Clipping da participação brasileira no South By Southwest 2009 Este é um documento compilado pela - www.bma.org.br Março de 2009

Clipping da participação brasileira no South By Southwest 2009

            Este é um documento compilado pela

                       www.bma.org.br

                       Março de 2009

The New York Times
Versão impressa no dia 23 de Março de 2009, página C1
Versão on line no dia 22 de Março de 2009:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/arts/music/23sxsw.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Stoking Careers in Frenzy of South by Southwest

Josh Haner/The New York Times
From left, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett of Metallica at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Tex.

By JON PARELES
Published: March 22, 2009
AUSTIN, Tex. — Shirtless and sweaty on Friday night, singing garage-rock in Portuguese
and English on the back patio of an East Austin bar, Guilherme Saldanha from the São
Paulo band Garotas Suecas paused before the last song of a half-hour set and
announced, “We’re playing, like, in, one hour so we’d better be going.”

It was one of about a dozen sets that Garotas Suecas, which means Swedish Girls, would
perform during four days of the 23rd annual South by Southwest music festival here. From
Wednesday through Saturday, more than 1,900 acts played official showcases while plenty
of others sang from parking lots, rooftops, street corners and front yards.
All those bands were facing the new realities of the music business, which, even in the
digital era, aren’t that different from the age-old situations of most musicians. Performing is
their livelihood, particularly as sales of recorded music are eroded by the Internet.
During the frenzy of the festival, known as SXSW, the potential audience includes deal
makers and gatekeepers across the music business, and a successful appearance, even if
it’s in a small club, can ripple across old and new media. Radio stations set up live studio
sessions with their choice of visiting bands; bloggers toil ceaselessly. To maximize their
exposure many bands are thrown into the 21st-century version of a work ethic out of the
vaudeville era: multiple sets a day and plenty of glad-handing in between. At this festival
music is no job for a slacker.
There are countless ways to get attention here, but a charismatic performance is still the

best one. Janelle Monae, who has sung with OutKast, belted smart, socially conscious
neo-soul songs, rapped a little, showed off dance moves that warped hip-hop and the
jitterbug, and finished sets by surfing across audiences like a punk rocker.
Brand-name acts showed up to stoke their careers. There were unannounced but far from
secret performances by Metallica (touting its Guitar Hero video game), Kanye West and
the original lineup of Jane’s Addiction. With careers nurtured by major labels, radio and
MTV, those performers — as well as rappers like Big Boi of OutKast and out-of-the-past
bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, Devo and Primal Scream — could rely on something
that many of the hopefuls at SXSW cannot: full-scale hits, with choruses that draw instant
singalongs.
The oddest performance by a star was probably by Erykah Badu, who showed up late for
her big free concert on Saturday night at the riverside Auditorium Shores amphitheater and
ended up singing only two songs.
Now that listeners have more choices and the Internet undermines mass-media clout, up-
and-coming performers have less chance to gather a broad pop audience. Instead
songwriters consolidate their niches, which might be Americana, R&B, dance music,
progressive rock or the self-questioning dramas of indie-rock. “I’m writing songs that
entertain these people, all these people who just want pain,” Tim Kasher of the Omaha
band Cursive blurted during a performance.
In the welter of music there were revivalists, arty eccentrics and glimmers of trends. There
were plenty of singer-songwriters offering earnest songs that might make their way to
television soundtracks — a more immediate payoff than a typical recording contract.
Meanwhile indie-rock hipsters are trying to see their way clear to dancing, which has led to
some awkward, gimmicky, analog-synthesizer-loving bands as well as more promising
varieties: noisy punk-rooted propulsion from bands like Abe Vigoda and brawny, funky,
virtuosic post-punk from the English band Late of the Pier.
There was a putative power-pop supergroup, Tinted Windows — with members of Cheap
Trick, Smashing Pumpkins, Fountains of Wayne and Hanson, singing Cheap Trick-style
songs without the smirks — as well as a recently defected 23-year-old Cuban jazz pianist,
Alfredo Rodriguez, not to mention the Japanese female hard-rock trio Bo Peep or the sitar-
wielding Anglo-Indian dance-music singer Bishi.
Some acts are sidestepping the older pop machinery. The California rap duo U-N-I
announced that it is “unsigned by choice” and that it will release its second album, “A Love
Supreme,” as a free download on March 31. Others are hoping to harness new kinds of
fame toward 21st-century pop careers. Rye Rye, a feisty, fast-rhyming teenage rapper
from Baltimore who is signed to a major label, Interscope, boasted that her video clip for
“Shake It to the Ground” has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube. Hip-hop,
which was invented by self-starters, had an increased presence at this year’s festival. Also
increasing was the number of international bands, from Scotland to Iran to Japan, which
played nearly a third of the festival’s official showcases.
Known, little-known or unknown, bands come here to seeking more leverage in finding or
expanding an audience. The Decemberists played all of their new concept album, “The
Hazards of Love,” for a full house at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q and a Webcast audience on NPR. P
J Harvey and John Parish introduced songs — eerie waltzes and bitter, stomping
imprecations — from their album due March 31, “A Woman a Man Walked By.” The two
played in a packed outdoor show at Stubb’s, where Ms. Harvey wore bridal white and a
geometric headpiece, and in studio concerts for the radio stations KCRW-FM and KEXP-
FM. Grizzly Bear and the Dirty Projectors, two New York bands, provided early
opportunities to hear songs from albums that are months away from release.

At panels record-label executives expressed continuing uncertainty about what will
become of their business. The producer Quincy Jones, in a keynote speech, said he was
“open to any ideas.”
But most musicians here were less concerned with the interests of the music business
than they were with reaching listeners. They might be quiet, like the Low Anthem, a Rhode
Island trio that played somber songs pondering fate and eternity. They might be hectic like
the Arkells, a Canadian group that played upbeat folk-rock songs with the manic intensity
of a punk band. They saw their future not in stadium tours or rock-star indulgences, but in
the pragmatic steps of setting up another tour or doing another studio session.
Mica Levi leads one of the most innovative bands I heard at the festival, Micachu and the
Shapes: a trio wielding unconventional instruments in the smart, snappy, jaggedly off-
center songs they recorded on their debut album, “Jewellry” (Rough Trade). Her ambition?
She shrugged.
“I’d like to make another album,” she said.

Spin Magazine
http://www.spin.com/gallery/20-must-hear-artists-sxsw-austin?page=3#main

20 Must-Hear Artists from SXSW in Austin
4 of 20

Garotas Suecas

Hometown: Sao Paolo, Brazil
Why they matter: These quirky South Americans, whose name means "Swedish Girls,"
infuse a tropical, beach-blanket vibe into '50s-inspired rock'n'roll.
You should know: Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein said, on first seeing this band, "I
wished everyone I knew could witness this show."

The Tripwire
http://www.thetripwire.com/blog/2009/03/03/the-brazilian-beat-2/

The Brazilian Beat - SxSW Edition

          The Brazilian Beat is contributor John Bohannon’s monthly column.
There is an immense amount of international talent at this year’s SxSW music festival in
Austin, Texas, so I figured I would do my good deed for the day and help lead you in the
direction of some of Brazil’s greatest young talent. Not only is this a primer to the party you
should be at Wednesday night (The Rio, where most of these artists are playing), it’s a
guide even for those who can’t make their way down to the city of Austin. These are artists
who need to be recognized and taken into consideration on a global scale. When you start
to see music as international and not localized, we can get rid of our trendy preconceived
notions and get down to the bare-bones of what makes us tick – good music, regardless of
where it’s from. Take your first night and experience something different. (All artists below
are at The Rio on Wednesday night, March 18, unless otherwise noted.)

Canja Rave
Canja Rave is the pet project of guitar and drums duo Paula Nozzari and Chris
Kochenborger. Rooted in the more traditional indie-rock sound of the 90s, the band
explores two-part harmonies that find their beauty in simplicity. Both Nozzari and
Kochenborger are veterans of the Brazilian rock scene, playing in various bands including
De Falla and Leela. Coming from the southern Brazilian town of Porte Alegra, they are
crafting little gems that absolutely cannot be passed up among all the new indie fads.
Canja Rave - “Chega!”
Nancy
Hailing from the capitol of Brazil, Brasilia-bred indie darlings Nancy craft sultry tunes in the
vein of Metric, and sure to make a wave in the states with their SXSW performance. Not to
mention the fact that they do sing in English, making their chances of breaking into an
American audience greater (quite sad, but that just seems to be the way it is). But lets put
aside the fact that they are even from Brazil – their songs stand on their own among a
world of indie rock that sounds derivative and uninspired. Nancy is the real deal.

Tita Lima
I’d be lying if I said these weren’t some of my honest-to-god favorite tunes coming out of
anywhere these days — Tita Lima is something special. Heavily rooted in the traditional
samba beat, the music explores everything from dub to hip-hop to psych-rock (no doubt in
part inspired by her father, who played bass in the infamous Brazilian Tropicalia outfit, Os
Mutantes). Her debut album 11:11 is truly one of the most inspiring international recordings
of the past decade, and has been picked up by everyone from Jurrasic 5 to Giles
Peterson. If there is one act you catch at SXSW period, make it Tita Lima, for you won’t be
let down.
Tita Lima - “Traz Um Alivio”

Vandex
If you are familiar with independent culture in Brazil at all, you are probably familiar with
the band Uteros em Furia. Vandex was the singer/songwriter in the successful 90s outfit,
and is now trying to carve out his niche as a solo artist. Singing in both English and
Portuguese, Vandex comes from the cultural melting pot of Salvador, Bahia, and is
exploring a number of insane influences on his current musical adventures. He finds
comfort in the sounds of Brazilian rock star Raul Seixas, and has the personality of famed
Brazilian horror director Coffin Joe. Hell, the guy even lists Jack Black and John Belushi as
influences. This is going to be some carnivalesque, psychedelic journey. SXSW has the
man listed as a singer-songwriter, but don’t fooled — it’s far from the typical notion of that
genre. The only thing Vandex has in common with them is that he sings and writes.

Erika Machado
When browsing through the Brazilian artists performing at SxSW, this was a name I wasn’t
familiar with. After looking at her MySpace and her top friends, I saw that Julieta Venegas
was among them; as the songs began to play it made relatively perfect sense. Although
taking a more electronic vibe, Machado finds her melodies in the more mainstream pop
realm – and they work rather beautifully. Seeking a chill-out vibe blended with jangly
acoustic guitars, Machado strikes me as someone that may have submitted their music to
SxSW and got accepted off the strength of the songs alone.

The Twelves (Rusty Spurs, midnight Wednesday)
Rio de Janeiro electro maestros João Miguel and Luciano Oliveira (aka The Twelves)
should not be missed. Getting fame in the electronic scene after remixing M.I.A.’s “Boyz,”
the band creates ultra-hip lush party starters. If Chromeo and Sebastien Tellier were to
collaborate, you’d likely get the sonic territory the Twelves are exploring. They have now
played festivals alongside Justice, Diplo, LCD Soundsystem and many more. Just wait for
these guys to absolutely blow up.

Global Groove Connection

http://www.globalgrooveconnection.com/2009/03/sounds-of-brazil-at-sxsw.html
1 de março de 2009

The Sounds of Brazil at SXSW

As the number of Latin bands performing at SXSW continues to make impressive gains,
this year marks a notable upsurge in Brazilian artists. Close to 30 bands have been
confirmed to play at Austin's yearly indie music fest (March 18-22), bumping Brazil up
among the top five foreign countries with the largest contingents to descend on Texas'
coolest city. Many of them are going the route of Sao Paulo electro-pop darlings CSS, by
singing in english. From the cute alterna-pop of Ceara's own Telerama to the irreverent alt-
rock of Vinil Laranja, a band from Belem, this year's lineup reflects the diversity of a new
generation of Brazilian artists who no longer feel pigeonholed by the sheer size of their
country and its linguistic isolation within Latin America. I spoke to publicist Tracy Mann of
MG Limited to get the lowdown on the Brazilian invasion. Mann, a SXSW consultant, is an
authority on Brazilian music who has worked tirelessly to raise its profile in the U.S.

GGC: Why has there been such an increase in the number of Brazilian bands coming to
SXSW?

TM: Because my partner, Mark and I, we’re independent consultants at SXSW and public
relations and we have been on two trade missions to Brazil in 2007 and 2008, specifically
to see bands and meet independent labels and in 2008 Brent Grulke, creative director for
SXSW also went with us on one of these trips. So a lot of these bands that you’re seeing
are prior bands that either we actually saw when we were in Brazil or we met with their
representative and it generated a lot of interest at SXSW.

GGC: Now was Gilbert Gil’s appearance at SXSW a few years ago any indicator that there
would be more representation of Brazilian music? Was it in any way a turning point that
made you all realize ‘hey this could be something that could take off. We have all of these
Latin acts from different countries in Latin America and there’s not as much Brazilian

music. Why don’t we go out and find them?’

TM: I’ve lived in Brazil since the 70s and I’ve known Gilberto Gil since that time. And I’ve
been working with Brazilian acts touring nationally in the U.S. or releasing records. I
certainly wanted to bring that into the excitement I think and the fantastic commercial
opportunity at SXSW. I’ve been going to Austin for 23 years so I knew that there was an
audience for Brazilian music. I mean they have amazing things there Lissette. They have
the biggest Brazilian library archives in the world at the University of Texas library. They
have an escola de samba made up of all gringos, you know capoeira school all gringos
and when we gave Gil the key to the city in 2007 I mean they had this huge display of
capoeira and samba and there was one actual Brazilian in the crowd. So it seemed like a
great, very hospitable place to have particularly younger bands come in and get their feet
wet in the American market. I would say the real turning point was the year before Gil
came when we brought Lenine. And Mark and I and a partner actually financed that cause
there was no way to bring him and we were working with him and we were just dying to
have him and he played a showcase and it was just you know an incredible thing. He got a
booking agent, he got IMN it’s his booking agency, right away, and got all this kind of
attention and it was really, really good.

GGC: So you were also directly involved in bringing Gil in 2007?

TM: Yes, yes, because I was working on that record at the time, Gil Luminoso. You know I
suggested it and he was coming, it was right when he was starting that tour. I brought it to
his attention and I asked him if he would come.

GGC: Let’s talk about some of the bands you’ve listed, there’s too many to obviously name
them all. Are there any there that you recognize that you could talk about, or that you’re
familiar with?

TM: Well, first of all, I mean to me Patu Fu is just fabulous. They have a long career in
Brazil already. They’re post-modern pop, they’re very cool, so definitely one of my picks.
But what I wanted to say was that the diversity of music is what blows my mind. I would
say a good half of these people sing in English, they deal in alternative rock that people
could identify with any number of countries, it’s really not specifically Brazil, they sing less
world music per se; people are doing a lot of interesting hybrids, a lot of punk rock in this
line up. It’s very interesting.

GCC: During your two recent trade missions in 2007 and 2008, were you able to detect
any trends? I know Brazil is such a huge country and to talk about it in monolithic terms is
impossible, but are there any trends, specifically with the younger generation, of course
the whole thing about the hybridity in music, there’s no such thing as purists in music any
more, there is no such things as genres, but were there any trends that you were able to
detect while you were there?

TM: Well I would say particularly traveling in the northeast the techno brega continues to

be really big and there are a lot of sort of like garage gatherings late at night where people
play it all night long.

GGC: And is that going to be reflected at all at SXSW?

TM: There’s no techno brega, there’s one brega, but it’s not techno and that would be La
Pupuna, they’re from Belem.

GGC: It’s always been said that Brazilian music is so insular due to the sheer size of the
country the market there can support its own vast industry. Has that changed in the last
several years as we see more music being exported?

TM:You know I was just really very impressed by stories people told us, in fact from bands
that aren’t being represented at SXSW. The people who are doing a great business via
MySpace and they’re getting signed to U.S. and Canadian labels just on the basis of the
music that they’re putting up on their MySpace. I think that, you know especially with Gil’s
leadership on this, I think that Brazilian musicians are very far in thinking in terms of how to
use the Internet as a method of communication and they sort of understand that they’re in
a somewhat isolated spot, that this is their best tool to reach into the outside world and
they’re really into that. I mean a number of these bands that are coming to SX, will be
doing full tours of the United States that they booked fully through MySpace and
Facebook. No agents, no nothing.

GGC: Yeah I guess that’s the nature of the music industry now, they’re cutting out the
middleman.

TM: I will say, it’s quite impressive how music is still regionalized. I mean there are still
local scenes, like I said the techno brega scene is happening in Belem, in the state of
Pará. We were in Minas Gerais in the summer too, and there you see a very evolved style
of music, I mean those people obviously have a really intense musical education, from
classical background and it goes into making music that is instrumental in more of a
western European tradition perhaps. I think if we mention the great Milton Nascimento, he
too has kind of that Minas lineage because his music is so complex melodically and
harmonically.

GGC: He was part of the Clube da Esquina scene.

TM: Yeah, yeah, then in Goiania they have a metal and hard rock scene. They’ll be some
bands from Goiania.

GGC: Speaking of the Internet have you heard of this singer/songwriter who passed away
very young, he killed himself, Yonlu? Luaka Bop is going to release an album.

TM: I did read about that.

GGC: It reflects the whole of idea of communicating through the Internet and making DIY
music in your own bedroom…

TM: And getting it out to the world even if you’re in your bedroom, yeah I agree.

GGC: It’s fascinating.

TM: I mean the other thing too that I think is really interesting Lissette is that Brazilians, I
mean I’ve been going to Brazil for over thirty years, the young Brazilian musicians are
organizing, creating professional organizations for themselves at a rate that really
astounds me. This one guy who’s coming with a couple of these bands, Eduardo Ramos,
he’s the guy who was originally managing CSS, so you know he’s pretty smart about how
to export music, but he also realized that they needed to have a better internal system
because touring in Brazil is really difficult financially and organizationally and he set up a
network just in the state of Sao Paulo that has 26 venues that bands can come and do
around the state and he’s really working on that, not only for the Brazilian bands in Sao
Paulo and other states, but also as an exchange with bands in the U.S. who want to come
down and you know have a full itinerary in Brazil.

GGC: That’s amazing.

TM: So that’s happening too.

MV Remix Rock

http://mvremix.com/rock_blogs/2009/03/10/brazil%E2%80%99s-nancy-are-
about-to-warm-things-up-with-their-keep-cooler-ep-out-today-march-10th-
and-sxswus-tour/

Brazil’s Nancy are about to warm things up with their Keep Cooler EP
out today, March 10th and SXSW/US Tour

10 de março de 2009
Brazil’s Nancy are about to warm things up with their Keep Cooler EP out today, March
10th and SXSW/US Tour
Brazil is known for it’s ass-shakin’ music with artists like CSS and Bonde do Role, which
leaves one to wonder what else is out there? Well, Nancy, that’s what! Their sultry melodic
indie pop sound is miles away from what the Brazilian music scene is noted for in the
States. Rest assure, though, that Nancy is about to give everyone a lesson in Brazil’s
hidden indie rock gems.
Their deliciously sexy EP Keep Cooler, being digitally released Stateside today on March
10, 2009, is the work of exchanged e-mails, late night AIM action, swapping Garage Band
vocals, guitar parts, and a couple of transatlantic flights. While Camila Zamith (vocals)
carried her laptop from Uruguay to London, Praxis (guitar) wore flip-flops to work almost
everyday in Rio de Janeiro. Camila believes that this kind of songwriting process makes
things more “organised and disciplined as a band, as well as more objective about what
we wanted to accomplish. It makes you work a little harder because you don’t have the
instant feedback from your bandmates. Inevitably, you try to write something that is closer
to a final version of the song so that you aren’t the one slowing down the process.” Months
later, they regrouped for two weeks of up-all-night recording sessions in Brasília, Brazil’s
modernist capital, and all the hard work and late night electronic coorespondence paid off
with the completion of their enchantingly irresistible EP.
“In terms of new bands, Brazilian band Nancy won me over with the sexy and swaggering
Keep Cooler” – USA TODAY, Pop Candy
“Nancy craft sultry tunes in the vein of Metric and sure to make a wave in the states with
their SXSW performance…their songs stand on their own among a world of indie rock that
sounds derivative and uninspired. Nancy is the real deal” - Tripwire
“Brazilian band Nancy bring swagger and sex appeal with their South American blend of
indie rock and dream pop” - Download.com
“With roots in London, Uruguay, Rio and beyond, singer Camilla Zamith and her
unassuming crew cobbled together this promising EP using instant messaging,
GarageBand and pluck, resulting in a fetching album spearheaded by this catchy tune
about an obsessive lover tired of being walked on” - WIRED.com
“We don’t like using the word “sexy” to describe music but it’s the first word that comes to
mind when listening to “Keep Cooler” by Nancy…Camila Zamith’s sultry vocal delivery is
worthy of the likes of Roisin Murphy and even Goldfrapp, but the song itself exists in a
more rockish dimension. The chugging, marching rhythm and guitar strums give the song
a feel of urgency and energy.” – RCRD LBL
Nancy kicks off their first US tomorrow and will be playing dates on the East Coast leading
up to some great sets at this year’s SXSW.

March Tour Dates
Wed, March 11 - Baltimore, MD @ The Metro Gallery
Thu, March 12 - DC @ The Red and The Black
Fri, March 13 - NYC @ The Delancey
Sat, March 14 - NYC @ Pianos
Sun, March 15 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Khyper
*SXSW*
Wed, March 18 - Austin, TX @ The Rio - 9pm
Fri, March 20 - Austin, TX - The Palm Door Party @ Beauty Bar - 1am
RSVP @ http://www.beautybar.com/sxsw/
Sat, March 21 – Austin, TX @ French Legation Museum
Nancy are:
Camila Zamith: vocals
Praxis: Guitars
Dreaduardo: Drums
Munha: Bass
Fernando Velloso: Guitars
Ivan Bicudo: Keys

Band Radio

http://www.bandradio.com/news/industry_news/sxsw_grows_global_/

SXSW Grows Global

Written by Mike Stahl
21 de Janeiro de 2009 16:56

International participation at SXSW continues to make impressive gains. One fourth of all
band applications for 2009 came from abroad and forty percent of the bands invited to
perform at SXSW 2009 hail from outside the US. The UK still holds the lead in the number
of accepted bands but 2009 shows a surprising surge from Mexico, third behind the UK
and Canada with 41 invited bands. Spain ties with Australia for fourth place and an
unusually large contingent of Brazilian bands comes in fifth.

An unprecedented seven countries from Latin America will be
sending their bands to Austin and registrants will be able to sample
music from five African nations. The total number of countries with
invited acts stands at 52 as compared with 43 countries represented
at SXSW 2008.
Perhaps even more significant than the number of international
bands that apply and perform at SXSW, is the number of international business people
who continue to flock to Austin. International registration is already up 33% for 2009.
Internationals are drawn to SXSW for the unparalleled opportunity to connect with the US
music industry as well as with their counterparts in film and interactive.
First-timers bring fresh perspectives and high expectations. Gina Cobbold, Account
Manager of the UK on-line lifestyle community Xtaster will be attending SXSW for the first
time in 2009. “Over the course of my time working in the music industry, I have always
wanted to experience the hub that is SXSW. I expect to see not only music, film and
interactive but a huge breeding ground for these industries building new relationships with
brands across the board.”
Bruno Oxe of the Brazilian funk rock band Oxe, from the far northeastern region of the
country, calls SXSW “…a dream come true…we are certain that SXSW will be the
beginning of a new era for Oxe. Hopefully, we’ll return to Brazil with exciting prospects for
an international beginning.”
Indie Mobile, a British company that licenses indie label content for mobile, is another new
face at SXSW 2009. MD Seth Jackson is looking forward to a productive and exciting trip:
“2009 is the year we are really focused on expanding our North American network; taking
quality British and European music and delivering via mobile to the US audience. We are
hoping to run some cutting edge mobile marketing campaigns at the festival to showcase
what can be achieved with the right mix of technology, creative and kick-ass music.”
Berlin and Hamburg are making first-time appearances at SXSW 2009 with showcases,
special events and a presence in the Trade Show. The City of Hamburg is sponsoring a
series of events with the Reeperbahn Festival, the annual international indie-rock festival
that Hamburg hosts each fall. “Hamburg is already established as Germany’s number one

music city but there is still a lot to do to put Hamburg on the map internationally. Austin is
the go-to place for international attention,” says Johannes Everke, Director of Marketing
Services for Hamburg Marketing.
Gabriel Prokoviev, grandson of the classical composer, agrees. He is bringing his London-
based Nonclassical project -- part record label/part nightclub and live music incubator – to
Austin for the first time. “SXSW is THE rock ‘n roll event where musical boundaries are
broken, and therefore the most exciting place for us to bring Nonclassical. It will be a
chance for people to see that in the right environment classical music can really ‘go off the
rails’ and give as good as any band or dj. Plus it will be an opportunity for us to meet
many other inspirational international artists and absorb new influences and approaches
to 21st century music.”
Whether the boundaries are to be broken or to be bridged, SXSW remains a unique
meeting point for global business in music, film and interactive.
Participating countries include: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil,
Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, Faroe Islands,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria,
Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, UK, Uganda, Uruguay,
Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

Synthesis Blog

http://blog.synthesis.net/2009/03/21/oxe-brazilian-swamp-rock-march-18th-sxsw-2009/

21 de Março de 2009

Oxe: Brazilian Swamp Rock, March 18th, SXSW 2009

I really didn’t want to go back out Wednesday night. My friends were cortex-deep into a
murder mystery puzzle and I was a bit zonked. But since I had randomly run into my old
school pal Brendan the day before at a Mexican joint in the south side of town, and he
happened to have just flown into Austin all the way from Sao Paulo, Brazil, I felt obligated
to see the band he co-produces.

Looking at CD he’d given me, with the band in evil-looking clown makeup, I was even less
optimistic. A Brazilian Insane Clown Posse? Fuck, help. Brendan explained that the stage
makeup had to do with Northeastern Brazilian folklore, but there’s something about the
breed of ICP, Midwestern, sad fat loser kid rock-hip-hop that drives me up the freaking
wall. Regardless, I jumped on a bike and took the 15 minute ride down South Congress to
The Rio to see Oxe (pronounced OH-she, I believe).

I was immediately impressed, and a little bit ashamed I lacked faith in the band. Not only
was it not shitty rap-metal, they were fun, danceable and tight as a Brazilian drum. Oxe
call their genre of music “swamp rock,” but it’s basically just hard rock, like Guns ‘n Roses
meets Jane’s Addiction by way of classic Santana. Every lyric was sung in Portuguese so I
couldn’t tell you what they were singing about, but the band absolutely floored the couple
dozen record label folks gathered to check them out.

Oxe reminded me that at SXSW, and indeed anywhere, if you judge a book by its cover
you might just miss out on the real shit. They were the real deal that night, and well worth
the bike ride.

More Oxe photos after the jump.

NOISE – SFBG Music Blog
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/music/2009/03/sxsw_quick_fixes_with_flower_t.html

SXSW: Quick fixes with Flower Travellin' Band, Fleet Foxes' J. Tillman,
Garotas Suecas, and more

                Funky love: Brazil's Garotas Suecas seduces at Emo's.

SXSW memories - fading now, but hey, it's only Friday. Among the highlights yesterday,
March 18: Brazil's Garotas Suecas - the bright-eyed, fun 'n' funky heirs to Booker T. or at
least Sharon Jones. My Portuguese is a bit nonexistent, but we got the picture loud and
clear, thanks to the ensemble's hyper-expressive vocalist.

Even more mind-blowing: Flower Travellin' Band at Smokin' Music. The band sometimes
best known for its nekkid, motorcycle-riding album shot finally made it to the states for the
last of five shows on its first U.S. tour. Previous sojourns have been scuttled for various
reasons, but wow! Deeply eccentric power-centered psych-stoner rock - Hideki Ishima's
huge sitarla is only part of the story, generating resonant, almost boomingly bass-like
sounds. Have to see more of them if/when they get to SF.

Massive massive: Hideki Ishima wields his mighty sitarla.

      Aloney, dear: J. Tillman of Fleet Foxes steps out from behind the sprawl.
Quieter but still thought-provoking: J. Tillman of Fleet Foxes brought out a set of intimate

folk numbers for a small show at Club 115. The man made time to chat with fans before
and aft. Big plans for Fleet Foxes are imminent. Watch this space.

                           Big sounds: Little Boots delights.
UK's Little Boots - loved her retro-disco tune-age. Just caught a snippet of her set but the
long-long-faux-lashed gal was sweeping the crowd off their feet with some sensuous
boom-thwack. Down to earth and staring at the stars. Also winning in the Emo's Annex
tent: Micachu from the UK. Her new take on a kind of femtronica, inspired no doubt by DIY
musicmakers like YACHT, was one of the most eye- and ear-opening of the eve. More,
puleeze. Also wonderful was Nite Jewel - the twosome brought the knob-twiddling noise of
the experimental scene into a dulcet, softly dancy realm. Their boyish counterparts in the
other room of Red 7: Silk Flowers, who roved from keyboards and synths to percussion,
pulling from NYC art-synth punks like Suicide as well as Sheffield, England,
experimentalists such as Cabaret Voltaire.

Bits and bytes: Micachu takes femtronica to another level.

                width="338" height="450" />
                Gems: Nite Jewel shines.

Unmasked: Silk Flowers.

                         Angst flag flying: Total Abuse rages.
On the other side of the continuum at Red 7: Total Abuse. Baby-faced and impassioned,
these guys may look like kids you'd wanna sit, but they got pummeling hardcore riffs - and
angst - to spare. Down at the Siltbreeze showcase, U.S. Girls was busy embedding pop
songs, commercial snippets into sheets of noise - very nice. Ending the evening: Human
Eye at Headhunters patio - the tiniest space yet and too small for the crazed fans who
crowded the spot to see the rarely touring garage/rage rock combo. I like the way the
vocalist just announced, "We're taking a break" right before the show, leaving the poor

bass player holding his instrument and looking happily puzzled for 15 or so minutes. Noise
to close out the night, along with a red velvet treat from the first cupcake truck I've ever
seen.

                     U.S. noise: U.S. Girls wafts in on a Siltbreeze.

Bye, bye: Human Eye.