NZCA/LINES is Londoner Michael Lovett who, thanks to British Music Abroad, will be joining 20 other UK acts at this year's SXSW to show the Americans how it's done.
You may have heard NZCA/LINES already but not even been aware that you did. His track Compass Points boiled through the internet late last year, bubbling on the top for months on end by way of blogs and digital magazines, finally becoming a radio regular on BBC 6 Music.
Michael describes his music genre as 'CS-60', named after an old Yamaha synth, which should give you some idea of what his music sounds like; 80s-tinged synth-pop, reminiscent of old sci-fi movie soundtracks, while equally influenced by female R&B singers such as Aaliyah (Michael himself has admitted to being a fan of both Ciara and Rihanna).
We set up a brief interview with NZCA/LINES before he departed for Texas to find out how he was feeling about playing at SXSW 2013.
What are you looking forward to most about SXSW?
I personally have never been to the States before, so this is going to be my first experience. I'm looking forward to diners, dollars and cacti almost as much as I'm looking forward to the festival itself. In fact, the whole experience is going to be new for me - I guess I'm looking forward to the unexpected.
Do you approach showcase gigs like SXSW differently to regular live sets?
Definitely. At somewhere like SXSW it's going to be incredibly busy, so you've got to be very efficient setting up your equipment. Then the set - it needs to grab peoples' attention. No slowdance numbers...
What do you hope to get out of going this year?
We've not really had much contact yet with the US in terms of releasing records or touring; I'm hoping SXSW will enable us to impress some people and secure a return to the States!
How important was the British Music Abroad funding to your trip?
Absolutely essential. There's no way we would have been able to attend had it not been for British Music Abroad funding, as the whole process is so expensive. I was completely ecstatic when we got the news!
If you could perform with anyone onstage at SXSW, who would it be?
Bill Clinton.
What gigs are you looking forward to catching at SXSW this year?
I would love to see Solange - here's hoping. The Flaming Lips are playing on the last night and we're going to try and catch them too. I imagine they're great on home turf. Mainly I'm hoping to be introduced to some music i've never heard before - I've been told it's a great place to discover bands.
Where can we see you performing back in the UK?
Almost straight off the plane. We're playing at the Roundhouse on March 22nd with Teleman, East India Youth and other great bands. Come on down!
Check out NZCA/Lines' SXSW 2013 gigs below:
You may have heard NZCA/LINES already but not even been aware that you did. His track Compass Points boiled through the internet late last year, bubbling on the top for months on end by way of blogs and digital magazines, finally becoming a radio regular on BBC 6 Music.
Michael describes his music genre as 'CS-60', named after an old Yamaha synth, which should give you some idea of what his music sounds like; 80s-tinged synth-pop, reminiscent of old sci-fi movie soundtracks, while equally influenced by female R&B singers such as Aaliyah (Michael himself has admitted to being a fan of both Ciara and Rihanna).
We set up a brief interview with NZCA/LINES before he departed for Texas to find out how he was feeling about playing at SXSW 2013.
What are you looking forward to most about SXSW?
I personally have never been to the States before, so this is going to be my first experience. I'm looking forward to diners, dollars and cacti almost as much as I'm looking forward to the festival itself. In fact, the whole experience is going to be new for me - I guess I'm looking forward to the unexpected.
Do you approach showcase gigs like SXSW differently to regular live sets?
Definitely. At somewhere like SXSW it's going to be incredibly busy, so you've got to be very efficient setting up your equipment. Then the set - it needs to grab peoples' attention. No slowdance numbers...
What do you hope to get out of going this year?
We've not really had much contact yet with the US in terms of releasing records or touring; I'm hoping SXSW will enable us to impress some people and secure a return to the States!
How important was the British Music Abroad funding to your trip?
Absolutely essential. There's no way we would have been able to attend had it not been for British Music Abroad funding, as the whole process is so expensive. I was completely ecstatic when we got the news!
If you could perform with anyone onstage at SXSW, who would it be?
Bill Clinton.
What gigs are you looking forward to catching at SXSW this year?
I would love to see Solange - here's hoping. The Flaming Lips are playing on the last night and we're going to try and catch them too. I imagine they're great on home turf. Mainly I'm hoping to be introduced to some music i've never heard before - I've been told it's a great place to discover bands.
Where can we see you performing back in the UK?
Almost straight off the plane. We're playing at the Roundhouse on March 22nd with Teleman, East India Youth and other great bands. Come on down!
Check out NZCA/Lines' SXSW 2013 gigs below:
