The electronic artist (real name Harley Streten) continues to dominate the domestic music scene, also claiming Dance Work of the Year and Most Played Australian Work for “Never Be Like You” at the Sydney event.

The Sydney-born artist was not present to collect his gongs but revealed via video link from South America he wasn’t sure about the hit song when he first started working on it.

“We actually started this in a writing camp in New York; at first we weren’t really feeling it but we went out and got some dinner and drinks and when we came back we had a fresh perspective,” he said.

As he picked up his Songwriter of the Year Award he also thanked the songwriting community for recognising electronic music like his that wasn’t written on traditional instruments.

The prestigious Song of the Year award went to Oliver Perry, who goes by the stage name DD Dumbo, for his track “Satan”.

Just last year, DD Dumbo released his debut album Utopia Defeated to critical acclaim.

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The Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year award was given to Perth’s Troye Sivan, who has grown from a YouTube star to a respected songwriter. His first album, Blue Neighbourhood, was released in 2015 and went on to become one of the most streamed albums in Australia.

Sia, who has won several APRA Awards in the past including Songwriter of the Year, was awarded Pop Work of the Year for her song “Cheap Thrills”. It was her eighth APRA Award.

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Aussie artists performed songs by their peers with a particularly rousing rendition of Archie Roach’s “Took the Children Away” by Paul Kelly and AB Original, with Dan Sultan.

Roach was the recipient of the 2017 Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music, as presented to him by journalist Stan Grant.

“It’s been a long journey and a hard road to get here tonight but I’d do it all again because that’s what makes life so beautiful, life so special, is the things you go through to get to where you want to be. It makes it all worthwhile,” Roach said.

As announced last week, Adelaide live music venue The Governor Hindmarsh (The Gov) won the inaugural award for the APRA AMCOS Licensee of the Year.

Julia Zemiro hosted the night at Sydney’s new International Convention Centre with other performances including Tkay Maidza, Busby Marou and Kate Miller-Heidke, who performed Tim Minchin’s politically charged song “Come Home (Cardinal Pell)”.

APRA MUSIC AWARD WINNERS 2017:

Song of the Year – “Satan”, DD Dumbo

Songwriter of the Year – Flume (Harley Streten)

Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year -Troye Sivan

Overseas Recognition Award – Sam Dixon

Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music – Archie Roach

Licensee of the Year Award – The Gov, aka The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, Adelaide

Most Played Australian Work – “Never Be Like You”, Flume feat. Kai

Most Played Australian Work Overseas – “Riptide”, Vance Joy

International Work of the Year – “Hello”, Adele

Country Work of the Year – “Greatest Companion”, Aleyce Simmonds

Blues & Roots Work of the Year – “The Pain”, Robbie Miller

Dance Work of the Year – “Never Be Like You”, Flume feat. Kai

Rock Work of the Year- “I’d Go With You Anywhere”, Birds of Tokyo

Pop Work of the Year – “Cheap Thrills”, Sia

Urban Work of the Year – “Papercuts”, Illy feat. Vera Blue

-AAP