UK Music Video Awards 2015 Announce Nominations

Florence + The Machine, Ed Sheeran, Naughty Boy, Royal Blood, The Chemical Brothers, alt-j, FKA twigs and Years & Years are among the British acts who pick up multiple nominations in this year’s UK Music Video Awards, the annual celebration of creative and technical excellence in music video making around the world which takes place at the Roundhouse in London on Thursday November 5^th.

Warp’s visionary artist Flying Lotus leads the charge as the most nominated act, picking up a total of 5 nominations including a nod in the new Best Artist category. He will go head-to-head for the award – designed to recognise an artist for an outstanding body of music videos over the past year – with alt-j, Ed Sheeran, Florence + The Machine, Kendrick Lamar and Years & Years.

The most nominated videos at this year’s UKMVAs include U2’s ‘Every Breaking Wave’, an epic love story set in the Troubles in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, directed by Aoife McArdle; The Chemical Brothers’ ‘Sometimes I Feel So Deserted’, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller directed by Ninian Doff; Royal Blood’s ‘Out Of The Black’, a comic gorefest of live action and animation, directed by David Wilson and Christy Karacas; and Naughty Boy ft Beyoncé and Arrow Benjamin for ‘Runnin’ (Lose It All)’, an undersea love story, shot near Tahiti, directed by Charlie Robins.

Creativity and invention abound in the shortlist which sees Ed Sheeran transformed into a ballroom dancer in ‘Thinking Out Loud’, OK Go choreographing hundreds of Japanese schoolkids in ‘I Won’t Let You Down’, Darwin Deez transformed into a character in a video game in ‘Kill Your Attitude’, Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson appearing as a disembodied CG head in ‘Head and Shoulders’, and perennial music video naysayer Noel Gallagher even making the list for a hilariously downbeat performance in ‘Ballad of the Mighty I’.

The MVA shortlists also reveal a host of ‘event’ videos from celebrated directing talent that have marked out the past 12 months including Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ directed by Joseph Kahn (who won the MVAs’ Icon Award last year), Rihanna’s ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ by previous Best Director winners Megaforce and Florence + The Machine’s ‘Queen of Peace’ and ‘What Kind of Man’ by Vincent Haycock.

Some exciting new artists also make headway in this year’s nominations with Years & Years, Gabrielle Aplin, The Coronas, George The Poet and Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers all picking up their first nods at the Awards this year. In addition to Flying Lotus, other international artists with multiple nominations include Kendrick Lamar, Run The Jewels and Tiga.

This year’s UK Music Video Awards ceremony will be staged for the first time at the legendary Roundhouse venue, and organisers have today announced two other music video-focused events the same week, in the build-up to the UKMVAs. Firstly, on November 3^rd, BUG, BFI Southbank’s long-running music video showcase hosted by Adam Buxton will hold a special show celebrating The Beatles’ pioneering promotional films and formative music videos, now beautifully restored. Then the following day, on November 4^th,  MusicVidFest, the one day conference on the business of music video creativity will return to BFI Southbank providing professionals within the industry – and those hoping to break into it – with a platform to discuss the issues and advances driving music video production here and abroad, ahead of the celebrations the following evening.

It’s been a strong year for Island Records in terms of nominations, thanks chiefly to Florence + The Machine and U2, closely followed by Virgin EMI whose nominated artists include The Chemical Brothers, Naughty Boy, Bastille, Slaves and Krept & Konan. Meanwhile the strongest representation from the independent labels comes in the shape of Warp, thanks to Flying Lotus, Infectious for alt-j and Leftfield, while XL Recordings scores multiple nods for FKA twigs, and Because pick up two nominations for Air musician, Nicolas Godin.

As well as honouring the best work in music videos, there are also awards at the UKMVAs for other music films, including a new award for Best Music Documentary, which sees filmmakers tackling subjects as diverse as the birth of the grime scene in the UK, the impact of the 808 drum machine, the emergence of Hip Hop in the Holy Land, and the return of the Backstreet Boys. In the Best Live Music Coverage category, live shows for Aerosmith, Jay Z and Beyoncé and Lenny Kravitz compete against more intimate performances by Mumford & Sons, Gabrielle Aplin and Wolf Alice.

The UK Music Video Awards editorial director, David Knight, says, “Since 2008, the UK Music Video Awards has celebrated music videos as a form of creative expression, as entertainment, as an effective way to bring music to the world. We’re honouring the creativity and technical skill of the people who make them – from directors to editors, artists to animators. This year the quality of entries across over 30 categories has been so strong that the task of coming up with the list of nominations has been more difficult than ever.

“But ultimately the nominations reflect the extraordinary extent of talent and craft that’s been applied to the making of music videos in Britain and around the world. And of course, when the UKMVAs 2015 comes to the Roundhouse on the 5^th November, there will be fireworks.”

Here is the full list of nominations:

Gabrielle Aplin – Sweet Nothing

George Ezra – Listen To The Man

Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk

Naughty Boy ft Beyoncé & Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose It All)

Sam Smith – Lay Me Down

Years & Years – King

DATA ft Benny Sings – Don’t Sing

OK Go – I Won’t Let You Down

Rihanna – Bitch Better Have My Money

Roy Kafri – Mayokero

Sia – Elastic Heart

Taylor Swift – Bad Blood

ALB – The Road

Aquilo – Losing You

Cais Sodré Funk Connection – Offbeat

Honne – Coastal Love

The Coronas – Just Like That

Zak Abel & Joker – Wise Enough

Bastille vs Grades – Torn Apart

Florence + The Machine – Queen of Peace

Florence + The Machine – What Kind of Man

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Ballad of The Mighty I

Royal Blood – Out of The Black

Slaves – Cheer Up London

Cold Mailman – Something You Do

Darwin Deez – Kill Your Attitud

Death From Above 1979 – Virgins

Joywave – Somebody New

Tame Impala – Let It Happen

U2 – Every Breaking Wave

BRO – Less Than Three

Eaves – Pylons

Electric Youth – Runaway

Naïve New Beaters – Run Away

Oscar – Daffodil Days

Stealing Sheep – Deadlock

Clark – To Live and Die in Grantham

Fono – Real Joy

Grades – King

Hot Chip – Need You Now

Leftfield & Sleaford Mods – Head and Shoulders

The Chemical Brothers – Sometimes I Feel So Deserted

Hook N Sling ft Far East Movement – Break Yourself

Paul Kalkbrenner – Feed Your Head

Skrillex – Doompy Poomp

Tchami – Promesses

Ten Walls – Walking With Elephants

Tiga – Bugatti

Delta Heavy – Ghost

Gwilym Gold – Triumph

Little Boots – Taste It

Lorn – Acid Rain

Rone ft François Marry – Quitter La Ville

Sinkane – How We Be

alt-j – Pusher

alt-j – Every Other Freckle

FKA twigs – Pendulum

Glass Animals – Hazey

Philip Selway – Coming Up For Air

The Staves – Black & White

Black Atlass – Jewels

Brodinski ft SD – Can’t Help Myself

Chet Faker – Gold

Flying Lotus – Coronus, The Terminator

Flying Lotus ft Kendrick Lamar – Never Catch Me

Nicolas Godin – Widerstehe Doch Der Sünde

AE – Dreamers

Ariel Pink – Dazed Inn Daydreams

Bruce Smear – Pick and Roll

Dralms – Crushed Pleats

Son Lux – Change Is Everything

Young Fathers – Shame

Dizzee Rascal – Couple of Stacks

Dizzee Rascal – Pagans

George the Poet – 1, 2, 1, 2

Krept & Konan ft Jeremih – Freak of the Week

Rag n Bone Man ft Vince Staples – Hell Yeah

Raleigh Ritchie – Bloodsport ’15 Pt 2

Childish Gambino – Sober

Kendrick Lamar – Alright

Run The Jewels ft Zack de la Rocha – Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)

SonReal – For The Town

Stromae – Carmen

Vince Staples ft Future & Snoh Aalegra – Señorita

A$AP Rocky – Chevy

Dels – Burning Beaches

Findlay – Electric Bones

Hervé ft Knytro – Money Where Your Mouth Is

Run The Jewels – Lie, Cheat, Steal

Stig Of The Dump ft Jehst – Kubrick

Fur Voice – Fantasía

Little Boots – Taste It

Snoop Dogg – So Many Pros

Take That – These Days

Tiga – Bugatti

U2 – Every Breaking Wave

FKA twigs – Glass & Patron

Rihanna – Bitch Better Have My Money

Róisín Murphy – Evil Eyes

Snoop Dogg – So Many Pros

Taylor Swift – Bad Blood

Tiga – Bugatti

Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud

FKA twigs – Glass & Patron

Flying Lotus ft Kendrick Lamar – Never Catch Me

Gwilym Gold – Triumph

OK Go – I Won’t Let You Down

Sia – Elastic Heart

Flying Lotus – Coronus, The Terminator

Kendrick Lamar – Alright

Naughty Boy ft Beyoncé & Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose It All)

Nicolas Godin – Widerstehe Doch Der Sünde

Sam Smith – Lay Me Down

U2 – Every Breaking Wave

Benjamin Booker – The Future Is Slow

FKA twigs – M3LL155X

Lapalux ft Andreya Triana – Puzzle

Naughty Boy ft Beyoncé & Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose It All)

Rudimental – Never Let You Go

The Chemical Brothers – Sometimes I Feel So Deserted

Bruce Smear – Pick and Roll

DATA ft Benny Sings – Don’t Sing

Royal Blood – Out Of The Black

The Chemical Brothers – Sometimes I Feel So Deserted

Tiga – Bugatti

U2 – Every Breaking Wave

Hugo ‘Beats’ Chegwin & Fred Berry – Amaro & Walden’s Joyride

Leftfield & Sleaford Mods – Head And Shoulders

Panda Bear – Boys Latin

Royal Blood – Out Of The Black

Son Lux – Change Is Everything

Stromae – Carmen

Black Atlass – Jewels

Darwin Deez – Kill Your Attitude

Fur Voice – Fantasía

Maestro – Darlin’ Celsa

Roy Kafri – Mayokero

The Bug – Function/Void

Aerosmith Rocks Donington  2014

Gabrielle Aplin at Wilton’s Music Hall

Jay Z & Beyoncé – On The Run Tour

Lenny Kravitz – Just Let Go

Mumford & Sons – The Hospital Live Sessions

Wolf Alice – Vevo Lift UK

808 – The Documentary

Backstreet Boys – Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of

Dazed x Channel 4 – Music Nation Open Mic

Noisey Israel Palestine – Hip Hop in the Holy Land

The Redemption of the Devil

The Wrecking Crew

Cee Lo Green – Robin Williams

Newham Generals ft Wiley – Scars

Rolling Stones – Wild Horses

Run The Jewels – Early

The Shoes – Feed The Ghost

To Kill A King – Love Is Coal

Cee Lo Green – Robin Williams

Coldplay – Ink

Foals – Moutain At My Gate

Steye & The Bizonkid – What Do We Care 4

The Geek x vrv – Waves

Years & Years – Shine, Channel 4 Takeover

Caroline Clayton

Dan Curwin

James Hackett

Jane Third

John Moule

Sam Seager

Amber Millington

Corin Taylor

Jason Colon/Danielle Hinde

Jess Bell

Sarah Boardman

Sarah Tognazzi

alt-j

Ed Sheeran

Florence + The Machine

Flying Lotus

Kendrick Lamar

Years & Years

Dexter Navy

Eoin Glaister

Fred Rowson

Helmi

Nelson de Castro

Zack Spiger

Colin Tilley

David Wilson

Fleur & Manu

Ian Pons Jewell

Ninian Doff

Vincent Haycock