Flume and The Avalanches lead the nominations in the ARIA Awards no one gets to see

THEY are the ARIA awards you never get to see televised. But there are some big names up for the Artisan and Fine Arts categories.

The Avalanches have opened their account early with Producer, Engineer and Cover Art nominations. Picture: Supplied.

THE first round of ARIA Awards nominations offer a crystal ball look at the acts who would be wise to start writing a decent acceptance speech for the November ceremony.

It is looking like electronic prince Flume will be up against comeback kings The Avalanches for the lion’s share of the dangerously pointed trophies, with pop prodigy Troye Sivan also guaranteed to figure prominently when the big categories are announced on Wednesday.

ARIA gave the industry a sneak peak at the frontrunners for the 2016 black carpet shuffle by revealing the Artisan Awards nominees.

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker won both Producer and Engineer of the Year last year and his band went on to pick up Album and Group of the Year.

Troye Sivan’s producer Alex Hope has scored two nominations for the ARIA Awards. Picture: David Becker/Getty Images.

The Skin album from Flume, aka Harley Streten, and the Avalanches’ 16-years-in-the-making comeback record Wildflower scored nods for Producer and Engineer of the Year as well as Best Cover Art.

Also featured in both categories are one of Australia’s most consistent hitmakers M-Phazes for his work on the Illy and Vera Blue hit Papercuts and 22-year-old producer and composer Alex Hope for her sonic architecture on Sivan’s breakthrough debut album Blue Neighbourhood.

The awards organisers also revealed the nominees for the Fine Arts categories which were peppered with big names and one head-scratching inconsistency.

Why is the Flight Facilities and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra collaboration nominated in Best Classical recording while Josh Pyke’s concert with the Sydney Symphony (Live At The Sydney Opera House) is short-listed for Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album?

How classical are electronic duo Flight Facilities? Picture: Supplied.

The record label gets to choose the category, so maybe Future Classic thought Flight Facilities have a better shot of winning the classical award while ABC Music prefer the odds for Pyke contesting the Best Original Show Album.

Both artists — and their orchestras — face competition from other big names more accustomed to figuring in the Fine Arts categories, including Katie Noonan and Richard Tognetti.

The multi-faceted Kate Miller-Heidke demonstrates her genre-defying talent with a nomination in Best Cast Album for her production The Rabbits and also pops up in Best Comedy release for the catchy single I’m Growing A Beard Downstairs For Christmas (featuring The Beards).

Kate Miller-Heidke is up for two Fine Arts gongs at the 2016 ARIA Awards. Picture: Supplied.

It was a very lean year for laughs in the Australian record industry, with only four eligible recordings for Best Comedy Release entered in the nominations.

Perhaps YouTube has killed the comedy star when it comes to immortalising their talents on an MP3.

The full list of nominees for the 2016 ARIA Awards will be unveiled on Wednesday morning with the ceremony held at The Star, Sydney on November 23.

The Artisan and Fine Arts nominees are:

Producer Of The Year

Harley Streten for Flume — Skin

M-Phazes for Illy — Papercuts (ft. Vera Blue)

Tony Buchen for Montaigne — Glorious Heights

Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi for The Avalanches — Wildflower

Alex Hope for Troye Sivan — Blue Neighbourhood

Engineer Of The Year

Nick DiDia for Bernard Fanning — Civil Dusk

Eric J Dubowsky and Harley Streten for Flume — Skin

M-Phazes for Illy — ‘Papercuts (ft. Vera Blue)

Tony Espie and Robbie Chater for The Avalanches — Wildflower

Alex Hope for Troye Sivan — Blue Neighbourhood

Best Cover Art

Karen Lynch for Bernard Fanning — Civil Dusk

Kristen Doyle for Delta Goodrem — Wings of the Wild

Jonathan Zawada for Flume — Skin

Jack Vanzet for RÜFÜS — Bloom

Robbie Chater for Lost Art for The Avalanches — Wildflower

Best Classical Album

Flight Facilities — Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Joe Chindamo & Zoe Black — The New Goldberg Variations

Katie Noonan & Brodsky Quartet — With Love And Fury

Nicole Car — The Kiss

Richard Tognetti | Australian Chamber Orchestra — Mozart’s Last Symphonies

Best Jazz Album

Don Burrows & James Morrison — In Good Company

Emma Pask — Cosita Divina

Stu Hunter — The Migration

The Idea of North — Ballads

Vince Jones & Paul Grabowsky — Provenance

Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album

Josh Pyke & The Sydney Symphony Orchestra — Live at the Sydney Opera House

Kate Miller-Heidke — The Rabbits (Original Live Cast Recording)

Queensland Symphony Orchestra — Gallipoli Symphony

Various Artists — The Divorce (Original Cast Recording)

Various Artists — Velvet: The Original Cast Recording

Best World Music Album

Gawurra — Ratja Yaliyali

Joseph Tawadros — World Music

Melbourne Ska Orchestra — Sierra Kilo Alpha

Paul Grabowsky | Monash Art Ensemble | David Ngukurr Boy Wilfred | David Yipininy Wilfred — Nyilipidgi

Seaman Dan — An Old Man Of The Sea

Best Comedy Release

Kate Miller-Heidke — I’m Growing A Beard Downstairs For Christmas (feat. The Beards)

Luke Heggie — You’re Not Special/Anythink is Possible

Matt & Alex — Play It Out

Roy & HG — This Sporting Life