Sounds of South By Southwest
- Text by Adam Woodward and Bindi Kaufmann
- Photography by Courtesy of Vans
Austin, TX has long been a Mecca for live music fans, with thousands of people marking the opening of the festival season by making the annual pilgrimage to South By Southwest hoping to catch a glimpse of the hottest acts around. Here are our top 10 picks from House of Vans at the Mohawk.
Ceremony
Progressive Cali five-piece Ceremony are among the most exhilarating hardcore bands you could ever wish to see live. Mad-eyed frontman Ross Farrar channels Ian Curtis on a bad trip while Anthony Anzaldo’s punchy power chords recall thrashcore pioneers Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies.
BadBadNotGood + Ghostface Killah
Fans were treated to a rousing medley of Wu-Tang favourites and classic ’90s hip hop courtesy of Ghostface Killah and Toronto jazz outfit BadBadNotGood. But the sign throwin’ was taken to the next level when a random crowd member nailed Method Man’s verse in a sensational rendition of ‘Protect Ya Neck’.
Lido
Live mixing can be fairly tedious from a spectator’s point of view, so kudos to Norwegian producer Lido for throwing it down during his infectiously fun SXSW performance.
Brother Ali
Despite never shying away from discussing his faith and activist work, Brother Ali is at his fiercest and most compelling when he lets his music do the talking. Old-school hip hop-inspired emceeing at its outraged, oratory best.
Dilated Peoples
After an eight-year hiatus, underground LA hip hop trio Dilated Peoples are back and sounding fresher than ever. The perfect group to cut loose to this summer.
ODESZA
Deep-beat EDM duo ODESZA – aka Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight – have consolidated their hype over the past six months, picking up where they left off in 2014 by continuing to impress live with their unique brand of symphonic glitch-hop.
Alvvays
“You don’t have to leave, you could just stay here with me, forget all the party police,” swoons Molly Rankin of Toronto dream-pop darlings Alvvays. With songs this catchy, you won’t need an excuse to heed her suggestion.
Thee Oh Sees
Frontman John Dwyer’s ferocious vocals were backed up by Timothy Hellman’s thumping bass and Nick Murray and Chris Woodhouse’s dual drumming during a typically high energy set that left the crowd gasping for breath.
Makthaverskan
Swedish post-punks Makthaverskan hang lead singer Maja Milner’s melodic vocals off some irresistible hooks. Soaring, scrappy and guaranteed to get you swaying.
Shlohmo
The brainchild of LA-based producer Henry Laufer, electronic beatmaker Shlohmo capped off a memorable week at House of Vans with a new live show featuring a sneak preview of forthcoming album ‘Dark Red’.
Records available at venusvinyl.com
