Flowdan makes history as the first UK MC to win a GRAMMY Award

Flowdan and Fred again.. have picked up their first-ever GRAMMY Award, alongside Skrillex, for their collaborative 2023 single ‘Rumble’.

The trio bagged the award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording with ‘Rumble’, which came up against recent tracks from James Blake, Romy, Aphex Twin, and Disclosure. Watch Skrillex’s acceptance speech below.

Alongside Fred again.., Skrillex, and Flowdan, the GRAMMYs also gave credit to Jamaican-American rapper BEAM (whose lyrics were pulled from Skrillex’s track ‘Selecta’), and the often uncredited vocals of US singer Elley Duhé.

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The win makes history as the first time a UK MC has ever recieved a GRAMMY Award.

“The first thing I wanna say for anybody young out there who wants to make music or is an artist: the best advice I ever got was that success is something you attract, not something that you try to chase or catch,” Skrillex said during his acceptance speech at the 66th GRAMMY Awards.

“For all the young people out here, I know the world is crazy right now. I really hope we can start listening to each other,” he added, giving thanks for the award and his “best friends”, Fred again.. and Flowdan.

It marks the first time either Fred again.. or Flowdan’s have picked up a GRAMMY, and Skrillex’s ninth. Before this year’s award ceremony, Skrillex had bagged eight awards for solo and collaborative efforts, including his first award for Best New Artist in 2012.

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‘Rumble’ came into contention for an award alongside other nominations including Aphex Twin’s 'Blackbox Life Recorder 21f’, Disclosure’s ‘Higher Than Ever Before’, James Blake’s ‘Loading’, and a second track from Fred again.. in collaboration with Romy, ‘Strong’.

Elsewhere, Fred again.. was also nominated for Best New Artist, and won the award for Best Dance/Electronic Album for his 2022 record ‘Actual Life 3 (January 1 - September 9 2022)’ against Skrillex’s ‘Quest For Fire’, and other records from James Blake, Kx5, and The Chemical Brothers.

Check out the full list of GRAMMYs winners here, and listen back to Fred again.., Skrillex, and Flowdan’s track ‘Rumble’ which appeared in our top dancefloor hits of 2023.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter