Big Show: “Sound @ V” Music Awards – vorarlberg.ORF.at

The “Sound@V” music award was given to Vorarlberg bands and solos for the third time on Saturday – in the four major categories of “Rock/Pop”, “Alt/Singer-Songwriter”, “Open Ball” and “Newcomer of the Year”. There were also three special awards for the Dialect Award, Online Voting, and Lifetime Work.

The grand prize show was held as an outdoor event as part of the Feldkirch Pool Bar Festival. Young musicians delighted the audience – the evening was finally concluded with a standing ovation for veteran musician Walter Patroll, who was honored for the works of his life.

The decision to award the prizes was a combination of a large online vote on vorarlberg.ORF.at and the judgment of an international jury of experts.

‘Rock/Pop’: The award goes to Junipa Gold.

Junipa Gold won in the rock/pop category. The band has already had a successful past on “Sound@V”: two years ago they were named “Newcomer of the Year”. “It’s crazy to take the award home again,” says singer Mia.

“Junipa Gold” combines the emotional voice of frontwoman Mia with musical arrangements by fellow musicians Fabio, Sascha and Pascal. The four musicians have known each other for four years. They used the fact that their musical influences couldn’t be more different to their advantage to set Mia’s lyric scripts in the right atmosphere – and they also convinced the jury.

Alternative/Singer-Songwriter: “WHY-Y”

WHY-Y won in the Alternative/Singer-Songwriter category. However, the group was unable to receive its award in person and thanked the jury and the audience with a video message.

WHY-Y combines electronic and analog sounds with signature songwriting to create a clear and warm sound. The alternative band was founded. Electronic. Her first single “Why-y” was heard regularly on FM4 in Spring 2020.

‘Tape Moon’ wins the ‘Open Pool’ category

“Tape Moon” won in the “Open Pool” category. “Tip Moon” is a new solo project for 30-year-old musician and producer Michael Nabjee. After several concerts and musical productions with a variety of lineups, the 30-year-old focuses on the interplay between the experience of melody and sound in the context of pop music. Since the spring of 2022, Tip Moon has been giving concerts as a live format throughout Austria and the surrounding countries.

The fact that he won the music award surprised him, as he said on stage at the presentation. Anyway, he basically wants to make music out of 5,000 euros in prize money.

Singer Nika is the “Newcomer of the Year”

“It’s so cool” – was the comment of singer Nika, who left the stage on Saturday as the “newcomer of the year”. The 24-year-old moved from Vorarlberg to Berlin at the age of 19, where she began to actively make music. She celebrated her musical debut in April 2021 with the single “DYSTOPIE”.

The rapper and singer released her second single, Insel, in August 2021. “Rap gives me the opportunity to say a lot in an unforgettable musical way,” says Nika.

Tone Award “Short Term”

As a special prize, a dialect prize was awarded – to the “Kurzfristig” group. These are Fabian, Julian, Matthias and Stefan, four musicians from Vorarlberg who formed a vocal band with an unusual name in the summer of 2013.

Inspired by musicians such as Dispatch and the Beatles, Korsfestige began covering a variety of songs in a solo fashion using acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, cajon, melodica, harmonica and ukulele.

Enbiki is a fun game for the audience

ENBIKEY won the Audience Award for Best Score in the online voting “Sound @ V” on vorarlberg.ORF.at. The 21-year-old Westnauer’s real name is Noah Bono Kong. The artist’s name came from the initials NBK.

In the spring of 2021, Enbeki was a participant in the Austrian actors’ show “Starmania 21” and managed to beat his fellow contestants in the semi-finals. His new single “Let’s Dance” was released in May.

Walter Patrolle Honored for Lifetime Achievement

At the end of the show, the musician no longer a young man received what was probably the longest applause of the evening with a standing ovation: veteran musician Walter Patroll was honored in Vorarlberg for his life’s work. Humbly and calmly, before the cup, which should certainly have a place in his living room.

In 1965, Patrolle with Martin Hammerle (drums) and Winnie Bucher (bass) founded Vorarlberg’s first rock band: Gamblers. Patrolle has given more than 2,000 concerts in various formations throughout Vorarlberg, Europe and the world. Since 1978 he has toured solo with his self-made “blues machine”. The man from Hohenems can also be seen on stage in a gang formation. In 1998 he founded the duo “Hems Harlem” with “Blueser” Dietmar Bitsche.

Each cup is unique

The jubilant winners received a “Sound @ V” award as well as a prize money totaling €25,000. The winning songs have been digitized, 3D printed and inserted into a piece of wood cut from a forest in Vorarlberg. Each trophy is unique and intended to represent a facade of the nature of Vorarlberg and the traditions of craftsmanship.

Colorful mix of music and show

The enthusiastic audience was shown a colorful mixture of music, interviews, awards and photos of the band at the award ceremony. From the show’s strong opening LOVT to the best hip-hop music of newcomer Nika, the most delicious music was presented – all “Made in Vorarlberg”. ORF Vorarlberg directors Inés Mäser and Dominic Dapré led through the award ceremony. Avid music lovers guarantee the best atmosphere in the Pool Bar Festival District.

International expert jury

The “Sound @ V” jury was composed of Dirk Wagner (music journalist and radio presenter), Dalia Ahmed (music journalist, radio presenter and FM4 DJ), Hans Schurz (founder of Ink Music and Coach) and PAENDA (Austrian singer-songwriter).

The jury had a hard time deciding. Because the candidate offers are all of high quality, very diverse and feature a large variety of genres.

Dirk Wagner summed it up on stage and called the decision “sadistic”: “It’s like standing in a cake shop and I’m seriously required to pick one of these cakes.”

New musical talent stage

The ORF Vorarlberg Music Award “Sound @ V” was presented with the brand Vorarlberg, “Wann & Wo” and the Poolbar Festival. Marcus Clement, Government Director of ORF Vorarlberg, was more than satisfied: “The many unique performances of ‘Sound @ V’ and lavish musical acts at the awards show demonstrate the potential of the Vorarlberg music scene. ORF Vorarlberg would like to be a sponsor and stage for new musical talent by awarding its A total of 25,000 euros in prize money.”