On November 1, 2011 the peeps over in Austin, the ones listening to thousands upon thousands of CDs from artists hopeful to play one or more SXSW Music 2012 Showcases, released the first batch of said confirmed artists set to perform starting Tuesday, March 13, and continuing through to Sunday, March 18.
This allowed music fans and journalists alike to begin the creation of our “must see” list of SXSW Showcasing Acts; a welcomed change indeed, thus allowing a bit more planning time than in years past.
On November 14 I introduced the first SXSW Music 2012 feature set that has continued every week (with the exception of two weeks in December during my Best Albums of 2011 series) on The Kaffeine Buzz Post303Radio.com show, which airs every Monday at 3pm MST / 10pm GMT (replay on Saturdays at 11am/6pm).
This is a follow up to the Episode 3, which you can listen to at: http://www.mixcloud.com/kaffeinebuzz/the-kaffeine-buzz-show-episode-3-post303radio/. All other episodes can be streamed at mixcloud.com/kaffeinebuzz.
Cashier No. 9
From Ireland, they seem to be Man U fans, but when that team is down at least two of the members revert to Liverpool, or so I gleaned from a radio interview with Danny Todd (vocals, guitars) and Phil Wallace (percussion, harmonica, pan flute) on the Passport Approved show, circa 2009.
Aside from wince-worthy lame question about the inspiration for the band’s name, “Were you guys cashiers?” and the cameraman having a bit of a cough, we learn that the famed David Holmes was involved in the Cashier No. 9 debut, To The Death Of Fun (Bella Union), which came out in June of 2011. A fine player to have on the team from the get go, and a move that definitely worked to their advantage, given the amount of accolades and attention the album and the single “Goldstar” has received. And on that track they brought in what they call a “musical hero,” Tommy Morgan, a harmonica player who’s performed with the likes of Dean Martin to The Carpenters and the Beach Boys.
Unfortunately, “Goldstar” is the only track that seems to be available for purchase in the U.S. at the moment, and listens are not available on Spotify, although I found that seconds of previewing can be found on the iTunes U.K. page for To The Death Of Fun. Yay. This is yet another example of the irritation, from this music listener’s perspective, that continues in the world of digital music distribution (yes, I’m sure I could download it from some bit torrent site, but I prefer not to have to go that route for the sake of the artist). Another track, “Oh Pity,” is up on YouTube, so I thought it best to include it with this post so you can give it a listen.
In November of 2011 Cashier No. 9 was awarded Best Album for “To The Death Of Fun” and Best Video for “Lost At Sea” by NIMA’s (Northern Irish Music Awards). They’ve also made available to those that sign up, a free download of the Drone remix of “Goldstar” at http://www.cashierno9.com.
Besides Danny and Phil, Cashier No. 9 members include:
James Smith – Guitars, Vocals
Stuart Magowan – Bass guitar, Vocals
Philip Duffy- Drums
Ronan Quinn – Keys, Percussion, Guitar, Vocals
facebook.com/cashierno9
@cashierno9
Parlovr
Just watching the video for “Pen to Paper,” directed by Martin Reisch, is gorgeous unto itself. Add in the soundtrack and you’ve got a full-circle representation of the Parlovr – colorful balloons flowing in the breeze, fireworks going off in an open field while people frolic through, some carrying flags, others doing cartwheels.
It’s a party. It’s happy, happy, joy, joy.
Graduates of the SXSW class of 2010 (having also performed at NXNE in 2009), this trio from Montreal has been at this music thing since 2006. One year later, drummer Jeremy MacCuish joined founders Louis Jackson and Alex Cooper (not Alice Cooper…that’s some other guy that sold a few records here and there); and then in 2010, signed to Dine Alone Records, which re-released the band’s 2008 self-titled debut.
Having toured over the years across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, Parlovr hit up CMJ in October, playing new material from the upcoming 2012 release, Kook Soul. And from those live shows, the band has garnered great praise for tearing up the stage. Expect the same at SXSW.
Yuksek
Yuksek is the work of Pierre-Alexander Busson, who resides in Reims, France, creating both his own original work and a number of remixes for the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, M83, Phoenix, Moby, Fenech-Soler, and Gorillaz, to mention but a mere few.
If you’ve seen the travel commercial for Vegas, where the young professional is reliving his glory nights in sin city by going through his pics and listening to “Tonight” – that was the track that threw Yuksek into the ears of millions.
That song was part of his debut album Away From The Sea, released in 2009, and June of 2011, released his second full-length, Living on the Edge of Time (you can stream the album on Soundcloud) on Ultra Records. The album was recorded at him home studio in Reims and the single “On A Train” is following in his previous work’s footsteps.
In an interview on Clash Music, Mr. Busson explains the songwriting process that includes both the song construction (including the instrumentation) and how his vocals fit into the formula, “So, I had to find a tone of voice, a timbre, something pushed to the limit. So that eventually, I was almost unable to get the feeling that I was the one who was singing.” And all drive led back to the time where he was performing live, “One of the reasons why I really wanted to sing on this record was for me to be able to sing it entirely on stage.”
And while Yuksek is busy making his own music, touring, and remixing other’s, he spend his ‘spare time’ collaborating with Klaxons, Peaches, and The Teenagers, while also lending his musical talent to Peter and the Magician and The Krays.
