SXSW

Kao=S Mixes Traditional & Modern Japan To Make Music & Visual Art

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:43:15 +0000

Tokyo-based Kao=S (pronounced 'kaus' - like house) mixes modern acoustic rock guitar riffs with the tsugaru syamisen - a traditional Japanese string instrument - accompanied by the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) and Japanese sword performance.

The band is made up of Kaori (vocal/sword performance), Shuji (guitar/vocal), Jack (tsugaru syamisen and Daisuke (shakuhachi).

"Me and Jack played together in a different [group] and I met Shuji [when] I went to Shuji's live show and I talked to him [and said], 'Let's play together,'" Kaori said.

Japan's Shugo Tokumaru Is In Control And 'In Focus'

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:02:19 +0000

For his latest album, "In Focus?," Shugo Tokumaru maintained complete control over the creative process and played all the instruments on the recorded disk. In order to perform live, however, he needed some help, and had his band to back him up.

While the band delivered the songs with energy, complete with the subtle textural nuances that give Shugo's songs a little something special, he was visibly focused on the other two musicians during their performance the afternoon of March 14.

SXSW 2013 Review: "The Other Shore"

James Baker — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 06:02:57 +0000

Diana Nyad is an athlete obsessed, but what's so unusual about that? Athletes are supposed to be obsessed. But to say Diana Nyad is a woman obsessed, now that's what makes her story so compelling, even worthy of a movie. And that movie was recently given several special screenings at SXSW.

Marianne Dissard's Latest, 'The Cat, Not Me,' A "Strange Album"

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:44:34 +0000

Marianne Dissard is an artist in every sense of the word.

She is a filmmaker, a poet, a singer, and not a single word or movement is wasted. When she plays live, all these elements combine on stage to deliver a story of depression, exhaustion, frustration, intrigue and joy.

The Tucson Music Factory showcase on March 12 at SXSW was the debut of her live collaboration with Budo, a Seattle-based producer and multi-instrumentalist who is known more for his work in Hip Hop circles than World Music.

Award-Winning Documentary Takes A Punk Rock Look At Intellectual Disabilities

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:50:53 +0000

Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (Pertti Kurikka's Name Day), a punk band from Finland, is the subject of the documentary "The Punk Syndrome," which won the SXGlobal Audience Award at this year's SXSW Film Festival.

The documentary provides a sincere and honest look at the lives of the four band members, who are all adults living with varying degrees of ~~mental~~ intellectual disabilities.

The band is made up of Pertti Kurikka (guitar), Kari Aalito (vocals), Sami Helle (bass) and Toni Välitalo (drums).

The Drifting, Laid-Back Sway Of Bordeaux's Alba Lua

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:21:05 +0000

Clément, the lead singer of Paris-based French band Alba Lua, still calls Bordeaux his hometown and loves to talk about life in southwest France. Though they are proudly French, the name of the band is actually a mixture of Spanish and Portugese.

"Alba is the dawn (in Spanish), and Lua is the moon in Portugese... I like the association of the two words and sometimes you can see the moon in the daylight and it has always been beautiful to me."

The Meteoric One-Year Rise Of Iceland's Asgeir Trausti

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:25:35 +0000

Iceland's Ásgeir Trausti has taken the music charts in his native country by storm since his debut album, "Dyrd I Daudathogn," came out in September of last year. The presale of his album broke records on Icelandicmusic.com, reached gold sales in six weeks and has since gone platinum.

While some of the musical backing in his songs may sound familiar, the vocal stylings in his native Icelandic make the vocal feel more like a participating instrument than a means to deliver the lyrics.

An Independent Musical Voice From Chile: Diego Peralta

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:07:50 +0000

With undisputable pop leanings and an ear for a sweet vocal melody, Diego Peralta is one of the leading independent voices on the Chilean music scene in his hometown of Valparaiso.

Diego was one of only a few musicians representing Chile at this year's South By Southwest Music Festival (SXSW), and this was his first time in the United States.

Lisa LeBlanc And Her French-Canadian "Folk Trash"

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:08:21 +0000

Lisa LeBlanc's musical idols are from the world of classic rock and metal. They're big rock stars with charisma, many of them men. Her approach to folk music is bold and confrontational, a style that she has deemed "folk trash."

Look & Listen: World Music At SXSW 2013

Chris Eudaily and Deirdre Saravia — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:36:19 +0000

With so many music groups in Austin for SXSW it is easy for any of them to get drowned out by all the noise, but luckily for World Music artists, their foreign musical stylings give them a uniqueness that audiences tend to stop and pay attention to.

The language barrier doesn't seem to matter

Many world groups sing in English in order to tap into the English-speaking market, but there is still a healthy demand for music sung in foreign languages.