For anyone who doesnt know what SXSW is, South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of interactive, film, and music festivals and conferences that take place every spring in Austin, Texas. SXSW first began in 1987 and is centered on the downtown Austin Convention Center. Each of the three parts runs relatively independently, with different start and end dates. The music section ran from 18th – 22nd March.
Over 6GB of upcoming artists can be obtained legally via a torrent, all music was released freely from the organisers. After extensively listening through all the bands, a few notable artists are to be had here, some to watch out for as future stars, and some who wont make it, but are still stars in my eyes.

Alex Cuba – Not knowing what to expect listening to all the artists, the first one to strike me is Alex Cuba. Already having a good fan base in Cuba, his music can be seen as Spanish led guitar music mixed with a funky bassline that is instantly catchy and a perfect tune to lounge about lisening to him.

Alexandre Grooves – A Brazilian, with the capability to mix indie hook lines in with Jazz and traditional Spanish music. A marvel to listen to, even if you dont know what he’s singing, its easy listening at its finest.

Baddies – A heavy Indie band for England to come all the way to US before they’ve made it in their home country, is a bold move. And rightly so. A prefect blend of rock shout-abouts, and a great hook to catch the imaginations of anyone listening, highly recommended.

Bart Davenport – Destined for great things, Davenport brings what Corainne Bailey Rae brought to the table, bright, bubbly pop at its finest. Surely going to make it, with some great songs already under his belt, a highly regarded album is inevitable.

Black Lips – Out to bring classic punk music to the modern age, these guys got a good thing going, with instantly catchy guitar riffs and a powerful singer to back it up.

Bleeders – A hardcore punk band thats got the perfect blend of power driven guitars and an a great lead guitarist and to wrap it all up, a voice that doesnt make a cliche of the hardcore punk scene.

Braille – I dont often recommend rap artists, but this guy has a lot of talent mixing sample sounds with his own rap style thats impossible to ignore.

Casxio – With a fantastic mix of classic 70’s funk dance guitar and bass, mixed up with the more modern styles of indie synths and vocals, this bands creativity is certainly a band to look out for. Watch this space.

Choo Choo – A band set out to reinvent garage rock, from what I heard they seem to be doing a good job about it.

Thats it for now, stay tuned for D-F!