IN STORES NOW!
The countdown to this year's Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards has begun with the first round of finalists announced for the 2007 Technical Awards.
There are three Technical Awards in 2007, Best Album Cover, Best Engineer and Best Producer.
The finalists in the Best Album Cover category are: Ruban Nielson for 'Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!' (Mint Chicks); Dylan Pharazyn for 'There My Dear' (Dimmer); and Tim Gummer for 'View from Olympus' (John Psathas).
In the Best Engineer category, the finalists are: Chris Van Der Geer for 'Parlour Games' by Revolver; Clint Murphy for 'Second Hand Planet' by Opshop; and Mike Gibson for 'Long Player' by Hollie Smith.
The finalists for Best Producer are: Chris Nielson, Kody Neilson and Ruban Nielson for 'Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!' (Mint Chicks); Jeremy Toy and Hollie Smith for 'Long Player' by Hollie Smith; and Nick Roughan and Shayne Carter for 'There My Dear' (Dimmer).
Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards spokesperson Campbell Smith says it's good to see many of this year's technical finalists are also artists.
"New Zealand has a strong DIY tradition in it's music recording, and this year's finalists include a range of musicians who have not only honed the artistic side of their craft, but also the technical," Campbell says.
"The Mint Chicks, Hollie Smith and Shayne Carter (Dimmer) have played significant roles in the creation of their records and it's these artists as well as the industry professionals who are consistently working behind the scenes who make New Zealand music what it is."
No finalists are announced for the Highest Selling NZ Single, The Warehouse Highest Selling NZ Album and NZ on Air Radio Airplay Record of the Year awards. These, along with the International Achievement award - which is judged by the RIANZ Board and awarded at the Board's discretion - will be presented at the main awards on October 18.
The Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards 2007 take place at the Aotea Centre - The Edge in Auckland on October 18.
For the first time ever the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards will be televised on the night of the event - people can tune in to C4 from 8.30pm for all the action.
The public can also keep up to date with what's happening by going to www.nzmusicawards.co.nz or www.myspace.com/nzmusicawards.
The sponsors lending their support to the awards this year are; Vodafone, NZ On Air, Auckland City, Mazda, The Warehouse, Nokia, Steinlager Pure, THE EDGE, Langham Hotel Auckland, Gravity Coffee, Amplifier, L'Oreal Professionnel, KIWI FM, NZ Herald and C4.