It's probably fair to say that for any Australian artists, one of the most-desired accolades one could take home is the SoundMerch Australian Music Prize.

Having been held annually since 2005, the AMP is described as Australia's richest music prize, with a team of judges listening to myriad local releases, before ultimately whittling down the year's best records to a shortlist, and then just one winner.

It's a prize which boasts an admirable pantheon of prior winners: The Drones, Genesis Owusu, King Stingray, and even two-time winner Sampa The Great. Together, their records craft a musical snapshot of greatness in the Australian music scene, soundtracking over two decades of classic releases by iconic (or soon-to-be iconic) names.

This year, the AMP welcomed Ninajirachi's I Love My Computer to its hallowed ranks, with the electronic artist's long-awaited debut album beating out a shortlist that featured records by Tropical Fuck Storm, Folk Bitch Trio, Divide And Dissolve, Bleak Squad, and more.

As Ninajirachi (born Nina Wilson) speaks to The Music a few days after her win, it's clear that she's still riding the high that comes with taking out such a prestigious award.

"I kind of had the weekend celebrating with some friends and, yeah, I'm super stoked," she says with a laugh. "I'm so grateful. It was a big surprise and I'm just overwhelmingly happy."

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Given that I Love My Computer is such an impressive and self-assured album, Nina herself wasn't particularly going into the AMP's award ceremony last week feeling confident. But at the same time, she wasn't exactly thinking the likes of fellow nominees MUDRAT and Ruby Gill were snapping at her heels either.

"It was a flattering shortlist to be a part of, and it's even a flattering long list," she explains. "I know the judges listen to hundreds of albums every year to pick one album, but I didn't have any expectations really, because the albums that were shortlisted were amazing. 

"I mean, I love the album that I made; I made my own favourite album, so I already feel like I won because I did that. I feel like I've kind of done everything I wanted already, so to win stuff like this on top of it, it means a lot."

While it's already Nina's own favourite album, it's swiftly becoming a favourite of music fans around the country and even further abroad. Currently, she's up for eight awards at next week's ARIA Awards, with I Love My Computer nominated for the coveted Album Of The Year trophy, with further nominations for Best Solo Artist, Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist, Best Independent Release, Best Produced Release, Best Engineered Release, Best Cover Art, and Best Dance/Electronic Release.

But why has it resonated with the world so much? "I didn't want to make an album until I felt like I had something really good to share that was worth people's time and I had an audience that would want to listen to it," she admits.

"I didn't really know that it would resonate this much until I started releasing the singles. After the first couple of singles, I started to feel like people were really connecting with the music. Especially after iPod Touch, which was the third single, I think that really contextualised the first two, and it was the first song that I put out from the album that was really about me and my life.

"I'm so grateful I've been able to make something that people like so much," she adds. "Even if I wasn't aiming for it, I was just trying to make my own favorite music."

Part of the appeal of I Love My Computer (at least from Nina's own perspective) also appears to be the nostalgic element that is present throughout the record. Though the idea of nostalgia for technology might almost seem paradoxical to some, it's a concept which is becoming more prevalent as the years go on.

"I think it's maybe the first time that people my age have become old enough to look back on their life and upbringing and childhood kind of retrospectively," she muses. "You can't really do that while you're in it, you're just kind of experiencing everything for the first time, and you don't know anything other than what's happening to you. 

"Likemy experiences on the internet from when I was a lot younger. I didn't know anything different because I had a computer from my first sentient memories. And now being old enough to look back on that and see it as its own kind of experience… I guess people my age have connected with the music for that reason. 

"It's kind of about a shared experience we all had, but at the time it felt so unique," she adds. "Now getting older, it's like, 'Wow, we all actually grew up that way.'"

When Nina took out the AMP last week, she issued a statement claiming she was "so proud to have produced an Australian album," adding that to "sincerely contribute to the awesome story of Australian music was one of my highest hopes." 

At its core, that's how Nina views I Love My Computer. It's not simply an album borne out of the myriad experiences of growing up in the age of information, but rather, it's one that recounts the experiences of what it was like to experience this technological growth and the start of the 21st century  from the viewpoint of Australia on the central coast.

"I really did set out to make an Australian album," she confirms. "A week before I won the award, I got a Pitchfork review that described it as 'distinctly Australian look at life online,' which I felt really cool about because when I was making the music, I was listening to so much of the Australian dance canon.

"Touring overseas has made me realise how many small experiences that seem kind of universal are actually kind of uniquely Australian. And I think there are some lyrics on the album that are uniquely from an Australian perspective. I don't think there could be an American or British song about Supré. It's just small stuff like that that I wanted to weave throughout the content of the lyrics and stuff."

The win has also left Nina feeling confident about her place within the Australian music scene as well. After all, with so many acclaimed names having previously won the AMP, does she feel worthy to have her name listed alongside the likes of The Avalanches, A.B. Original, Courtney Barnett, RVG, and more?

"I do. I think I've made a good album," she asserts. "I didn't know any of this was going to happen when I was making it; I just made this music that I really like. I never make something expecting people to listen to it, because music is kind of temporal. It's not like a painting where you can just kind of glance at it, you have to sit and give 40 minutes to an album. 

"I was so conscious of that when making it that I wanted to make sure it was an experience that was worth the time of some random person who doesn't know. If people are gonna check this out, I want it to be worth their time, and meaningful enough for them to share it with people.

"I really had a higher standard for myself when I was making it," she adds. "If I didn't win any awards for the album, I wouldn't necessarily be sad because I'm just so happy with the music and just hope I can keep making stuff to the standard."

With her AMP win in the immediate rearview, Nina now turns her focus to what's coming next. Just next week, the ARIA Awards will take place, and then a handful of Australian live shows are on the cards ahead of overseas touring in the new year – including US dates in January, an appearance at Coachella in April, and a spot on Spain's Primavera Sound line-up in June.

Right now, however, Nina is happy to keep celebrating her AMP success, to catch up with friends, and to relax before it starts up again.

"It's pretty head down right now," she explains. "I'm in Australia for the rest of the year, which is cool. I've been kind of traveling and playing shows every week since the album came out, so it's nice to just put my feet up for a bit. But yeah, we're still very much on the go – we haven't clocked off for the year yet.

"The shows start up again pretty soon and I haven't had a chance to make any new music since the album came out, just because I've been traveling almost every day since. But I really want to. I'm itching to. I had so much fun making an album.

"I used to watch interviews of some of my favorite artists talking about how the albums exhausted them or how they wouldn't be ready to make another one for a while," she adds. "But I found it so energising and inspiring. I just hope I can make a hundred more albums in my life. I don't know if I will, but it would be cool."