The Night Bazaar goes to the DJ Awards in Ibiza

The highly anticipated 23rd anniversary event of THE DJ Awards will take place on October 2nd in Chinois, Ibiza. The ceremony will see the category winners announced once all the public votes have been counted, and before that the winners of the Industry Awards, chosen by a panel of experts, have been announced.

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Founded in 1998 by José Pascual and Lenny Krarup, the DJ Awards have long been regarded as the ‘Oscars of electronic dance music’. After a four-year hiatus, the awards are now under new ownership and with fresh investment, and are back in full force to continue to reward the best dance music in the world.

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Doors open at 22:00 and the awards ceremony takes place from 11:30 to 12:30. BBC Radio 1 tastemaker Jaguar is back to present the awards, along with respected electronic music personality Katie Knight, a regular on Ibiza. She will also interview artists backstage after the ceremony, with the afterparty at the club starting at 00:30.

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The winners of the various categories, International DJ Of The Year 2024, Live Act, Breakthrough, House, Tech House, Drum & Bass, Techno, Progressive House, Organic House, Afro and Trance, are chosen by the public and will be announced on the night itself. The nominees are listed below.

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The DJ Awards reboot was always planned to recreate what had been done before, but better, and as such the number of awards has been reduced to 19 with a surprise prize announced on the night. The new categories reflect the new state of the scene and also lay the foundation for the DJ Awards to expand its reputation and reach beyond Ibiza and promote dance music culture to a wider global audience, whilst restoring the integrity of the brand.

The winners of these special Industry Awards, which are presented in various voted categories, are presented with their trophies. They are selected by a specially assembled team of industry professionals.

Ibiza icon – Luciano

This award goes to anyone who has had a big impact on the Ibiza scene over a long period of time. Someone who has played on multiple stages, grown with the success of the island and given back to it on a social level.

Cadenza boss Luciano is such a man. He has DJed in the local prison, lectured in public schools, played every venue on the island, held legendary residencies, lived in Ibiza for years and made Spain his home. He has always stayed true to his art and will always be synonymous with the White Isle.

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Ibiza Party of the Summer – David Guetta’s F*** Me I’m Famous at Ushuaia and Future Rave at Hi Ibiza

This award does what it says on the tin. The success of a party is not judged by the number of attendees, but by the dedication to creating a unique experience, the loyalty to a venue and the ability to showcase a wide spectrum of creative sounds and skills and have a real impact on dancers.

The famous Frenchman is the only DJ on the island to host two of his own parties and it’s the only place he plays in the summer, which is a throwback to how parties used to be organised. They really showcase different sides of his sound – FMIF is more commercial and VIP-led, while Future Rave gives newcomers a chance to shine. Both events put a lot of focus on production, with dancers, performers and the VIP experience all taken care of.

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Ibiza Track of the Summer – Adam Port, Stryv – Move feat. Malachii

Historically, this is a song that you hear day, night, on the beach and in the superclubs. And this year it is definitely the case. This song has been played by everyone from all musical backgrounds, in beach bars and in the main hall, on terraces and at villa parties. It has had over 200 million streams on Spotify and has crossed over into so many different worlds. It is catchy, sing-along and the true sound of summer.

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What’s Hot Global – Keinemuziek

This is a new category given to a brand or artist who has taken themselves to a whole new level of popularity and success over the past year. Keinemusik have done just that and have been everywhere this year, playing standout sets in Ibiza as well as hosting their own unique events under their iconic cloud. Capable of drawing crowds of up to 35,000 at festival-sized events, they always sell out as they appeal to a wide range of clubbers of all musical backgrounds and ages. The trio have also done a lot for emerging artists, staying true to their core and recently even raising €100,000 for Ibiza charity.

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World Festival – Defected Croatia

This award is given to a festival that has recently been founded or re-founded and is doing something new on a global scale, such as breathing new life into a new area, promoting a particular sound or genre, or putting a scene or place on the map. Defected’s fantastic three-day festival in Tisno, Croatia, has done just that, staying true to the label’s famous house roots with a great mix of established, new and emerging artists. The crowd is diverse in age, gender and sexuality, with local and international acts all performing to a house-centric soundtrack that is both essential and groundbreaking.

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Play It Back Award – Michael Bibi’s One Life Campaign

This is an award given to an individual, institution or event that has improved the scene in a social, charitable or humanitarian way. After his very public battle with central nervous system lymphoma and his recent return to full health, Michal Bibi has focused heavily on raising awareness of the rare form of brain cancer he suffered from. He has really raised awareness with his One Life campaign and deserves great recognition. He has raised a lot of money, including £124,832 from his takeover of Finsbury Park in London, which went to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, but he also has a policy of raising awareness at his events. The one in London had a stem cell transplant centre on site to recruit participants to sign up to the stem cell register. This forward-thinking, positive, altruistic action, all done from the dance floor, makes Bibi a more than worthy recipient.

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Eye on… US – Gospel New York

This annual DJ Awards event shifts the focus to a different area, starting with America, the birthplace of house music. The New York Gospel club has seen a lot of success in just a few years. James Huddleston and Juriel Zeligman are the co-founders and the venue is well run with a great mix of regulars who do their own promotions. It’s a great throwback to how the scene was when it first started in the 80s, with a serious focus on the music and the people. The club is a great modern addition to the city, but one that never forgets the roots of the scene.

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Dance floor moment

In the run-up to the awards, people from all over the world have the chance to come to Ibiza and collect a real DJ Award on stage with all the other winners. People have been uploading clips of their favourite dancefloor moments to Instagram and tagging @thedjawards with the hashtag #DANCEFLOORMEMORY. This is the start of an annual campaign where we celebrate the best moments of the people who make it all possible, the fans and clubbers of the world.

For more information go to HERE. The full list of nominees will be announced at the awards ceremony on October 2. The nominees announced on the night are listed below.

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International DJ of the Year 2024:

The DJ Awards recognise those crowd pleasers and chart toppers who dominate the dance floor, bring infectious energy and universal appeal. This category includes commercial/mainstage superstar DJs.

Calvin Harris

David Guetta

Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike

Fisherman

Martin Garrix

Peggy Gou

Swedish House Mafia

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House:

Gorgon City

Honey Dijon

Kerri Chandler

Sam Divine

Seth Troxler

SIRETA

TSHA

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Trance:

Armin van Buuren

Asterix

Dash Berlin

Infected mushroom

Paul Van Dyk

Tiesto

Wine Vici

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Technology:

Amélie Lens

Charlotte de Witte

Indira Paganotto

Paco Osuna

Nico Moreno

Sara Landry

Sven Väth

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Progressive House:

ART BAT

CamelPhat

Christopher

Eli & Bont

Eric Prydz

Franky Wah

Hernan Cattaneo

Story of us

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Organic House:

Bedouins

BLOND:ISH

Jan Blomqvist

Monolink

Patrice Baumel

Robag Wruhme

WhoMadeWho

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Tech House:

Jamie Jones

Joseph Capriati

Marco Carola

The Martinez Brothers

Michael Bibi

Mokchakk

PAWS

Solomun

Vintage Culture

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African American:

Black coffee

Franciscus Mercier

Kelvin Momo

KILIMANJARO

Kitty Love

Major League DJz

Pablo Fierro

Themba

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Live act:

Barry can’t swim

Ben Bohmer

Biceps

Fred again..

Mathew Jonson

Redin Murphy

RÜFÜS OF THE SOL

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Drum and bass:

Build

Pursuit and status

Hexadecimal

Nia Archives

Subfocus

Wilkinson

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RIOT Noise’s breakthrough artist:

Archie Hamilton

Ben Sterling

Desiree

Fleur Kust

James Hype

Mrs. Monique

Sammy Virji

Wading