The 2nd Annual AU Review SXSW Music Awards!

As we fly back to Australia from our sixth annual week of coverage at SXSW in Austin, Texas, we’ve spent some time reflecting on our experiences and now present to you the second annual AU review SXSW Music Awards – acknowledging the bands who made the biggest impressions on us at the event. These awards were voted on by our team at the event: Larry Heath, Sosefina Fuamoli, Jules LeFevre and Johnny Au! Read on:

Best Australian Band or Solo Artist at SXSW: Haitus Kaiyote

Rigid jazz played with the abandon of an indie rock band – that’s the precarious balance that Haitus Kaiyote manage to strike. There’s more than that: elements of funk and R&B are welcomed into the mix, and the sheer musicianship that the band display while steering through their complex compositions – without intimidating the audience – is probably something most jazz musicians dream about.

Runner Up: Ball Park Music, Steve Smyth

Best Australian Electronic or Hip-Hop Artist at SXSW: SAFIA

The Canberra trio stood out as more than a hype band this year at SXSW, drawing in enthusiastic numbers throughout the week. Back home, we’ve seen the diversity in their music influences, and in the States, it was cool to see American audiences ease into the atmosphere SAFIA conjured up almost effortlessly. For an electronic-heavy act to do the above over such a short showcase time, relatively speaking, is impressive and over the sets I saw them roll out, the crowds were always left wanting more.

Runners Up: Hermitude, Mansionair

Best International Artist: Catfish & The Bottlemen

Welsh band Catfish & The Bottlemen have been drawing comparisons to stadium rockers who have many more years under their belt and there’s no wondering why. A killer formula for structuring energetic indie rock music with a strong rhythm and passion pulsating beneath has put the band on the map and during their run at SXSW, punters were able to see this group of young musicians truly put everything they had into some intimate and interesting live shows. Van McCann’s personable nature makes him such a great and promising frontman and as a music fan, it’s exciting to see a band at this stage of their career.

Runners Up: Future Islands, MS MR

Best Solo Performance: Charlotte OC

Dark, futuristic pop delivered by a magnetic stage presence – Charlotte OC’s performance at the British Music Embassy was notable for the crushing strength of her voice, and for the stunned silence of the crowd watching. The heavy synths push forward the earworm hooks – check “Colour My Heart” – while Charlotte twists and shudders on stage, curling her voice into the ribbons of melody.

Runners Up: Soak, Meg Mac, Tove Styrke

Best Austin Based Artist: East Cameron Folkcore

This Texan eight piece with brass, a mandolin and a double bass had great energy and evoked a vibe similar to what you may compare (in Australia) to bands like Little Bastard. It’s that Americana soaked rock and roll that you hear so often around the American South – and when it’s done well, it’s inescapably fun. These guys they’ve totally nailed it. Their track “The Joke” was a highlight of their set, and I always enjoyed the track “Our City”, which was about Austin – and somewhat appropriate as a lead in to the week of SXSW. Both songs will be available on their upcoming LP Kingdom of Fear.

Runners Up: The Black Angels, Spoon

Best Hip-Hop Artist: Run the Jewels

Killer Mike and El-P have become one of the most exciting forces in hip-hop; Australia loves them, Kendrick’s name dropped Mike – a legend in his own right – on his new album and as SXSW proved, the duo has definitely cemented a spot for themselves within the wider industry. With a shining sense of positivity and humour that comes through each song, not to mention a brilliant dynamic which exists between the two on stage, Run The Jewels proved that dickheads can try and take a run at them onstage and they’ll still come out as kings, beloved by the masses.

Runner Up: Remi, A$AP Rocky

Best Sound: East India Youth

Dressed in a sharp grey suit, wielding a bass and two short drum sticks, William Doyle spends most of his performance in a blur, whipping up frenzies of synth and drums noises with jabs of his fingers. His creations are immense: vast, swirling soundscapes pushed forward to heady crescendos, Doyle manages to insert his strong voice at just the opportune moments to anchor the proceedings with a melody.

Runners Up: Soak, 숨[suːm]

Most Original: Kate Boy

Swedish synth pop is hardly new territory – but what Kate Boy do with it is. Futuristic pop hooks, bombastic deep electro choruses, all played by a trio who insist on wearing the same clothes (they explain it’s due to their desire to achieve equality androgyny), coupled with strange and ambiguous lyrics – make what Kate Boy do seem a world away from the pack.

Runners Up: Kirin J Callinan, BADBADNOTGOOD

The Buzz Award: Years & Years

British trio Years & Years continued their climb to wider fame at SXSW, dominating their showcases and demonstrating why the BBC named them the Sound of 2015. Between the three exists an approach to electro-pop music that is both fresh and classic at the same time. They performed on numerous stages during the week, including a spot at the MTVu Woodies, which has in the past, proven to be a successful platform for other artists in the same vein. Performing with grins on their faces, the band was in sync with the crowd the entire time and the level of quality went up ten fold because of it.

Runners Up: Tove Lo, Charlotte OC, Zella Day

Best “Heritage” Performance: The Residents

Well this was special. The Residents celebrated their 40th anniversary at SXSW by performing the end to the Randy, Chuck and Bob Trilogy, Shadowland. The night – a rare performance – was Chuck’s final performance and the vibe in the room was electric. Really thrilled to have witnessed it.

Runners Up: The Pop Group, The Church

Best Production: Spoon at Auditorium Shores

Playing with sheets and shadows, the massive set from the Austin locals attracted thousands of punters and the band did not disappoint, playing through material from their entire back catalogue. Though the production was simple, it amplified their set well and made for an enjoyable performance. Oh, and there there was an EPIC firework set that followed, which definitely added to the experience, as we enjoyed our frozen margaritas. Great night all around!

Runners Up: Hot Chip at Samsung Milk Music Lounge, Will Butler

Loudest Performance: The Vaccines at The Blackheart

Billed as the ‘special guests’ of the Communion showcase at The Blackheart, The Vaccines pulled off an impressive set…right before they packed up and headed just down the road to headline at the Clive Bar about an hour later. Though the crowd didn’t get the full run of songs the set lists stuck to the stage floor dictated, The Vaccines turned things up to 11 regardless and filled every moment of their stage time with chaotic and ridiculously fun rock and roll. With no barrier separating the crowd from the band, Justin and Freddie wound up getting right in the faces of the people in the front row, beckoning us to join them. Their set was over as quickly as it began and watching the band literally throw their instruments down on the ground, grin at the crowd, before running off to the next was exhilarating on its own.

Runners Up: Honeyblood at The British Embassy, Wolf Alice at Hype Hotel, The Pop Group at the Austin Psych Fest Party

Hello Asia! Best Korean Artist: EE

One of the finds of SXSW, visual performance act EE from South Korea shows there is much more to Korean music than K-Pop. Combining contemporary choreographed dance moves, electronic music and hip hop beats, EE wasan interesting an refreshing addition to the K-Pop Night Out showcase. Add humour and full costumes EE was a visual and aural tour de force.

Runner Up: 숨[suːm]

Hello Asia! Best Japanese Artist: Perfume

For the very first time, a star Japanese pop act showcased at SXSW. Known throughout Asia for their high production values on the live concerts and pumping disco beats, Perfume brought a scaled down show to SXSW to give us a taste of what their full show would be like. A capacity Highland provided a perfect backdrop to showcase Perfume’s talents as their fans sang along to all 9 songs in their set. Combining this was a live stream of their first track on YouTube providing a multimedia showcase of what top Japanese pop is all about.

Runner Up: Moumoon

Best Day Party: The Aussie BBQ

Anywhere in Australia this lineup would have been a major festival, complete with $100 day tickets: in SXSW it occupied two damp stages in Brush Park. Ball Park Music, Haitus Kaiyote, and The Delta Riggs delivered career-best performances, while newbies Mansionair and Remi crackled with energy in front of a big, impressed industry crowd.

Runners Up: SPIN Party, Canadian Blast BBQ

Best Food: Rachael Ray’s Feedback

For the 8th consecutive year, Rachael Ray’s Feedback Party took over Stubb’s BBQ for the final afternoon of SXSW, seeing a mix of bands from around the world play across three stages, while four Rachael Ray recipes (which you can see HERE), were enjoyed by the masses (you have to try the tacos!) – some of whom had lined up since the early hours of the morning to get their position in what has become one of the most popular and anticipated events of SXSW each and every year. And as much as it’s about the food, it’s about the music too – and you can read about that HERE.

Runners Up: Canadian Blast BBQ, Aussie BBQ

Hardest Artist to See: Mew

It was third times the charm to experience Mew at SXSW this year, having lined up for over an hour to see them three times in a row, to only get into see them the third time. Regularly playing small venues, it was as much to do with capacity as it was with the Danish group themselves, but for a group that seemingly hadn’t been to the US in six years (and they’ve never toured Australia I might add), their return was highly anticipated. I shared some of my thoughts of their performance HERE.

Runners Up: Everything at the Samsung Milk Music Lounge

Best Evening Showcase: Culture Collide/StubHub Experience

Boasting performances by ’25 Artists You Can’t Leave SXSW Without Seeing’, Clive Bar in the Rainey Street district was a popular venue at SXSW and was almost always at capacity. Punters were sent notifications earlier on the show day to pick up special credentials but even so, the lines stretched right around the block. Their three show nights were headlined by Portugal. The Man, War On Drugs and The Vaccines, not to mention featuring some stellar sets in the intimate surrounds of Future Islands, The Delta Riggs, MS MR and Mew. To be able to see some of these larger bands in such a small venue, they provided experiences music fans aren’t likely to forget in a long time.

Runners Up: Communion Showcase, Blackjack/AIM at Latitude 30

Best Pop-Up Venue: Pandora Discovery Den

The Pandora Discovery Den, which takes over The Gatsby during SXSW, nailed it this year. An intimate environment, great VIP treatment, top notch production and stellar sound – PLUS, there was a whole area next door where you could use clean toilets, enjoy a special PIXAR Inside Out photo booth, free chicken wings (I think they may have been from Pizza Hut but they were pretty tasty all the same) and more. And that doesn’t even get me started on the excellent lineups. Wyclef killed it, and artists like Peking Duk, Robert DeLong and The Black Angels couldn’t have played better stages.

Runners Up: British Music Embassy, Samsung Milk Lounge

Best Permanent Venue: Stubbs

Stubb’s has taken home this award for the second consecutive year. With great showcases day and night, excellent BBQ, consistently solid sound and the ability to host up to three stages at an event. They never let us down, and this year was no exception. Highlights included the Interactive Closing Party with TV on the Radio and Ludacris, the NPR Showcase, the Rachael Ray Feedback Party and the SPIN Day Party.

Runners Up: Empire, The Blackheart

Biggest Disappointment: No Drake (or Kanye!)

This was the rumour that had hip-hop fans checking their social media strongly all week. Drake teaming up with Kanye at the Hype Hotel. Drake teaming up with Kanye and Kendrick at Stubbs. Drake eating a burrito on 6th Street. The hype surrounding the Canadian rapper was so strong, but alas it was not to be. Maybe next year…

Runners Up: Fire Marshalls closing down venues, No iTunes Festival

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.