I’ve been meaning to do a write up of my time at SXSW since I got back but alas, I am lazy. Or rather, I have been in a lull up until this fine morning.
I remember years back seeing a YouTube video of Laura Marling performing at SXSW. It was outside, it was sunny and I remember at that given moment, knowing that I wanted to find myself on those streets listening to music one day.
Young adolescent dreamy thoughts.
I try not to dream anymore. Instead, I do. So when I found myself committing my Friday evenings to watching music documentaries on BBC 4 in 2013, documentaries about the Birth Of Blues and Jazz and Muscle Shoals, well, I just had to see America. And I did. And I’ve been back every year since. I usually go over in October for Halloween as it appeals to my inner gothic tendencies. However, this year, I ventured over last month to have my first experience of South by…
It was such a sweet week, if not a little overwhelming. My friend and I had a long drive in from New Orleans [well, he had a long drive, I was just coasting along]. As soon as we hit Austin, we split to see our desired musicians. I saw Alex G at Cheer Ups. A year or two ago, I stumbled across his album on one of the listening pillars at Rough Trade East. There was something about his lo-fi, bedroom-produced sound that I liked so I bought the CD. Since, I have questioned whether I liked him or not but seeing him live swayed me towards the former. I have never seen someone play a guitar in the way he does. And no, that isn’t written in a complementary tone. It was a consistent back and forth, which I believed to be a nervous rocking. Upon speaking to a girl in the crowd [who came to be a proper babe, Grace, that I spent alot of my SXSW time with], she told me that apparently he moves in that way to get a desired vocal. Still not sure if I’m convinced.
Other bands that I was keen to catch were Lily and Madeleine and Whitney. I saw Lily and Madeleine at St Pancras Church in 2014. Their harmonies are second to none. SXSW was no exception. Their sound has become a bit more full and poppy since then though, with the help of a session drummer and guitarist. I told them back in 2014 and I told them this time too - “Your music makes me happy but also makes me want to cry at the same time”. They laughed before Madeleine told me ‘I looked so familiar’.
Whitney - No Woman. Oh, man. So beautiful. Maybe a little melancholy but gorgeous none-the-less. I didn’t realise how many musicians made up the band. They were hungover but still charming. The vocalist’s falsetto crackled in places but it didn’t stop them being a dream. Country, folk with brass injections - ah, I am like putty in your hands, Whitney. I’m sorry that I will not be in town when they play in June. But anyone who is in town would be silly not to go.
In between seeing the artist's showcases, I went along to a Covers & Remixes & Customs: All You Need To Know talk at Austin Convention Centre. Sally House, the owner of The Hit House, a music and sound design company that we rep here in the U.K, was on the panel so it was really great to go along and hear her and her fellow speakers have a discussion on the pros and cons of covers, remixes and custom tracks and the time and creativity it takes to create music for trailers. As we primarily make and represent library music at JW Media Music, I found it really engaging to hear about a different side of the industry, why certain commercial tracks get picked for trailers and how much liaising with record labels it takes to get a placement. It was a nice little hour's break from the hustle and bustle of Downtown Austin.
I seen a few other bands over the course of three days but not as many as I had anticipated. But seeing bands and listening to music is merely a slice of SXSW. For me, meeting the people I met there, that took me into their homes and showed me kindness, that has just as much value as the music. I’ll be back in 2017, y’all.
Karis. x
No comments:
Post a Comment