Interview

BLACK ATLANTIC

On the second day of South By Southwest, you find yourself torn between seeking out new sounds or reassuring favorites, long shot contenders or blue chip heavies.  It’s time to select your inner play list.  You also have to ask: when are you going to make time for the requisite bar-b-que?  For the latter, get in line at Iron Works.  First brisket and then independent music from Holland—that’s the appealing dissonance of the festival.  

The Dutch band in question is The Black Atlantic, a five-piece outfit specializing in gentle acoustic melodies.  Their introspective equation can be unforgiving here, and the band was given no favors with their venue above a raucous bar that threatened to overwhelm their precise sound.  But they soldiered on (that famous Dutch resolve) and played songs, like the starkly beautiful ‘Heirloom,’ from their debut record—whose evocative harmonies recall Bon Iver.  We look forward to their forthcoming record, Reverence For Fallen Trees, where their wistfulness can be appreciated on its own terms.

JJ

The Swedish duo jj is currently on tour opening for The xx.  Beyond their affinity for the lowercase ethic, both bands share a stark minimal approach to well-crafted pop songs.  They maintain a certain mystery—they are may be the only young band here with no MySpace presence.  At the Mohawk Patio, there was little sign of a duo, merely Elin Kastlander, a youthful cherubic singer who sat on a stool chewed gum and drank a beer.  She sang over a recorded track as if she was playing karaoke of her own album.  She said not a word, not a single one, to the audience—it was as if we were observing somebody singing alone in her room.  She started her set early, not out of any eagerness, one suspected, only so she could finish all the sooner.

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HERE WE GO MAGIC

As if there wasn't enough mayhem at South by Southwest, the first day brought an additional excuse for revelry: St. Patrick's Day.  This manifested itself in different ways, most involving green clad patrons streaming into bars before noon.  A convertible streaked down 7th Street with an Irish flag waving behind it.  The most effective, however, had to be Sharon Jones, the soul singer, wore a green sequin dress that must have taken her an hour to get into.  In Austin you quickly get used to the unusual.   

At the Brooklyn Vegan showcase, Here We Go Magic put on an expansive and forceful set-much more visceral than their self-titled debut record.  Songs began with rhythmic themes and Luke Temple's chirpy vocals (at times he sounded like he could have been covering Devo).  As they progressed, additional guitar lines combined with keyboards and backing vocals, creating dense insistent textures that delighted vegans and omnivores alike.   

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To be bored with South by Southwest is to be bored with life.  The music festival begins today, with 2000 bands converging on Austin to play for 30,000 attendees.  That's the official count–thousands more come for free shows and simply to be near the madness.  Some bands arrive with established credentials–Spoon, Broken Social Scene, Broken Bells–but most action surrounds young bands willing to play half a dozen shows with a chance for greater exposure.  You'll find them in packed clubs, at outdoor shows, at midnight, at midday, in alleys, in parks.  It's exhilarating; it's exhausting. (PHOTO: JAMES MERCER OF BROKEN BELLS; Ryan Muir)
 
The scope of the music is staggering: There are polymath solo acts (Neon Indian, Dosh), precise pop duos (First Aid Kit, Kaiser Cartel), French guitar trios (Papier Tigre), atmospheric LA girl quartets (Warpaint), all the way up to Danish nine-piece abstract experimentalists (Efterklang).  We're looking forward to the requisite quality from Sweden (Last Days of April, jj), smart, straight ahead Texas rock (Midlake, Yellow Fever), and ambient Dutch chamber pop (The Black Atlantic).

The usual suspects throw big showcases: Pitchfork's is promising (Local Natives, Real Estate), so is NPR's (Broken Bells, Visqueen). Labels get involved, like Portland's Kill Rock Stars (Horse Feathers, Grass Widow), as do websites, like Brooklyn Vegan, which is putting on no fewer than seven shows, including their annual all metal party–who said vegans couldn't handle the heat?

So brace yourself: South by Southwest is not a quest for logic, it's about coming to terms with more music than you can ever know.

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Surfer Blood, a boisterous quintet from West Palm Beach, is in New York for the CMJ Marathon, which is good news for any young band. They're getting a lot of exposure–in true CMJ fashion playing every chance they can get, twelve shows over five days.  Their sound is an appealing, guitar-based power pop. Their new album, Astro Coast (Kanine Records), will be out in January. (PHOTO: DAVID COGGINS)

I spoke with John Paul Pitts, the lead singer, and Thomas Fekete, the guitarist, after their afternoon set at Piano's on Ludlow Street.


DAVID COGGINS: You're playing 12 shows in five days–is that possible?

JOHN PAUL PITTS: I didn't even bother to count them, it's so overwhelming to look at.

THOMAS FEKETE: It is twelve. And then the next day we're playing Death By Audio. All together it's thirteen shows in six days. It's amazing playing at CMJ, with a  turnout at every show. It keeps you in good spirits.

PITTS: Every show has a lot of different bands, with their friends coming to see them, and a lot of people who've heard them online.  

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