For our final coverage of SXSW Sydney, Melody Menu asked Babitha to take us through their experiences of the first Sydney incarnation of SXSW. From three music showcases, several paintings, one birthday party and a particularly tough quiz, here is A Week in the Life: Babitha at SXSW Sydney.
All images supplied by Babitha
Author: Imogen Grist/Babitha
MONDAY
Marcus and I kicked off the week driving from Orange to Syd (about 4 hours) to meet the band for rehearsals. Our bass player Russell (Skeleten) lives in this big commercial building and has access to an entire floor, so there’s plenty of room for jamming, karaoke and a hit of pool. Our drummer Cecil was away in Japan, so Bowen Shakallis who recorded the album at Stranded Studios filled in which was lucky because he’d already heard the songs 1000000 times.
TUESDAY
I’m doing an abstract course through NAS at the moment, so I spent the day painting! It’s been a brilliant way to tap into a more intuitive and expressive form of creativity and really challenge my artistic practice.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday I had a session with Toby Anagnostis (Butter Bath). This was my first co-writing session so I had no idea what to expect – I’m so used to working alone! Toby’s a fantastic producer and multi-instrumentalist so we just played around and sketched out some ideas – it was really fun! We’re now collaborating remotely to try and finish the track. I’m keen to continue co-writing with other artists and producers next year.
Later that night we had our first SXSW showcase at the Chippo Hotel. It was a mad rush as half the band were stuck in traffic 5 mins before we went on stage and one of the guitar amps blew, but we sorted it out and played a great set! I forgot my camera so no proof unfortunately.
THURSDAY
Thursday was jam packed! The day kicked off with an interview for Life Without Andy at the Gladstone, and then we wandered down to the Hollywood Hotel for the Virgin Music party. After a few espresso martinis, it was time to head down to the Agincourt for our second showcase. Solid turnout, and much smoother performance than the previous night! After our gig we went to watch the Skeleten and Barkaa shows. This was my first time seeing Barkaa, she was fucking phenomenal – a true privilege to watch her perform considering the disappointing week we’d had as a nation in regards to the referendum.
After the show we went out for a late night dumplings in celebration of Russell’s birthday.
FRIDAY
Recovered from said celebration.
SATURDAY
Saturday was the last day of our SXSW Odyssey. The band met in the park before wandering down to the Factory Theatre for our final showcase. It was a beautiful sunny day so we were glad to be performing outside – great crowd and vibey atmosphere. Then we all sat around and did the weekend quiz. Considering the amount of people involved, I think we could have scored higher.
Preorder an exclusive re-issue of Babitha’s debut LP Brighter Side of Blue through Impressed Recordings here.
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