DJ Awards is a celebration of electronic music, and aims to recognise and honour DJs and individuals who have influenced electronic dance music worldwide.
Held annually in Ibiza at the end of the summer season, DJ Awards has retained the same ethos since its conception. The fundamental philosophy is not that of a competition, as we are dealing with an art form whose merits are purely subjective, and therefore who can say what is the best. Rather DJ Awards seeks to shine a light on key talents in the industry.
DJ Awards was formed in 1998 by José Pascual and Lenny Krarup. The ceremony is held once a year at a well known venue in Ibiza. Since 2018 the event has been held at Heart Ibiza. Previous editions were held at the Pacha club in Ibiza, Spain. The awards ceremony takes place towards the end of the Ibiza season. The awards are known internationally in the electronic dance music community as the Oscars of the DJ industry. The event attracts a broad selection of international industry professionals and the awards reflect the wide range of creative talent of the DJs. The ethos behind the annual ceremony is for it "to be seen not as a competition, but instead, a celebration of the electronic dance music scene, that conveys the artistic ability of DJs to a global music audience". A different theme is chosen each year that is important to the organisers, which is then translated into an individual graphical and visual representation of that theme for each ceremony. The awards have managed to retain their status as one of the most important accolades that an artist can win or be honoured.
Past winners have included Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Roger Sanchez, Danny Tenaglia, Black Coffee, Solomun, Jamie Jones, Hernan Cattaneo, Stephan Bodzin, DJ Koze, Frankie Knuckles, Tiësto, Sasha, Tony De Vit, Deadmau5, and many more.
History
In the inaugural edition in 1998, the chosen theme was “Alien Arrival”, due to the nature of the prize (a piece of kryptonite) and its extraterrestrial mascot "Snuffy". In this first year the winners were Erick Morillo for the "house" category, Daft Punk for the Best DJ Band category and Fernandisco for the "Radio DJ" category, with an honorific special award for the late Tony De Vit.
The second edition in 1999 explored the theme of ¨African Tribal Rhythms¨, as a source of inspiration for music producers. It emphasised the expansion of categories such as "Ambient /Experimental" or "International DJ" and winners such as Pete Tong, Roger Sanchez, Basement Jaxx all picked up awards. Frankie Knuckles and Joe T. Vanelli were the first winners in the categories of "Outstanding Dedication" and "Outstanding Contribution" respectively.
The year 2000 hosted the third ceremony, this time under the theme of the ¨Mythological Inspiration of the Muses¨ and under new categories, renaming the category formerly known as "Ambient/Experimental" as "Chill Out" due to the increasing flow of productions in this style. Other categories and winners featured that same year were Paul Oakenfold for "Trance", Sven Väth for "Techno" and the song "Lady" by Modjo for the category "Track of the season" amongst others.
For the fourth ceremony in 2001 technological advances happening in the industry did not go unnoticed in the direction of the awards, establishing the theme "Man and Machine" as a starting point. For the second time Erick Morillo won "House DJ" alongside other winners: Mixmaster Morris for "Eclectic" and Carl Cox for "Techno", and Superchumbo the winner in the category for best production. The category of Drum and Bass was won by Peshay.
In 2002, the fifth edition of the awards, the theme was "Vinyl". It was created as a romantic example of the DJs' beginnings, at a time when the CD format was becoming the standard. Amongst winners that year were prominent names such as Pete Tong for "Outstanding Contribution", Mambo Cafe for "Best Ibiza Bar", "It Just Won't Do" by Tim Deluxe for "Track of the Season" or Wally Lopez as "Best Newcomer".
In 2003, the theme chosen for the sixth edition was "The Essence of the Universe"; winners included Steve Lawler for "Techhouse/Progressive", Junior Jack and Kid Crème for "Best Newcomer" (also winners for the "Track of the Season" with "E-Samba") and the crowning of Manumission as the best promoter, which gave a joyful note to this gala.