As I reflect in Dallas I think to a number of people I met and how they may influence me down the track. Was it the local DJ Korupt who snuck me into the Drake gig at Fader Fort? Or the Global brand manager Cesar of mexican soda Jarritos I shared cab with? Or Amanda who hosted me at an after hours speak easy? The girl Kimberly at the W who was friends with organisers of BPM Festival in Mexico? Was it the ride share in Dallas with who gave me a background on H-Town hip hop? it the kiwi crew who are looking to bring a slice of SXSW to NZ? Or Sian from the Kiwi Landing Pad in San Fransisco?
Even the big brands were right behind hip hop. Youtube was presenting urban acts Future, Anderson Paak, Santigold and Kehlani. Pandora was presenting Young Thug and Kevin Gates. Fader Fort had Drake and Tory Lanez. Two Chains, DJ Kahled, Flatbush Zombies, Nas, Travis Scott - all playing at the ACL Music Hall to large crowds gathered outside each night. Whether this was my perception or not I was happy to get balls deep into this new scene to experience learn as much as I could first hand.
SXSW is a slog. Having a couple of nights settling in prior to wasn't much help as you were soon caught up in the hype. After arriving Sunday as the interactive sessions were in full swing, I had a look around the city and was impressed with what was set up in East Austin. I was soon hosting some kiwi drinks on the Tuesday night with fellow attendee Tommy Bates. We were joined by Zoe Mac from Jucy, Jade Hurst from Raw and other kiwis from New York, Auckland and Wellington. The panels started on Wed about 11am then you are out most of the afternoon either trying to catching up on work, trying to meet people for drinks, or have some time out of the madness. The music venues kick off about 5pm onwards at one of the 50 or so venues around town. Not to mention all the walking, eating, drinking, networking and finally getting to bed after 2am close time.
There was a definate lack of kiwi talent this year. A slower moving chain, decreased creative funding along with increased accomodation costs in Austin meant there was only three acts playing. Marlon Williams was a highlight and played at least 5 times over the week. His crooning, dark, poetic moody country was just the kind of thing that could take off in the US.
Diaz Grimm who had come up the ranks at R&V had self funded his trip and played to around 50 or so people at the Swan Dive. Hard to say how much cut through he had but you can't under estimate the access to inspiration and burst of confidence and vision being at the festival can give young creatives like him. He managed to make an impression and Alan from the NZ Music Commision highlighted the fact that its probably more effective to have artist managers at the festival rather than bringing over a troupe of artists. For year one anyway. It was something up and coming manager Pritesh Panchel was doing with his acts Manuel.
A highlight for me was syncing up with local Austin DJ / musician Thomas Sahs on the final day. He has been coming back and forth to NZ for the past 10 years and played R&V. Seeing him work his local magic connections was impressive as we got VIP passes into Mohawk venue to watch Neon Indian a popular Texan band in the vein of Passion Pit. Probably my favourite venue with a stacked amphitheatre full of music lovers.
He then took me to Fader Fort - an infamous activation on the East side set up on abandon warehouse space, that always had the best special guests performing on the final night - from Jay Z to Kanye to Snoop. There had to be 3000 people lining up outside in a stagnant line the but it wasn't long until Tom had hustled a couple of passes from a local DJ friend Korput and we were in the side door of the dusty, warehouse setting drinking Jack and Cokes. The sun was setting as the crowd was feverish in anticipation of the special guest. We had to sit through about 3 hours of OVO acts but soon Drake came out and did not disappoint!
Drake at Fader Fort OVO
The final thing about this years SXSW was I really got to know Austin better. The area east of the highway had been developed as part of the map and leading brands like Hype Hotel and Spotify House all had activations there. I spent a fair bit of time downtown at the W Hotel too, with mate Will who worked for Pandora. Went to a couple of cool house parties in East and Downtown Austin, including on speak easy. Checked out the free stage down at the Lakeside to watch Deftones. Ate BBQ and Mexican at leading restaurants Lamberts, Blacks and La Conscenda. Visited Zilfer Park where Austin City Limits is held with family friend Holly. And staying in SoCo meant I was able to catch the SXSW bus through trendy South Lamar each day and see the extent of the organisation. It really takes over the city for the 10 days or so.
As I left this morning the cab took me down an empty 6th Street one last time. The food trucks had gone, sponsor activations removed and a couple of lone street cleaners were water blasting the last of the rubbish away. It made me sad it was all over for another year but also excited for its return. Maybe can get further involved next year with more established kiwi drinks and who knows even performing. You never know where that one connect may lead.
Hamish
