DJ Mag has revealed the winners of its Best of North America Awards, which were presented at Avant Gardner in Brooklyn last Thursday. The magazine’s first-ever North America awards show honored some familiar artists and venues as well as names on the rise across 16 categories. About 50,000 dance music fans voted this year in the awards that cover the US and Canada.
The award for Best DJ went to Chicago-born producer Green Velvet. The Breakthrough DJ award was bestowed on another Chicago native, “former accountant turned tech-house party animal” John Summit. ZHU nabbed the Best Live Act award, and was billed as the headliner of the party but unfortunately didn’t make a flight from Los Angeles due to bad weather. Meanwhile, Anjunadeep artist Lane 8 won the Best Producer award, and like John Summit could not be there in person as they were both playing Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Nikki Nair scooped up the Breakthrough Producer award.
In other music categories, AceMoMa, who performed before the ceremony, took home Best Album for ‘A Future‘. The Best Track award was given to ‘All My Love‘ by Louie Vega featuring Robyn. J. Worra took Best Remix/Edit for her rework of ZHU and partywithray‘s ‘Zhudio45‘. Best Label went to Nervous Records and Breakthrough Label was given to New York City-based Kindergarten Records.
New York Winners
The Best Large Club award was handed to Avant Gardner and The Brooklyn Mirage, with associate director of operations Jermaine Santiago thanking artists, managers, agents, fans, staff and saying, “see you on the dance floor.” Another Brooklyn venue, Good Room, took the Best Small Club award.
This year’s editorial choice award for Outstanding Contribution was delivered to New Yorker Danny Tenaglia, who also threw down a surprise set to close the night.
“I’ve been doing this 45 years, I started in Williamsburg where I’m born… I can’t believe how it’s come full circle to this wonderful place here that I play at, you know, a couple times a year,” said Tenaglia during his speech.
“I was born here, now I’m playing here still. I’m 61, I have no plans to stop. I’m telling you, really, to the people that want to do this, you cannot give up – you have to persevere.”
Below is the full list of categories, nominees and winners:
Best DJ
- Eris Drew
- Green Velvet – WINNER
- Jayda G
- RL Grime
- RP Boo
Breakthrough DJ
- Ariel Zetina
- John Summit – WINNER
- Kush Jones
- Layla Benitez
- UNIIQU3
Best Live Act
- E-Dancer
- Jessy Lanza
- Minimal Violence
- Porter Robinson
- ZHU – WINNER
Best Producer
- Avalon Emerson
- DJ SWISHA
- Flying Lotus
- Lane 8 – WINNER
- WondaGurl
Breakthrough Producer
- Bored Lord
- LP Giobbi
- Moore Kismet
- Nikki Nair – WINNER
- TYGAPAW
Best Label
- Backwoodz Studioz
- Brainfeeder
- Incienso
- Monstercat Silk
- Nervous Records – WINNER
Breakthrough Label
- EAT DIS
- Kindergarten Records – WINNER
- Odyzey Music
- Rules Don’t Apply
- Worst Behavior Recs
Best Album
- AceMoMA ‘A Future’ [HAUS of ALTR] – WINNER
- DJ Manny ‘Signals In My Head’ [Planet Mu]
- Eris Drew ‘Quivering In Time’ [T4T LUV NRG]
- Moor Mother ‘Black Encyclopedia of the Air’ [ANTI-]
- Vindata ‘With Opened Eyes’ [Monstercat]
Best Compilation
- Defected presents ‘House Masters: Todd Edwards’ [Defected]
- DJ Holographic ‘Detroit Love Vol. 5’ [Planet E Communications]
- V/A ‘CRITICAL MASS VOL. 1’ [Space Yacht]
- V/A ‘Deep Cutz’ [Dirtybird]
- V/A ‘Juke Bounce Werk presents: JBDUBZ vol. 9’ [Juke Bounce Werk] – WINNER
Best Track
- Louie Vega ‘All My Love feat. Robyn’ [Nervous Records] – WINNER
- LSDXOXO ‘Sick Bitch’ [XL]
- ODESZA ‘The Last Goodbye feat. Bettye LaVette’ [Foreign Family Collective]
- REZZ & Deathpact ‘Chemical Bond’ [Rezz Music, Inc.]
- UNIIQU3 ‘Microdosing’ [Local Action]
Best Remix/Edit
- Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs ‘Heartbreak (Kerri Chandler Remix)’ [OUTLIER]
- Kavinsky (feat. Cautious Clay) ‘Renegade (Oliver Remix)’ [Record Makers]
- Midnight Magic ‘Beam Me Up (Each Other Remix)’ [Razor-N-Tape]
- Ouri ‘High & Choking (Jacques Greene Remix)’ [Born Twice / Lighter Than Air]
- ZHU & partywithray ‘Zhudio54 (J. Worra Remix)’ [Astralwerks] – WINNER
Best Large ClubÂ
- Avant Gardner & The Brooklyn Mirage, Brooklyn – WINNER
- Club Space, Miami
- Echostage, Washington DC
- Exchange LA, Los Angeles
- The Concourse Project, Austin
Best Small Club
- CODA, Toronto
- Good Room, Brooklyn – WINNER
- Kremwerk, Seattle
- Spot Lite, Detroit
- Stereo, Montreal
Best Club Event/Event Series
- A Club Called Rhonda – WINNER
- Interdimensional Transmissions
- Mister Sunday
- RE/FORM
- STEAM
Underground HeroÂ
- DJ Bone
- DJ Deeon
- DJ Minx
- Lauren Flax – WINNER
- Tim Sweeney
Outstanding Contribution
- Danny Tenaglia
