Manchester's most enigmatic musical trio are set to make their US debut at this year's South by South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, so we hooked up with them to find out what they've got in store.
NO CEREMONY/// are just one of 21 British acts to be funded by British Music Abroad to attend SXSW, an initiative of which PRS for Music Foundation is a partner. The band first made waves with their track HEARTBREAKER, which was initially circulated with no press release or statement, creating that extra bit of mystery around the band.
We interviewed NO CEREMONY/// shortly after to get our burning questions answered, but we wanted to catch up with them before they left for the other side of the pond to find out what they were most looking forward to about SXSW.
What are you looking forward to most about SXSW?
This is our first trip to the US, so we're very much looking forward to playing our first American shows, before we return to play in LA for the Britweek Festival in Echo Park on 27 April. We've also heard a lot about how exciting the crowds and atmosphere can be at SXSW, so we can't wait to find out what it's like for ourselves.
Do you approach showcase gigs like SXSW differently to regular live sets?
No, I wouldn't say so. We're playing six shows over three days and we know what we want to do, and that doesn't particularly tie in with tailoring sets for an industry crowd.
What do you hope to get out of going this year?
We hope to make a connection with people over there and hopefully lay a foundation that we can build on in America when we return.
How important was the British Music Abroad funding to your trip?
The funding was very helpful, as getting visas and all of our equipment over to America is a costly process. Given that we do everything ourselves, this backing really helped us out.
If you could perform with anyone onstage at SXSW, who would it be?
I'd love to perform our track HEARTBREAKER with Joey Santiago of Pixies onstage, after he guested on our recording.
What gigs are you looking forward to catching at SXSW this year?
Nick Cave, XXYYXX, Flume and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs could be good to see. It will be nice to play alongside Peace again as well, after we got to know them a little on a French tour we did at the end of last year
Where can we see you performing back in the UK?
We've just been announced for Great Escape Festival in Brighton on 16 May.
Check out NO CEREMONY///'s SXSW gig schedule below:
Date: Wednesday 13
Stage time: 14:40
Venue: Maggie Maes
Showcase: Blahblahblahscience Showcase
Date: Wednesday 13
Stage time: 22:00
Venue: Red 7
Showcase: Windish Agency Official Showcase
Date: Thursday 14
Stage time: 17:00
Venue: The Brew Exchange
Showcase: Beautiful Buzz Showcase
Date: Thursday 14
Stage time: Midnight
Venue: Latitude 30
Showcase: British Embassy / Transgressive / Rockfeedback
Date: Friday 15
Stage time: 13:00
Venue: Red 7
Showcase: Laneway Festival Showcase
Date: Friday 15
Stage time: 15:00
Venue: Lustre Pearl
Showcase: Filter / Dickies Showcase
http://www.noceremony.com/
http://www.facebook.com/noceremony
http://twitter.com/noceremony___
NO CEREMONY/// are just one of 21 British acts to be funded by British Music Abroad to attend SXSW, an initiative of which PRS for Music Foundation is a partner. The band first made waves with their track HEARTBREAKER, which was initially circulated with no press release or statement, creating that extra bit of mystery around the band.
We interviewed NO CEREMONY/// shortly after to get our burning questions answered, but we wanted to catch up with them before they left for the other side of the pond to find out what they were most looking forward to about SXSW.
What are you looking forward to most about SXSW?
This is our first trip to the US, so we're very much looking forward to playing our first American shows, before we return to play in LA for the Britweek Festival in Echo Park on 27 April. We've also heard a lot about how exciting the crowds and atmosphere can be at SXSW, so we can't wait to find out what it's like for ourselves.
Do you approach showcase gigs like SXSW differently to regular live sets?
No, I wouldn't say so. We're playing six shows over three days and we know what we want to do, and that doesn't particularly tie in with tailoring sets for an industry crowd.
What do you hope to get out of going this year?
We hope to make a connection with people over there and hopefully lay a foundation that we can build on in America when we return.
How important was the British Music Abroad funding to your trip?
The funding was very helpful, as getting visas and all of our equipment over to America is a costly process. Given that we do everything ourselves, this backing really helped us out.
If you could perform with anyone onstage at SXSW, who would it be?
I'd love to perform our track HEARTBREAKER with Joey Santiago of Pixies onstage, after he guested on our recording.
What gigs are you looking forward to catching at SXSW this year?
Nick Cave, XXYYXX, Flume and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs could be good to see. It will be nice to play alongside Peace again as well, after we got to know them a little on a French tour we did at the end of last year
Where can we see you performing back in the UK?
We've just been announced for Great Escape Festival in Brighton on 16 May.
Check out NO CEREMONY///'s SXSW gig schedule below:
Date: Wednesday 13
Stage time: 14:40
Venue: Maggie Maes
Showcase: Blahblahblahscience Showcase
Date: Wednesday 13
Stage time: 22:00
Venue: Red 7
Showcase: Windish Agency Official Showcase
Date: Thursday 14
Stage time: 17:00
Venue: The Brew Exchange
Showcase: Beautiful Buzz Showcase
Date: Thursday 14
Stage time: Midnight
Venue: Latitude 30
Showcase: British Embassy / Transgressive / Rockfeedback
Date: Friday 15
Stage time: 13:00
Venue: Red 7
Showcase: Laneway Festival Showcase
Date: Friday 15
Stage time: 15:00
Venue: Lustre Pearl
Showcase: Filter / Dickies Showcase
http://www.noceremony.com/
http://www.facebook.com/noceremony
http://twitter.com/noceremony___
