DT: MARCH 5, 2010
FR: ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/CHELSI SCHRIVER
MSO
***FRANCE ROCKS AUSTIN***
THURSDAY, MARCH 18 AT KLUB KRUCIAL FROM NOON – 6:00 PM
WITH PERFORMANCES BY uffie, Brodinski, Dead Sexy Inc.,
General Elektrics, The Bewitched Hands On Top of Our Hands, SOKO AND Cocoon
OVER 30 FRENCH ARTISTS SET TO IMPACT
SXSW INCLUDING
GONZALES, SLIIMY, ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM,
DAN BLACK, THE HICKEY UNDERWORLD, THE TOXIC AVENGER, SEBASTIEN SCHULLER AND MANY MORE
Set for Thursday, March 18 from noon to 6:00 pm at Klub Krucial (614 E. 6th St., Austin), FRANCE ROCKS AUSTIN will feature a diverse line-up of seven musical acts from all over France including Uffie, Soko, Brodinski, General Elektriks, Dead Sexy Inc., Cocoon, The Bewitched Hands On Top Of Our Heads and Shine. France’s other great exports including champagne, cheese and other delicacies will be served. The event is free to attend with RSVP (no badge required) at: www.francerocksaustin.com
What: Burex Party – “France Rocks Austin”
Where: Klub Krucial 614 E. 6th St. (corner of 6th & Red River), Austin, TX
When: Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Time: 12 – 6 PM
All Ages • Open to the public • No wristbands or badges required
12:00 – 12:30 p.m.: Cocoon
12:45 – 1:15 p.m: Soko
1:30 – 2:00 p.m : Uffie
2:15 – 2:45 p.m: Dead Sexy Inc.
3:15 – 4:00 p.m: The Bewitched Hands On The Top Of Our Heads
4:15 – 5:00 p.m: General Elektriks
5:15 – 6:00 p.m: Brodinski
States Michele Amar, director of bureauexport New York, “This is by far the most significant presence of French artists that have performed at South By SouthWest. They are not only of the highest caliber, but they are some of the most popular recording and live acts in France right now. We are also excited about the spectrum of styles and genres that are being represented. I believe that it is an appropriate reflection of the innovation and extraordinary energy that is happening in the French music scene right now.”
In addition to the performers at the FRANCE ROCKS AUSTIN event, the bureauexport is also supporting over 30 artists attending SXSW including Electric Electric, Hifiklub, King of Conspiracy, Make the Girl Dance, Sliimy, The pEneLOpe[s] and The Hickey Underworld just to name a few. There’s also the official French party SXSW all ages showcase (badge required) at the Wave Rooftop on Friday, March 19 with Binary Audio Misfits, Dead Sexy Inc., Brisa Roché, Papier Tigre, Shine and a number of other talents. Set times are as follows:
What: French Party
Where: Wave Rooftop, 408 E. 6th St. Austin, TX 78701
When: Friday, March 19th, 2010
Time: 8 PM– 1 AM
All Ages • Wristbands and badges required
8:00 p.m.: Papier Tigre
9:00 pm: Sebastien Schuller
10:00 p.m.: Cocoon
11:00 p.m.: Brisa Roché
12: 00 a.m.: Dead Sexy Inc.
01: 00 a.m. Binary Audio Misfits
Many of the acts are already established in the States, including the alternative hip-hop outfit Antipop Consortium and emerging producer and vocalist Dan Black. Others, such as singer-songwriter Green Shape and hip-house DJ/producer Débruit are making their debut SXSW performances. The French artists coming across the Atlantic run the gamut of all genres–descriptions of each are outlined below.
About the artists participating in FRANCE ROCKS AUSTIN:
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GENERAL ELEKTRIKS (DISCOGRAPH / QUANNUM) General Elektriks is the brainchild of Hervé ‘RV’ Salters. A French national and an exceptional vintage keyboard player, Salters was playing keys for his bands and for various artists in Paris (Femi Kuti, DJ Mehdi) before he moved to the US in 1999. After Cliquety Kliqk, Salters returned with a second opus Good City For Dreamers (2008) which breaks genre barriers by mixing psychedelia, soul, old-school pop, sampling, indie rock, hip-hop and free jazz. |
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UFFIE (ED BANGER RECORDS) – also playing Wednesday, March 17 @ Emo’s Annex Anna-Catherine Hartley, better known by her stage name Uffie, is an American-born, Hong Kong-raised, Paris-based rapper, vocalist, entertainer and lyricist. She incorporates the genres of synthpop, electronica, hip hop, and rap into her music, and often works with well-known artists such as DJ Feadz and Mr. Oizo. She gained popularity with her singles “Pop the Glock,” “First Love” and “Hot Chick” and for her collaboration with her fellow label-mates Justice on the single “Tthhee Ppaarrttyy.” While she just released the EP MC’s Can Kiss in February 2010, her debut album Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans will be released this spring. |
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SOKO – also playing Wednesday, March 17 @ Galaxy Room Backyard Soko (born Stéphanie Sokolinski) is a French pop singer. She got her start in music in 2007 and 2008 with her single “I’ll Kill Her” which became a hit song in several countries including Denmark, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Australia. Despite having recorded a double album in Seattle, she is not yet ready to release her full album. Nevertheless, she had sold out concerts in Denmark and performed in famous Australian festivals (Falls Festival, Southbound Festival, and Sunset Sounds Festival). This year marks her second time playing in SXSW. |
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COCOON (SOBER & GENTLE / MINTY FRESH) – also playing Wednesday, March 17 @ Spill, 8.00 pm – Friday, March 19 @ Wave Rooftop Two sublime voices that seem made to blend together, an acoustic guitar bursting forth with powerful arpeggios, poignant keyboards, and even a catchy ukulele from time to time…since forming in late 2006, Mark and Morgan of Cocoon have gained a stellar reputation with their wonderful debut album (My Friends All Died in a Plane Crash) and live album (Back to Panda Mountains), plus over 200 live dates throughout Europe to their credit. The group returns to the U.S. after performing dates in New York, Chicago, Washington and Ooh La La Festival in Los Angeles by echoing the release of their album in the U.S. by Minty Fresh in April of last year. |
Additional French bands at SXSW supported by bureauxexport include:
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GONZALES (NO FORMAT ARTS AND CRAFTS) Thursday, March 18 @ Central Presbyterian Church From “workaholic Grammy-nominated arranger/producer” for his work on Feist’s albums to “melancholic piano virtuoso,” Gonzales has been embraced by Europe, partly for the ability to cross musical boundaries from hip-hop to classical. In 2009, Gonzales became the “Guinness World Record” holder for the longest solo concert after playing 300 songs over 27 hours. |
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DAN BLACK (POLYDOR, A&M) – Thursday, March 18 @ Dirty Dog Bar, 1:50 am Friday, March 19 @ Emo’s, 8:00 pm Former member of alternative rock band The Servants, Dan Black is now a British electronic solo artist currently signed to Polydor Records, who released his first two singles; “Alone” and “Yours” in 2008. He gained notoriety with “HYPNTZ,” a mashup of Notorious B.I.G.’s "Hypnotize" and Rihanna’s "Umbrella" and gained further popularity in 2009 when album track “U + Me=” was chosen as the U.K. iTunes Store’s Free Single of the Week. |
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HICKEY UNDERWORLD (NAÏVE) Produced by the Das Pop chaps, their self-titled debut album sold 3,500 copies in its first week on the strength of the band’s live reputation alone. They won Humo’s Rock Rally, Belgian’s largest music competition. Through their album and concerts, their songs reflect part post-hardcore catharsis, part discordant melody and above all; noise, anger and energy.
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PARAL-LEL (BEE RECORDS) Since the band started in 2002, Praktisch and Slush have ceaselessly honed their sound between production and live sets. These two sidekicks, who have also been involved in BEE Records for ten years, draw their inspiration from various influences in order to create their own world of break-beat, techno and electro. The sensational duo has already created four critically acclaimed EPs and an LP. They are back at last with a stunning new EP as a prelude to their second LP in autumn 2010. Now in North America for the third time, they will be performing at the Canadian Music Week in Toronto and SXSW in Austin. |
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ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM (BIG DADA) Antipop Consortium is an alternative hip-hop group that released several singles and two albums before being signed by Warp Records in 2000. The group formed in 1997 when Beans, High Priest, M. Sayyid and producer Earl Blaize met at a poetry slam in New York City. The group disbanded due to creative differences in August 2002. Now they have recently reformed and are now signed by Big Dada. |
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KING OF CONSPIRACY Friday, March 19 @ the Aquarium Formed in the suburbs of Paris in 2006, King of Conspiracy is an alternative/post punk trio. With their first album Noisy Sounds and Heartbeats (2007) and their EP We’ll See If The Arrogant Last (2009), the band has been touring extensively for three years in Japanese, French and British venues and festivals (City Festival, the Foxfest, the Underworld). With concerts at SXSW, New York and the release of their new album in the summer 2010, it will be a busy year for King of Conspiracy. |
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L’ORCHIDEE D’HAWAI (GOLD RIDERS RECORDS / LARSEN RECORDS) Wednesday, March 17 @ Beauty Bar Backyard, 8:15 pm As a juke box, possessed by the soul of rock’n'roll, l’Orchidée d’Hawaï makes you live a crazy road trip at the corners of the world. A furious sound wave whips the coasts of Mexico, Japan, Italy and Greece through clouds of reverb and smashes of vibrato. L’Orchidée d’Hawaï sings in Polish, Spanish, English and Italian. Their second LP, Nobody Beats Me (2008) continues the adventure initiated by the album Gold (2007). Added to this discography, five EP’s have been released on labels such as K Records (USA), Larsen Records and Wiped Out (France). Since 2006, l’Orchidée d’Hawaï have played more than 200 shows including two US tours in 2008 (with Kimya Dawson and Karl Blau). |
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ONILI (BOTANIKA , ROY MUSIC, OLEH! RECORDS) Sexy pop collides with urban swagger & electronic dance sensibilities in Onili’s contagious music offerings. Performing live alongside the killer Barak Kram on drums, she leads her show through microphones, samplers & effects. Splitting her life between Paris and Tel-Aviv, she has developed a unique identity via a wide range of experiences gathered across the map; be it rocking bands, sweaty clubs or festival stages. Sharing her explosive talent through the years with diverse studio partners (Superman Lovers, Soulico, Kutiman, Borgore), her true time to shine is yet ahead. In the past six months, Onli released her First Kiss EP in France and a fourth radio single in Israel, preparing the final touches for the breakthrough–the release of her debut album, and in Israel, an EP of dancefloor remixes on Botanika records (UK). |
About French bureauexport:
For 15 years, bureauexport has been assisting the French music industry to develop its artists internationally, in all musical genres. bureauexport offers a wide range of services in collaboration with professionals of the export industry including consulting services, strategic marketing assistance, event creation and coordination, along with many other resources and services for French artists and record labels. In addition to the consulting, prospecting and development assistance missions in eight strategic market territories around the world, the bureauexport also offers financial assistance to both French artists and record labels. For more information www.french-music.org.
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For more information or interviews with any of the participating artists on the FRANCE ROCKS AUSTIN party at Klub Krucial on Thursday, March 18, contact:
MSO 818-380-0400
Alexandra Greenberg x223, agreenberg@msopr.com
Chelsi Schriver x231, cschriver@msopr.com
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