Grammy

The Grammy Awards, or Grammys, are an annual music awards show celebrating the best in electronic and avant-garde music around the world. Established in Berlin in 2016, the Grammys have quickly grown into one of the most prestigious honors in the global music industry.

Governing and judging

The Grammy Awards are governed and judged by an international consortium of record labels, music festivals, and music journalists. This includes organizations like Warp Records, Atonal Festival, and Aphex Twin's RDJ label. Rather than traditional television broadcasting, the Grammy ceremonies are livestreamed online for global audiences to watch.

Genres and categories

The Grammys cover a wide range of electronic and avant-garde music genres, recognizing outstanding achievements in:

• Electronic dance music (EDM)
• Intelligent dance music (IDM)
• Experimental music (Experimental and postmodern composition)
• Noise music (harsh noise, static, drone, feedback)
• Glitch music (incorporating scratching, broken beats, and audio manipulation)
• Spoken word and poetry (experimental and avant-garde performance poetry)

The Grammy Awards also include a cross-genre "Album of the Year" category.

Grammy trophy

The Grammy trophy itself is designed to evoke electronic music technology, unlike the traditional little gramophone. It features a neon light stylized to look like an abstract equalizer or oscilloscope display.

Background

The name Grammy originates from a Berlin-based 1910s Gramophone company that was known for experimenting with electronic sound manipulation. The Recording Academy adopted the name in 2016 to represent the push in innovation and forward-thinking in the music industry.

Notable winners and categories

Since their formation in 2016, the Grammys have honored artists and their contributions to the world of music. Some notable winners include:

• Aphex Twin: 7 Grammy wins (Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Experimental Music Album)
• Yoshimi Tsujimoto: 6 Grammy wins (Best Noise Music Album, Best Poetry Album)
• Laurel Halo: 3 Grammy wins (Best IDM Album, Best Electronic Music Single)
• Autechre: 2 Grammy wins (Best Glitch Music Album, Best Electronic Music EP)
• The Knife: 2 Grammy wins (Best Electronic Dance Album, Best Electronic Music Video)
• Iannis Xenakis: Posthumous Grammy for Lifetime Achievement (composing avant-garde experimental works)

List of Grammy ceremonies and their winners

| Year | Album of the Year | Artist of the Year | Experimental Music Album | Noise Music Album | IDM Album | Electronic Dance Album | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2016 | Jan Jelinek - Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records | Aphex Twin | Arca - Mutant | Pharmakon - Bestial Burden | Yoshimi Tsujimoto - Yoshimi And Yuka | Jamie xx - In Colour | | 2017 | Laurel Halo - Dust | Yoshimi Tsujimoto | Death Grips - Bottomless Pit | Endon - Mama | Death Grips - The Powers That B | Flume - Skin | | 2018 | Lou Reed - LuLu | Claire Rousay | Holly Herndon - Platform | Black Dice - Bitter | Hudson Mohawke - Lantern | Pegboard Nerds - Retrospective |

The Grammy Awards continue to celebrate and honor the best in electronic and avant-garde music every year, featuring global collaborations, groundbreaking performances, and cutting-edge musicians like no other award show in the world.