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Music

This post is about the music conference.

The LP Questionnaire/Pick Three - Sean Smith and Darren Lackie of We Were Promised Jetpacks

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Hi hi, ladies and gentlemens. Everyone's (someone's?) favorite round of five completely random questions is back! There's a lot of excellent excellence in store for you this year, as always. I can hardly believe it's the fifth year in a row of this madness.

I'm beyond the valley of the pleased to start this year's LPQ/P3's with Sean Smith and Darren Lackie of We Were Promised Jetpacks. Hailing from Edinburgh, in one of my favorite countries in all the world, Scotland, the lads played their first show at a Battle of the Bands competition at their school. They won, and the rest is current history.

WWPJ released their second full length, In the Pit of the Stomach in October of last year, but I confess I'm still listening to These Four Walls all the time. If you haven't heard "Conductor," you are missing the out.

The Cult Headline Auditorium Shores on March 17

The Cult will make its 2012 concert debut when the band plays SXSW next month, headlining the Auditorium Shores Stage on Saturday, March 17. The Auditorium Shores Stage show will be free and open to the public, and The Cult will take the stage at 8:00PM.

"SXSW is thrilled that The Cult is returning to play our biggest stage at Auditorium Shores," said Darin Klein, SXSW Festival Producer. "We're excited to hear their new tunes and their classic hits. The show is free and open to the public, so everyone in Austin should get fired up for a great night of music."

Artist Profile: Lazee

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Four time Grammy nominated Mawuli Kulego, aka Lazee, is a hard working young man who’s been brought up in the knowledge that nothing comes for free. He was born in 1985 in Scandinavia’s southernmost providence, Malmo, Sweden with his mother and two sisters. Lazee recently had the #1 record in Sweden titled Calling Out featuring artists such as Apollo Drive. His song "Hold On" featuring Neverstore, was nominated for a European MTV Award for Best New Artist in 2010, and his music has been featured in the new Lil Wayne Documentary The Carter. Along with the re-release of his new album Suppose To Happen Lazee recently released a mixtape titled One Way Ticket which was just featured in Complex Magazine. Check him this year as he makes his debut SXSW performance this March.

Artist Profile: Radiation City

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Portland based quartet Radiation City is an up and coming electroacoustic band who has already gained significant recognition in the indie music scene after the release of their first album, The Hands That Take You. Funnily enough the title of the record comes from a shared fixation between band members Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison of the flowing movement of a bank teller’s hands when counting money. Ellison, the group’s lead vocalist and keys player, and guitarist Spies also founded a DIY cassette tape label together dubbed Apes Tapes during their formation of Radiation City. The band also includes bassist Matt Rafferty and drummer Randy Bemrose. Influences heard in their music range from 50s and 60s doo-wop and pop to 70s singer/songwriters to modern indie sounds. They describe themselves in three words as a “warm pop dreamcicle.”

The Daily Chord - Wednesday, February 22

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Moog, Switched On and Static Tongues at SXSW



SXSW is excited to announce a collaborative showcase, brought to you by Moog synthesizers, Austin-based synth store Switched On, and Alan Palomo's (Neon Indian) Static Tongues imprint.  On Thursday, March 15th at Barbarella, Neon Indian performs alongside a lineup, largely curated by Palomo himself, focusing on underground left-field electronic Texas artists who are part of the Switched On/Static Tongues family.

WFUV New York's Radio Day Stage Lineup

Photo of Gary Clark Jr. courtesy of Miriam SantosAnother great radio station has announced another great lineup for the SXSW Radio Day Stage. On Friday, March 16th from 11am to 3pm, New York City's finest - WFUV - proudly presents the Punch Brothers, Shearwater and Gary Clark, Jr.

The Punch Brothers have just released their third album Who's Feeling Young Now? In a review in The Guardian (UK) Robin Denselow wrote, "There are fine, unexpectedly jaunty melodies here, but they come wrapped in complex arrangements, as fiddle, banjo and guitar weave around the remarkable mandolin work and sometimes more fragile vocals of Chris Thile. This is a remarkable band."

SXSW 2012 Music Panelist Spotlight: Adam Ware

adam_high_res_copy.jpg1. What will you be talking about on your panel?
K-pop is poised to attempt to break into the mainstream music market in the West, and Mnet CEO Adam Ware is among those leading the charge. His panel Do Music Moguls Know a Secret About K-Pop? will explore the current and future state of the K-Pop world, and examine its viability and cultural crossovers with American music. We asked Adam to answer a couple questions for us. Check them out:

Artist Profile: Galaxy Express

49365.jpgVoted 2011 “Musician of the Year” at the Korean Music Awards as well as “Best Rock Album” in 2009, Korean rock/ K-POP band, Galaxy Express, are on the fast track to success with no sign of that train slowing down. Playing the Seoulsonic showcase last year, the band return with a clear mission in mind, and are hoping that SX will allow them to build their international profile and expose themselves to a more global audience.

Artist Profile: We Were Evergreen

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Paris based band We Were Evergreen may seem to embrace the memories of childhood into their band, through their youthful lyrics and toy-like instruments, don’t be fooled, something very mature is being conceived. Performing together since 2008, this indie electro pop band have been gaining great attention along the while. Currently We Were Evergreen is gaining huge buzz in the U.K, playing summer festivals like Wilderness and Lovebox and will be touring all throughout the big island until their SXSW debut. You might also catch their tunes on the new Louis Vuitton online advertisement as well.