Wolf Alice, FKA twigs winners at AIM

Wolf Alice, Young Fathers, Jungle and FKA twigs amongst winners at independent music's most prestigious event.

The Association of Independent Music celebrated another triumphant year for independent music as it unveiled the winners at the fifth annual AIM Independent Music Awards.

Hosted by XFM's long term champion of new music John Kennedy and BBC Radio 1's Alice Levine, the AIM Awards is now established as the premiere event in the independent sector's diary. The celebrations were marked by live performances this year from Alvvays, who opened the show and continued the party when their label Transgressive Records picked up the coveted Independent Label of The Year award.

The ceremony was brought to a riotous close by rising grime star Stormzy. A genre very much on the agenda, with MC, producer, songwriter, DJ, and rapper Skepta honoured with the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award. The Tottenham-raised Londoner behind the Boy Better Know collective and one of the grim e scene's most active and forward thinking voices was rightly celebrated for a career spanning over 10 years.

Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis arrived to present Enter Shikari with Independent Album of The Year for their fourth album 'The Mindsweep' while Noel Gallagher took to the stage to hand Jungle the PPL Award for Most Played New Independent Act.

The unmissable emergence of Wolf Alice was recognised with the Independent Breakthrough of the Year award, just as Young Fathers celebrated their continued success, picking up Best 'Difficult' Second Album for 'White Men Are Black Men Too'. All Time Low collected Best Live Act, Swans were honoured with the coveted Hardest Working Band or Artist Award. Independent Track of The Year went to FKA twigs for 'Two Weeks' while Flying Lotus saw his audio-visual prowess recognised with Independent Video of The Year for 'Never Catch Me.'

The volunteer-led Brainchild Festival picked up the Golden Welly Award for Best Independent Festival for their three day event in East Sussex, Erased Tapes Records were championed for over eight years work with Best Small Label and Numero Group's Cities of Darkscorch Boardgame picked up Special Catalogue Release of the Year, the label's second time triumphing in this category.

Long serving music critic, musician and radio DJ, BBC 6 Music's Marc Riley took home the well-deserved Indie Champion prize, while founder of Earache Records and legendary pioneer of extreme metal and modern day blues rock Digby Pearson, took home the Pioneer Award with over 25 years of visionary work to his name.

As previously announced, Ninja Tune founders Matt Black and Jonathan More (aka Coldcut) and label manager Peter Quicke collected the Innovator Award. Presented by Roots Manuva, the trio celebrated over 25 years of visionary work, solidifying their reputation as one of the most credible independent labels in the world.

AIM INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS:

Best Small Label (in association with Disc Manufacturing Services): Erased Tape Records
Best Difficult Second Album (in association with XFM): Young Fathers - 'White Men Are Black Men Too'
Special Catalogue Release of the Year (in association with Amazon Music): Cities of Darkscorch Boardgame
Hardest Working Band or Artist: Swans
Golden Welly Award for Best Independent Festival (in association with AIF, voted for by readers of DIY): Brainchild Festival
Independent Breakthrough of the Year: Wolf Alice
Indie Champion (in association with CI): Marc Riley, BBC 6 Music
Independent Video of the Year (in association with Vevo): Flying Lotus - 'Never Catch Me'
Best Live Act (in association with Jack Daniel's, voted for by visitors to Songkick): All Time Low
Independent Track of the Year (in association with Spotify): FKA Twigs - 'Two Weeks'
PPL Award for Most Played New Independent Act: Jungle
Independent Album of the Year (in association with dotFans): Enter Shikari - 'The Mindsweep'
Independent Label of the Year (in association with Believe Digital): Transgressive Records
Pioneer Award (in association with The Orchard): Digby Pearson, Earache Records
Innovator Award (in association with Promostream) Peter Quicke, Matt Black and Jonathan More of Ninja Tune
Outstanding Contribution to Music (in association with Merlin) Skepta