South West UK at SXSW 2010

Malachai live session for Radio K at SXSW 2010

2010-03-22T10:49:00.003Z

Watch a video of the brilliant Malachai performing a live in-studio session for Radio K at SXSW

Radio K at SXSW: Malachai - "Fading World/Simple Song" from Radio K on Vimeo.

Check out the RadioK website for pictures and a full write up of the session

Exclusive Spinner interview with Kill it Kid

2010-03-22T10:32:00.001Z

Kill It Kid -- Chris Turpin (guitar, vocals), Stephanie Ward (piano, vocals), Adam Timmins (bass, banjo), Richard Jones (violin) and Marc Jones (drums) formed in 2008. One year later, they released their self-titled debut album on One Little Indian. Despite hailing from Bath, their sound is pure Americana -- slide guitar, violin and banjo all feature prominently. They are currently gearing up for this year's festival season. This will be their first time at SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.

CT: It's reconditioned delta bottleneck, Piedmont blues, Chess-era r'n'b, alt-country, rough diction and throated notes in affected songs played through radio valve amplifiers. For fans of Gram Parsons, Blind Blake, Etta James, Audioslave and Jack White.

How did your band form?

AT: We met about two years ago studying music at university in Bath, England. Me and Chris formed Kill it Kid as a two-piece acoustic act and through various recording sessions, collaborative showcases and grimy shows we came together as a five-piece and were signed to One Little Indian after recording an EP with John Parish (Eels/PJ Harvey/Tracy Chapman) about three months after forming. That summer we threw ourselves across the UK, squeezed in the back of Steph's Skoda, playing anywhere with a stage and clean-ish sheets. Six months later we were recording our debut album in Seattle, Washington with Ryan Hadlock (the Gossip/Johnny Flynn/the Strokes).

What are your musical influences?

CT: American fiction such as Capote, Steinbeck, McCarthy, Ginsberg and Salinger. Old shellac records pressed by Columbia, Okeh, and Victor. The musicians resting in the The Library Of Congress recorded by John and Alan Lomax. The romanticism of the Midwest and the 'Great American Songbook', which I was introduced to by the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Woody Guthrie and the Bluesbreakers.

How did you come up with your band name?

CT: I first knew it as the name of a ragtime tune recorded by Blind Wille McTell in his last recorded session. A New York barfly would shout "Kill it Kid!" at him as he took to the stage.

Click here to visit the Spinner UK website and read the full article.

Exclusive Spinner interview with Munch Munch

2010-03-22T09:58:00.006Z

Exclusive Spinner interview with Munch Munch...

Playing a phenomenal eight showcase gigs at SXSW 2010, Bristol's Munch Munch look determined to work hard since three of the four members have now graduated from college. "We haven't played in the US before, there's so much stuff we've just realised we have to sort out at the last moment: like power adapters, car hire, visas." New single 'Cyclorama' is out this month on Fear and Records. Spinner caught up with Carrell in between car journeys to sort out all the details ahead of Munch Munch's neon-pop assault on Austin.

Could you please describe your sound in your own words.

Explosive. Some people describe us as ADD as we kind of change stuff a lot. Colourful, energetic.

How did your band form?

We all came together at university. Everyone's graduated apart from me -- I'm in my final year. I was playing a Eurythmics song at an open mic night and Rich [Manber] talked to me afterwards and we realised we were into the same stuff. We made some stuff on a laptop and then we decided we didn't want to be one of those bands with backing tracks on stage. Because we had complicated drum beats at that stage, we thought we needed two drummers to do it. That's when we got Jack [O'Connor] and Sarah [Renwick] on board.

What are your musical influences?

When we started out four years ago it was contemporary stuff like Animal Collective. I listen to mainly older stuff now. Fleetwood Mac is a big one at the moment and Burt Bacharach is someone I constantly listen to. Sparks are quite a big influence. Really pop, actually. We approach making music in quite a naive way, because I'm not trained in music. We just want to chuck stuff together.

How did you come up with your band name?

We had loads of stupid ideas. At one point we wanted to use 'Jesus Sex Party'.

A name like that wouldn't have helped your American visa chances...

Exactly! Rich likes a band called the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower. At their visa interview they had to lie about their name.

We just wanted something really dynamic, and someone said 'munch munch banana' and we just cut the banana off. We didn't realise that we would keep doing stuff. It was just stuff me and Rich were doing on our laptop, we just had to give it a name when we made the MySpace page. I guess lots of bands have names that don't really mean anything because they didn't realise they were going to keep going, and then get stuck with these names!

What's your biggest vice?

Fast food. Any really bad stuff -- I eat it! I feel really bad about it and everyone in the band has a go at me for it, which is fair enough as some of it is just really rough.

What's in your festival survival kit?

You know those tents that say they are two man when actually they can only fit one? I say always get a tent which is two sizes above than you need. I went to Green Man festival last summer and bought a tent from Argos. It said two man, but it wasn't! The person I was sharing with wasn't a small person either.

Click here to visit the Spinner UK website and read the full article.

Best of South West

2010-03-20T20:56:00.000Z

The finest night of music from the South West of England on the friday of SXSW.

Not only Gadarene, Jackie Oates and Jim Moray at St David's Church as part of the rather brilliant Looking For A New England showcase but Devon's finest Muse played a stunning set at Stubbs.

All after only the second ever performance of the new two man Malachai set up.

Top Tips to Maximise Your SXSW Trip

2010-03-19T16:11:00.006Z

Ariel Publicity are just one of the thousands of companies attending SXSW this year and in a bid to help musicians and music companies make the most of the conference, they have produced a special edition of their 'Indie Maximum Exposure' blog with tips from industry experts on how to maximise your South By Southwest experience!

Our thanks go to Ariel Hyatt for sending this information over to the BMF.

Click on the links below to read the blog posts here or go direct to the Ariel Publicity website

Part 1) Before You Go

Part 2) While You Are There

Part 3) After You Get Home

Kill It Kid head to SXSW

2010-03-15T14:44:00.003Z

Bath's Kill It Kid are set to head to SXSW to join the South West musical invasion.

Kill It Kid’s critical reputation grew through the course of 2009 as the likes of Jonathan Ross, Dermot O’Leary and Radcliffe & Maconie gave their support to the band. In October the band’s ‘Heaven Never Seemed So Close’ single pipped The Big Pink in the vote, winning Steve Lamacq’s ‘Roundtable’ show and the band finished in the final 10 of XFM’s New Music Award in the company of Florence and the Machine and The XX.

Fronted by the gorgeous two-part vocal harmonies of singers Chris Turpin (‘a man who sounds’ - according to NME – ‘like he’s been gargling glass for fun – in a good way’) and Stephanie Ward, the lyrical intimacy of the songs is rendered all the more powerful by the interplay between the pair, Turpin’s distinctive voice seemingly arriving from another time and place, while Ward’s softer, huskier tones make for the perfect foil. Buttressed with strings, keys and slide guitar, Kill It Kid blend delta blues and roots to striking effect, producing blistering rock’n’roll in one moment and a smoky film-noire ambience in the next. The band have drawn comparison with The Coral, Mumford & Sons and The Raconteurs with recognisable hints of Tom Waits, Frank Zappa and Zeppelin, but it’s on the strength of the song writing throughout their debut album that the deal is ultimately sealed.

The bands will be performing at:

- One Little Indian Records US Showcase @ The Victorian Rooms at The Driskell Hotel. Stage time Midnight (18th March 2010)

- Raddison Hotel & Suites, 111 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, Texas, TX 7870. Stage time 7.00pm (20th March 2010)

REVIEWS:

‘A monstrous Delta blues groove that slides in Anthony Hegarty-meets-Son House vocals of 21 year old Chris Turpin. Young Kids, maybe, but old heads’ Q Magazine
‘Bucking the trend with glee, making music for the misfits. Stabbing fiddles and honky-tonk piano add just the right amount of spice. Impressive stuff.’ 8/10 NME
‘Enough variety, power and barnstorming tunes here to constitute one of the year’s most appealing and enduring debut albums’ BBC.co.uk
‘An outstanding British record’ 9/10 Clash
‘Ignore them at your peril.’ ****Artrocker
“A hook-laden riot...big things may be coming their way” NME
“Theirs is a vibrant blend of The White Stripes, barn dances and the Stephanie Grappelli - like fiddle-frenzy jazz/blues”– Q Magazine
‘Uncontrived, Kill It Kid are a brave, raw talent’ - BBC Introducing
‘Thrillingly unaffected’ - Music Week
“Demands attention from the off… the strength and depth of their songs belie their age” – Clash

Dreamboat showcase in SXSW

2010-03-15T08:20:00.005Z

Bristol's Dreamboat Records presents Bear In Heaven at SXSW - shows are as follows. Contact Dreamboat with the details on the contacts page if you want entry for any of the these dates.

Wednesday
Bear In Heaven - No Words Day Party @ Ghost Bar - on stage at 1pm
Bear In Heaven - IODA Party @ Emo’s Annex - on stage at 4.15pm
Bear In Heaven - Hometapes Showcase @ Mohawk - on stage at 1am

Thursday
Bear In Heaven - "Fat, Crooked, Unwound" Party @ Mohawk - 12.30pm
Bear In Heaven - WOXY Showcase @ Emo’s Annex - on stage at 1 am

Friday
Bear In Heaven - Transgressive Party @ Red House Pizzeria - on stage at 6 pm

Saturday
Bear In Heaven - Friends Island - on stage at 6.45 pm
Bear In Heaven - Pitchfork Offical showcase @ Scoot inn - on stage at 11.15 pm

CMW saturday

2010-03-14T14:10:00.000Z

Best breakfast in Toronto. Certainly felt like it in the hour of need.

A&R Worldwide panel. Some good moments and some great stories. Especially from Seymour Stein. Good panel all very dedicated to their artists and with positive approaches to building lasting careers. Was encouraging to hear.

Canadian Market panel was great. Moderated by Duncan from the CIMA. Interesting insights into different markets in Canada and focus of population in the country. Quebec having some of the biggest selling records in Canada with artists that sell nothing outside of the province.

Brit Party had its moments including a welcome speech that may yet go down in history from Martin Elbourne. Good to meet lots of new people and think about how this could possibly build into the future.

Loving Toronto venues. The Cadillac Lounge, The Painted Lady, The Horseshoe Tavern, and plenty of others.

Loving Toronto hospitality.

Love this city.

Canadian Music Week

2010-03-14T13:10:00.001Z

Global Forum International Breakfast kicked off the Friday at CMW.

Keynote from author of "You Are Not A Gadget" Jaron Lanier

Caught the Canadian Radio Music Awards

Saw a live set by Arkells which was pretty good. We have a brewery in the west country by the same name.

Platinum Blonde enrolled into the hall of fame. A special moment. Truly.

Then onto listen to Dave Stewart make a pretty shambolic, quite amusing, and in a few places enlightening presentation on artists, brands, Charlie's Angels, and how he plans to take over the digital music market with Nokia and Visa.

Next up the Aussie party which was very enjoyable, busy and met up with some great people especially the One Movement Perth guys.

Also met with old friend Sat Bisla.

With Sat are Dave Summers from Disc Manufacturing Services, Chris Knight from UKTI South West, and Adam Maughan from Think Yellow.

Some good shows in the evening. Aussie showcase was great. Pick of bands probably The Dudes

Arrived in Toronto

2010-03-12T15:24:00.000Z

Arrived in Toronto for Canadian Music Week.

Caught first band at the world infamous Bovine Sex Club.

Overflow from Croatia. First of many over next 2 weeks.

Welcome to South West UK at SXSW 2010

2010-03-07T18:19:00.000Z

The South West of England is off to SXSW 2010 in Austin, Texas.

On the way we will stop at Canadian Music Week in Toronto and in New York.

Check back here for all venues, dates and stage times, updates, photo's and much more.

BMF