Scottish acts  join the world’s largest gathering of creative professionals at  SXSW 2019 in Austin, Texas.

SXSW (South By Southwest) was founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas.  SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate  film, and music industries. The event features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and networking opportunities.  The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) have been one of the organisations working hard to promote the Scots travelling to Texas in March.

The Scottish acts will form part of the 2,000+ artists from over 60 countries showcasing at this year’s SXSW which takes place between 11th and 17th March.  Here’s a run down of the Scottish artists playing at SXSW 2019.

The Dunts

Spat from the Glaswegian scene with driving guitars and caustic punk sensibilities at their core, The Dunts have rapidly become one of Scotland’s hottest exports. Demanding attention and gaining momentum with their incomparable “council-punk” branded sound, the quartet are set to take the world by storm.The Dunts recorded both their debut EP Not Working Is Class and highly-anticipated follow up Self Proclaimed Council Punk with producers Chris Marshall (Gerry Cinnamon, Rascalton, The Van-T’s) and Johnny Madden (of Baby Strange).  They were one of our stand out acts from XpoNorth in Inverness last year.  Check out their stripped back acoustic session below.

Shows
March 13th @BME Latitude 30, 512 San Jacinto
March 16th @ 720 Club 10:00pm – 10:40pm

Fatherson

We first came across Fatherson when lead singer Ross Leighton performed an acoustic session for us back in 2011 at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. Forming in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in early 2010,   Fatherson immediately captured hearts with their raw, honest alt-rock sound.  Their debut album I Am An Island and its 2016 follow-up Open Book were masterclasses in full-throttle rock songwriting, and garnered support from (and tours alongside) their north-of-the-border brethren in Biffy Clyro, Frightened Rabbit, Idlewild and Twin Atlantic, as well as further runs alongside the likes of Kings Of Leon, Augustines, Enter Shikari and more.

Shows
March 10th @ The British Music Embassy (Latitude 30) 8pm – 11pm
March 12th @ SevenGrand (Killingmoon x Reverbnation party) – evening (time TBC)
March 16th @ The British Music Embassy (Latitude 30) 2pm – 6pm

Kapil Seshasayee

Kapil Seshasayee is a polymath, and a truly original talent, both as a songwriter and as a soundsmith, a one-man combination of Scott Walker, Mark Hollis, Arca, and Richard Dawson, creating something wholly unique. Combining electronica flourishes evoking FKA Twigs with Carnatic guitar ornamentations, stunning vocals and a penchant for unorthodox instrumentation such as the aquaphone, Kapil manages to be truly experimental yet still accessible.

A Sacred Bore is a concept album based around India’s caste system is a piercing examination of the abusive treatment towards lower caste Indians aiming to raise awareness of countless barbaric practices still prevalent among South Asian communities both in India and in the diaspora.

Having already been featured in noted publications Pitchfork, VICE, Rolling Stone India, BBC Radio Scotland, The Guardian & The Quietus, Kapil was recently on air with Bobby Friction on the BBC Asian Network, as a featured BBC Introducing Artist. Building upon the narrative of prior singles The Agitprop, A Sacred Bore & Caustic Wit, Kapil expands on the issues, from the often-overlooked connections between the American far-right and upper-caste Indians to honour killings committed in the diaspora which continue to be under-reported.

Shows

March 12th @ Austin Convention Centre 13:30pm
March 16th @ The Hideout (time TBA)

LUCIA

With the sweetness of bubblegum pop, the easy swagger of classic college rock, Phil Spector’s widescreen ambition, and the gritty rumblings of the best riot grrrl and grunge, LUCIA have won the hearts of music-lovers, critics and fellow artists with just a couple of EPs and a few years of relentless touring. This is modern rock n’ roll driven by instinct alone. The perfect soundtrack for a teenage dream.

From being discovered as a busker on the streets of Glasgow to playing with the likes of Black Honey, The Big Moon, Neon Waltz and The Undertones, their DIY spirit and knack for a dreamwave banger now finds them working with Arctic Monkeys and Florence + The Machine collaborators and coming to a town near you.

Shows
March 12th @The British Music Embassy (Latitude 30) 8:00pm – 8:30pm

The Ninth Wave

If there’s one defining characteristic of The Ninth Wave, it’s how the fast-rising Glasgow four-piece mix light and dark. Sonically, they shake the walls. It’s dissonance purified. On paper, they could be the kind of band who’d turn decibel levels up at shows just to mess with people’s heads. But there’s a pop pulse running through their songs. For every bolt of raw noise, there’s a sugar coating. The band test the resolve of post-punk, drone and shoegaze, but the end result is a dazzling meeting ground between concrete and candy.

Shows
11th March @ British Music Embassy (Latitude 30) 9:00pm – 9:40pm
13th March @ Malverde 1:00am – 1:40am

PAWS

PAWS are Phillip, Josh and Ryan. In 2012 the band released the Misled Youth EP followed shortly by their debut full-length album Cokefloat!, which garnered critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, BBC and SPIN. That album, recorded by ex-Test Icicle, Rory Attwell on the boat/studio “Lightship95,” introduced the band’s explosive songwriting to the world, boiling down emotionally charged lyrics with the whiplash snap of punk. The band soon after toured with Japandroids, Bleached, We Are Scientists and The Cribs and their live show proves time and again their comfort on the stage, leading SPIN Magazine to place the band at number four on their “Top 50 Best Acts at SXSW Festival in 2013.”

PAWS’ second album, Youth Culture Forever marked a significant change in strength and mood for the band. Recorded live in a home studio in the woods in upstate New York, the album captured the Scottish trio in their element.  In 2016 they released the album,  No Grace and are set to release their fourth LP in 2017.  Watch our acoustic session with Phillip from PAWS below.

Shows
14th March @ 720 Club

Rascalton

Rascalton are Jack, Steve, Mark and Grieg, a project born in a garage between four friends. In 2017 their debut single This Is It introduced to the world their no-nonsense aggro punk sound. In a short space of time they leapt fully formed from the basements of Glasgow’s flourishing Punk/Garage scene to selling out shows around the country and touring Europe with Benjamin Booker.

The band took 2018 by storm with their debut EP CSC & supported bands such as Idles, Cabbage and Marmozets along with multiple festival appearances. The band closed out the year with their biggest headline show at a sold-out 500 cap Saint Luke’s, Glasgow. The much anticipated new single Gold/Eddy drops on Council Records in March.

Shows
12th March SXSW Presents: 720 Club (TBA)
15th March End Of The Creative: Valhalla 10:00pm

Saint PHNX

Shades of Imagine Dragons, Kasabian and Royal Blood weave their way through Saint PHNX’s sound, but this duo are unique. A big helping of attitude, a willingness to experiment and a knack for writing rousing choruses ensures they make enough noise to rival a full band, and they’re not afraid to get real in their lyrics.
With only three songs out at the time, attention soon came to the brothers as their second track King was being played on US radio and they received a call from the Imagine Dragons manager asking them to support in London.

Shows
TBA

The Snuts

Drawing comparisons with early Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon and Oasis, West Lothian quartet The Snuts have emerged as a word-of-mouth phenomenon throughout Scotland. In the process they’ve already passed a million streams at Spotify of their early demo recordings – all achieved organically without being promoted to radio, playlists or press.

The Snuts combination of sheer energy, natural charisma and a growing catalogue of indie anthems has already been rewarded with a cult following. Their first headline show at the Glasgow institution King Tut’s sold-out in a matter of hours, and was soon followed by subsequent sold-out dates in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Manchester

With such homeland backing to their name, The Snuts are now looking to take their ragged rock ‘n’ roll manifesto to a wider audience. That process starts with the release of their first full single Seasons.  The band blew us away at Belladrum Tartan Heart festival with their stripped back version on their track, “What’s Going On” which raked up over 13,000 views on YouTube.

Shows
14th March @ Swan Dive 9:00pm – 9:40pm

This article was produced with kind thanks to the SMIA.

The SMIA also runs the annual Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award. Since its inauguration in 2012, The SAY Award has grown to become Scotland’s most popular and prestigious music prize. Developed by the SMIA with support from Creative Scotland, The SAY Award offers one of the UK’s most lucrative prize funds and champions the extraordinary strength and diversity of Scotland’s musical landscape.

Find out more about SMIA and their free basic membership: www.smia.org.uk

 

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