Preview – SXSW 23 – Catching Bands R-S
~Dagmar

Close to wrapping up features on just some of the great bands coming to SXSW this year. Today’s list includes artists from Spain, Ukraine, Ireland and more. Electronic, rock, metal. . . whatever you fancy is there for you.

Rakky Ripper
Granada, Spain
Schedule for Rakky Ripper

Rakky Ripper just celebrated her birthday – happy belated birthday! The Spanish electronic pop artist captured the attention of none other than Charli XCX, and has been in Vogue.

Rakky Ripper – photo from Rakky Ripper’s Facebook

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Red Rum Club
Liverpool, England
Schedule for Red Rum Club

Indie sextet from Liverpool – one band member plays the trumpet – has an excellent label home at Modern Sky Records. The label includes Sad Boys Club and Crawlers, and that’s awesome.

Red Rum Club – photo from Red Rum Club’s Facebook

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Rikas
Stuttgart, Germany
Schedule for Rikas

Not many German artists popping up this year, so if you are a Germanophile, check out Rikas. The pop rock band also has released an amazing looking blue vinyl of their first album, Swabian Samba.

Rikas – photo by Lisa Nguyen

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Salarymen
Sydney, Australia
Schedule for Salarymen

Australia’s Salarymen have four shows at this year’s SXSW, plus thee rock duo had shows in Japan last year. Renee (de la Motte) told AnalogueTrash, about their beginnings: “We started dating while Thom (Eagleton) was in bands around Sydney (several of which fizzled out sadly) and decided together that now was the time to start our own project! That way, the only way the band could break up is if we did!”

Don’t break up.

Salarymen – photo by Matt Sitas

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The Scratch
Dublin, Ireland
Schedule for the Scratch

Rock group the Scratch, who are from Dublin, gamely posed with pugs one time. This is the best. They will tour the United States and Canada for the first time, and, while scratch can mean many things, I’m guessing they mean money.

The Scratch – photo from the Scratch’s Facebook

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Sparkling
Cologne, Germany
Schedule for Sparkling

Sparkling, the second German band to turn up in today’s suggestions, is a trio from Cologne. Their track “I Want to See Everything” got remixed by fellow German Felix Martin of Hot Chip. That’s some wonderful attention.

Sparkling – photo courtesy Moshi Moshi Records

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SpivOberta
Dobropillia, Ukraine
Schedule for SpivOberta

Electronic duo from the Denotsk region in Ukraine. Returning for a third visit to SXSW, they’re electronic and folk (Kirill Vakare plays the flute!) Last year, the pair released an EP called Tysha, which means silence in Ukrainian. On their SoundCloud, they described the EP as “. . . songs about love, about separation of people and strong feelings that help us deal with war.” 

SpivOberta – photo from SpivOberta’s Facebook

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Sports Team
London, England
Schedule for Sports Team

London’s Sports Team have been around approximately 6 years and they’ve already had one Mercury Prize nomination. They’re known for great live shows and this will be their first appearance at SXSW. The rock group formed at the University of Cambridge, and I think that gives them intriguing clout.
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Sports Team – photo from Sports Team’s Bandcamp

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Sunflower Bean
New York, New York
Schedule for Sunflower Bean

New York’s Sunflower just rocks. I saw them open for Interpol a number of year’s ago and I was so involved in their set. The trio makes a return appearance at SXSW, and I say, don’t miss them.

Sunflower Bean – photo from Sunflower Bean’s Facebook