I’m here in Austin, TX for SxSW, so it seemed like a good idea to write about something related, since I am here. After one day of music, the highlight has been Austin’s own Bodytronix.

For the most part, Bodytronix does not seem to release recordings of their music, other than in a live form. You see them live, or listen to a recording of a performance, or you never hear them at all. There are two guys in the band, but the amount of electronics on stage dwarfs them. The mass of cords alone could probably be a stand in band member, as I documented here last night.

The music is whirling vortex of acid house, odd samples, 80’s low-budget horror soundtrack sounds, blaring vocoders and early Detroit-era techno sounds. The crowd here in Austin, young types who look like they’d be more interested in dancing to Siouxsie Sioux or Crass, immediately began to gyrate as the set started, and within minutes a full-on dance party was going on below the stage. It would careen between ebb and flow as the songs devolved into cacophonies of squelches and reformed into a massive, thrumming beast of acid sounds.

Here’s a 50 minute live set of theirs, which you can also download. It will take some time to get into the meat of it, it’s not for everyone, and it’s nothing like seeing them live. I recommend you all heed my advice and if they play a live show in your town, make an effort to catch them.

// Brian Blackout