Sound of the Year Awards

09/07/2024

The Sound of the Year 2023

This year, our winning submission was Danil Repin’s “Message to Homeland’; the haunting sound of an empty swing in a playground.

Although we had a range of brilliant submissions, for the jurors, this sound really brought home the importance of recognising and amplifying the impact that wars and genocides are having on communities around the world, from Palestine, to Sudan, to Congo and Ukraine. Through sound, this submission brings into focus the fervent call for humanity, solidarity and action.

The symbolism of the swing was also pertinent in a time where we are seeing the innocence of children, childhood and their dreams across the globe being eradicated by the horrors of war, settler colonialism and climate change.

As we move through 2024 and look ahead, we urge you to use sound to capture and re- imagine a different 2025 and years ahead.

Danil writes, “The recording was made on 12 August 2023 in the Udmurt Republic, Mozhga city, using a Zoom H5 portable recorder with XYZ attachment and a Korg CM300 contact microphone. The recording is of an ordinary courtyard in a Russian province with a population of no more than 40,000.

I recorded the sound of a swing which, due to the specific acoustics of the courtyard, turns into a violin-like sound and creates not only a soundscape of my hometown, but also a musical melody.

For me, this recording represents the sound of my year, because it reflects all the worries that have plagued me over the past year. A complicated relationship with the place of one's birth is a problem for many Russians, including me.

It is always hatred, anger mixed with warmth and love. The war with Ukraine has only intensified this, adding a sense of humiliation, loneliness and emptiness. The sound of a swing, reflected from small apartments and transformed into a violin-like sound, is a statement about the pain that haunts not only me, but also my generation, but also about the irrational belief in love in a world that is being destroyed every year.”

Head to https://www.soundoftheyearawards.com/ to listen to all the winning submissions from this year.

07/07/2024

Thank you so much Electronic Sound Magazine for spotlighting this year's Sound of the Year Award Winners.

You can read the full Q and A's with this year's winners here:

BBrief Encounters Read More 4 minute read KRM and KMRUbyClaire Francis KRM (Kevin Richard Martin) and KMRU (Joseph Kamaru) answer this month’s quick-fire questions

04/07/2024

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2023 Children's Category in collaboration with Sound and Music where this year's theme was, My Community.

We had some brilliant entries and the winning submissions are now available to listen to on our site: https://www.soundoftheyearawards.com/2023

Marina Karagianni

20/03/2024

On behalf of the Sound of the Year Awards Team we wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who submitted sounds this year.

We were blown away by the number and quality of the submissions this year which included submissions ranging from Taiwan, Argentina, Poland, India, Cameroon and more.

The submissions have entered a shortlisting process with a team of assessors and the shortlist will be assessed by our brilliant team of judges in April.

06/03/2024

We are thrilled to announce our final judges of this year’s Sound of the Year Awards, Drew Daniel and M. C. (Martin) Schmidt who form electronic duo Matmos.

As respected innovators in the electronic music and sampling scene, Matmos are known for their boundary-pushing approach to music creation. From liposuction surgery to snails interrupting the path of a laser, they make music out of a wildly eclectic mix of objects and sources. This is a rare opportunity to hear from true pioneers of sampling culture.

27/02/2024

With two days left to go to submit your sounds to this year’s Sound of the Year Awards we are really excited to announce that Oscar-Winning Mixing Engineer, Kirsty Whalley will also be joining our judging panel!

Submit here: https://soundoftheyearawards.com

22/02/2024

Final week to submit your sounds to the Sound of the Year Awards 2023.

From the everyday sounds that encapsulate the events of the past twelve months, to the year’s most innovative and creative sound technology, the Sound of the Year Awards celebrates sound in all its forms and from all corners of the world.

The winner of each category will receive a pair of basicUcho microphones - a set of phantom-powered, high-quality omnidirectional electret microphones courtesy of LOM.

Find out more and submit: https://www.soundoftheyearawards.com/

21/02/2024

Our Best Natural Sound category celebrates unique sounds and recordings from the natural world. Last year submissions ranged from drift ice to bird life.

Listen back to your recordings from 2023, and submit your favourite nature sounds at www.soundoftheyearawards.com to be in with the chance of winning a pair of BasicUcho microphones courtesy of LOM

Submit here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAiFsOFHUwK4TM3-qFyZo5lCb4TIPi3dunz-gKamuzvJ3_5A/viewform

14/02/2024

2 weeks left to submit your sounds!

Find out more about the categories and how to submit here: https://www.soundoftheyearawards.com/

29/01/2024

1 month to go!

Have a sound you’re looking to submit? Head to https://www.soundoftheyearawards.com/ for more information about our categories and information on how to submit.

From the everyday sounds that encapsulate the events of the past twelve months to the year’s most innovative and creative sound technology, the Sound of the Year Awards celebrates sound in all its forms and from all corners of the world.

The winner of each category will receive a pair of basicUcho microphones - a set of phantom-powered, high-quality omnidirectional electret microphones courtesy of LOM

16/01/2024

Submissions are now open for the Sound of the Year Awards 2023, which returns for its third year, presented by The Radiophonic Institute and Museum of Sound

From the everyday sounds that encapsulate the events of the past twelve months, to the year’s most innovative and creative sound technology, SOTYA celebrates sound in all its forms and from all corners of the world.

Judged by a panel of leading lights from the international sound community, the winner of each category will receive a pair of basicUcho microphones - a set of phantom-powered, high-quality omni-directional electret microphones, courtesy of LOM

Category partners this year include, Natural History Museum, London Accidental Records , the Southbank Centre National Poetry Library , and UK Hearing Conservation Association.

Visit our website: https://www.soundoftheyearawards.com/ for a complete breakdown of our categories, judges, and partners for 2023 and to make your submissions.

Deadline: 29th February 2024

12/05/2023

What a wonderful evening at The British Library, for our first in-person celebration!

Congratulations to our winners and shortlistees, and a huge thank you to our judges, assessors, partners, LOM for donating the prizes, and the 800+ of you that sent in your submissions to this year’s awards!

11/05/2023

Sound of the Year Winner 🏆

Anton Stuk - February 26 12.07 AM Chernihiv

Anton: "This recording has been made in the 3rd day of current Russian-Ukrainian war in Chernihiv, at home of my mother. Setup for recording was simple: just mobile phone. She going to the shelter in that time, meet some people nearby and during that recording starts the artillery fire. That was the first shelling at such close range. Luckily, in that shelling nobody died yet."

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website:
soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Best Sound Innovation in Everyday Life Winner 🏆

Vaillant aroTHERMplus

Svenja (nominator): "Vaillant’s aroTHERM plus is one of the greenest heat pumps available on the market and is designed to exceed the heating requirements of today. The aroTHERM plus uses a natural refrigerant which has an exceptionally low global warming potential of just 3. The product is very quiet – it can even be used in densely built-up terraced housing estates."

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website: soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Most Unpleasant Sound Winner 🏆

Mélia Roger - Calf trying to breath after dehorning

Mélia: "In an industrial milk farm, the cows are being dehorned, in order to facilitate the work of the humans around them. In this case, around 20 calves are trapped, put under sedative and dehorned directly after. We are listening to one of them, after the process, having trouble to breath and calling the others."

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website: soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Best Innovation in Sound Technology Winner 🏆

Nicolas Rochette & Audiotopie - Sédiment Narratif
La Quadrature / Audiotopie

Nicholas (nominator): "What you will hear is a French-Canadian audio creation made for a very peculiar audio system. Called 'Sédiment Narratif', it is developed by two artistic companies based in Montreal: La Quadrature and Audiotopie. It presents itself as a quadraphonic underground sound system, that can be heard and felt if you lie on the ground. Buried, it is invisible, but you can feel the vibrations and even understand a story with the audiowave passing through your whole body. For La Quadrature and Audiotopie, this system is an artistic medium that express a renewed possibility to connect the body and the soil, as an environmental approach."

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website: soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Best Natural Sound Winner 🏆

Jocelyn Robert - Crépuscule automnal à l'étang du Ravoir (Automn Nightfall at Ravoir's Pond)

Jocelyn: "At the crossroads of day and night, diurnal birds meet nocturnal animals for a precious hour. Thus the black-crowned night herons, doves, ducks meet the roar of the deer, the fleeting bats and the tawny owl, in a unique and precious soundscape in the heart of the forest of Orléans, the biggest forest in France."

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website: soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Disappearing Sound Winner 🏆

Yoichi Kamimura - Ryuhyo

Yoichi: " The recording work "Ryuhyo" is the sound of drift ice recorded in Utoro, Shiretoko in March 2022. Every winter, a mixture of seawater and freshwater freezes in the Russian Sea and becomes drift ice, which gradually drifts to Shiretoko. In this recording, the sound of the ice floes can be heard rumbling wildly. This is due to the fact that the decrease in the amount of drift ice has created many gaps in the Sea of Okhotsk, which used to be completely covered with drift ice, and the drift ice now moves violently. The sound of ice floes that sounds very strong is actually the appearance of ice floes that have become very weak."

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website: soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Best Imagined Sound Winner 🏆

CLIP - Sound and Music: Imaginary Sounds

CLIP: "This submission was part of an idea based sound workshop for young people aged 12-14. We asked the young people to think about fantastic and imaginary sounds or "a sound that does not exist". Sounds that exist in your imagination rather than sound heard through your ears. They used words, sketches and poetry to express and explore these ideas of sound. CLIP is an award winning social enterprise that empowers young people to take creative risks and get curious with sound. Our educational music workshops support young people to explore music in supportive and encouraging environments, boosting self-confidence, improving wellbeing and learning new skills."

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website: soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Composed with Sound Winner 🏆

Gardika Gigih Pradipta - Mimpi Owa (a duet with Javanese Gibbons)

Gardika: "This composition is my collaboration with the Javanese Gibbons in Petungkriyono Forest, Central Java, Indonesia as a reflection on the relationship between nature and us in current climate crisis. In August last year, I and friends from Tanijiwo and Musik Sekitar visited the SwaraOwa researcher community in Petungkriyono. We were lucky to meet a group of Javanese gibbons calling to each others. I recorded this magical sounds with a handy recorder
Later, I composed this music, elaborated the soundscape recording of Javanese gibbons, eagles, cicadas and other forest sounds with Sundanese zhiter and basing pacing, a traditional reed instrument from Sulawesi.

Listen to and find out more about the winning entries on our website: soundoftheyearawards.com/2022

11/05/2023

Listen back to Matthew Herbert on BBC Radio 4's PM programme, discussing this year's Sound of the Year Awards and tonight's British Library event, alongside talking us through some of his favourite shortlisted recordings by Pablo Diserens, Anton Stuk, and Manja Ristić.

Final tickets are available here: www.bl.uk/events/sound-of-the-year

10/05/2023

The School of Noise will be joining us for our Evening of Sound tomorrow at The British Library! They will be stationed at the bar area before and after the main event, offering a selection of musical and scientific equipment for the audience to play with, including a lithophone and a Chladni plate.

Don't miss out, book now: https://buff.ly/44T3g66

10/05/2023

Tune into BBC Radio 4's PM show this evening, between 5-6 pm, to hear Matthew Herbert talk to Evan Davis about this year's Sound of the Year Awards, as well as our Evening of Sound event at The British Library, which will take place tomorrow evening (May 11th) at 7 pm.

Tune in live: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_fourfm

Buy event tickets here: www.bl.uk/events/sound-of-the-year

10/05/2023

Join Matthew Herbert and Naomi Paxton tomorrow for an evening of sound at The British Library's Pigott Theatre on Thursday, 11th May, at 7 pm.

They will be joined by special guests Matmos (via video), Tony Gayle (RSC’s My Neighbour Totoro), Alannah Chance (BBC Radio 4) to discuss and celebrate the most compelling sounds of the year.

The event includes guest talks by SOTYA judges and partners Christian Ching (Ecologist, Natural History Museum, London), David Greenberg (UK Hearing Conservation), and Will René (National Poetry Library).

The night will conclude with a unique live performance by award-winning audio artist and poet Axel Kacoutié, bringing the shortlisted submissions to life.

Book your tickets now at: bl.uk/events/sound-of-the-year

Join the Sound of the Year Awards for a special evening announcing this edition’s winners and celebrating 2022’s most significant and enticing sounds. Along with the judges, help decide the overall winner of the awards.

09/05/2023

Exciting news! Matmos will join us for The British Library event this Thursday, where they will be in conversation with Matthew Herbert via video call.

As respected innovators in the electronic music and sampling scene, Matmos are known for their boundary-pushing approach to music creation. From liposuction surgery to snails interrupting the path of a laser, they make music out of a wildly eclectic mix of objects and sources. This is a rare opportunity to hear from true pioneers of sampling culture.

Don't miss out - book your tickets here: https://buff.ly/3p7e3ch