In a year where Australian electronic music was arguably given its best ever showing in the nomination stakes, the results at the 2008 ARIA Awards were even better than anyone could have expected. In spite of some stiff competition from teenage popstar Gabriella Cilmi, our beloved The Presets dominated in the end with a scoop that saw them take home several of the evening’s most prestigious awards, including ‘Best Group’, ‘Best Dance Release’ and ‘Album of the Year’. Wow!

The Presets also snatched some of the more low-key awards of the evening, including the ‘Best Video’ and ‘Producer of the Year’ award as well as designer Jonathan Zawada getting the nod for ‘Best Cover Art’ for his work on Apocalypso. Looking over at Australian hip hop, the competition was tight this year with The Herd, Muph & Plutonic, Katalyst, A-Love and Spit Syndicate all vying for attention. In the end it was Sydney act Bliss n Eso who were recognised for their acclaimed Flying Colours.

The ARIA Awards have been the source of some memorably live showings in the past, and on Sunday night the Sydney duo of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes were also responsible for the ceremony’s most electric performance. They delivered a typically high-energy rendition of their anthem My People, complete with over-the-top theatrics, a handful of mysterious Zebra dancers and a whole lotta lasers. Bless. It wasn’t all neon sunshine though – The Presets lost out to Gabriella Cilmi with the ‘Best Single Of The Year’ award, with the 17 year old Melbourne lass going on to collect all six awards she was nominated for. But The Presets drove it home where it mattered with their sizable award haul, and secured their status as Australia’s biggest band – for the dance music scene, and beyond.

ITM had an inside man at the ARIA Awards, so stay tuned for the first-hand account from Tim Hardaker. In the meantime, check out our 2008 ARIA Awards Preview to see who was in the running for the prestigious pointy statues!