The Taite Prize (New Zealand's equivalent of the Mercury Prize) was awarded at a ceremony in Auckland last night, and it went to Unknown Mortal Orchestra for their inventive self-titled debut album.
The three piece (who are led by Ruban Nielson, previously of The Mint Chicks) accepted the award via video, as they're currently based in Portland.
"It's a bit of a cliche, but I was just making the record for myself" Nielson told TimeOut last year when reflecting on the boundary-pushing indie pop album. "I had a lot of mental space to work in. No one was waiting for me to make music, I really just came back to making music for myself and making music for all the right reasons."
The prize, which includes $10,000 cash from PPNZ Music Licensing, and is named after late television music journalist Dylan Taite, is awarded for artistic merit, and is decided by a panel of industry judges.
It has previously been awarded to soul singer Ladi6 (aka Karoline Tamati), and indie pop crooner Lawrence Arabia (aka James Milne).
