquest founders recognised for their contributions to music". Stuff. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
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