The opening sortee in this week’s official SXSW music showcases was last night’s Pitchfork showcase at Mohawk. Among those on the bill were b3sci faves like Shlohmo, Schoolboy Q & one of our biggest must-sees for the festival, UK beatsman Star Slinger. Hitting a stage already left nicely warmed up by True Panther duo Teengirl Fantasy, Star Slinger had the house on lock from the moment the first bit of space-bass bumped through the venue. Mixing tracks from Jessie Ware & Rihanna with original compositions and new shit (there were maybe 4-5 new beats and mixes dropped into the set), Star Slinger’s brand of interstellar electro booty rap totally wrecked live.
We are HUGE fans of Electric Wire Hustle. Their debut LP (despite being nearly three years old) is still in constant rotation around b3sci. The chance to finally see the New Zealand-based trio live was an opportunity we could not pass up. An Andre 3000-esque styled Mara TK and his mates keyboardist keyboardist Taay Ninh and drummer Myele Manzanza ripped through uptempo joints like the b3sci #1 song of 2009, “They Don’t Want” and then easily dialed down into more smoothed out tracks like set closer “Perception”. The multi-talented mult-tasking Ninh and the crazy skilled drumming of Manzanza were a perfect frame to Mara TK’s mindblower Marvin Gaye-styled vocals. The mixing at Swan Dive, where EWH’s set took place, did leave a bit to be desired however. We definitely would love to hear the trio perform at a venue, less like a shoebox, and more suited to their sound but that aside, the performance the band turned in was class. A+
Star Slinger 
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Electric Wire Hustle 
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Reviewed by b3
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