The Official UK Asian Music Awards Start the Ball Rolling

June 17th saw the start of the voting and nomination process for another year of the Official UK Asian Music Awards. The launch event and after-party took place at the funky CC Club in London's West End. Numerous acts and celebrities attended including Panjabi Hit Squad & Sanj Sanj amongst others.

The media launch was a quiet event, attended by many celebrities, including Addy from Eastenders! Things soon hotted up with the predominantly young crowd allowed entry from around 10pm... with the queues leading right out up to Picaddilly Circus!

In 2003, the final Awards ceremony took place in October at top London venue 'Poo Na Na' with a host of glittering stars and celebrities from both the 'mainstream' and the Asian Music Industry attending the milestone event. Carlton TV televised the awards.

The success of the Awards showed the real need for an official form of recognition for the UK Asian music scene, which has been building for well over 20 years. The groundbreaking move by UK AMA was seen as a 'coming of age' for Asian music and the scores of artists who over the years have played a major role in the growth and increasing appreciation of Brit-Asian music.

Last year, voting for all categories which included Best RnB single and Best Bhangra Album was carried out by the public through the internet and an innovative SMS voting system. Amongst those that were recognised for their immense contribution in changing the face and perceptions of the industry were Nitin Sawhney, Apache Indian and Bally Sagoo who received the Lifetime achievement Award.

This years Awards will take place at one of London's most exclusive venues, but the voting and nomination process will start this month.

Abs Shaid, founder and senior partner of UK AMA Ltd said: "We have seen the industry grow over the past 10 years and we felt that it was time to celebrate the success and impact of the Asian music scene in this country. We were delighted with the success of the Awards, and it reiterated the fact that we are all very proud of our music. The people who created this industry have given us a sense of identity that crosses the two cultures that we live in. There is now a new genre of music that is listened to by both Asian and mainstream communities and that is something to seriously shout about".

He continues: "The Asian community saw its first entry into the mainstream charts with Apache Indian, followed by Babylon Zoo, White Town, Bally Sagoo and Cornershop, over the next 10 years. In 2003 we not only saw the likes of Rishi Rich and Panjabi MC make their mark, but we saw major mainstream artists taking inspiration from our music…which is a great compliment to every single person who has been involved in the Asian scene.

"Urban music recognition is important," says Abs. "It's also about understanding that Asians listen to mainstream music as well. It's about unity. That's why we're presenting new categories this year".

2004 is set to be another landmark year for Asian music and its integration into the mainstream marketplace. Artists such as Raghav and Jay Sean, as well as key programming on Radio 1, Galaxy and Kiss FM presented by DJs such as Bobby Friction, Nihal, Panjabi Hit Squad and Shaanti Collective is without a doubt another huge step in the future of the industry.