Dates: 13-19th June 2011

What you get: The deal is the same as the SXSW mission – you’ll receive 50% (up to £500 max) towards the costs of your flights/travel, delegate passes and accommodation (so you must spend £1000 to claim the full amount of £500). The money is claimed upon receipt of invoices and proof of spend. *please note delegate passes will NOT be provided by UKTI for this mission

Limitations: Only one person per company can apply. Your company MUST be based in the West Midlands. This is for individual delegates and not bands / musicians. Please see the application form with regard to your company turnover and funding status.

Further Information: http://nxne.com/

Why should I go? If you want to network, have something to sell, meet people in the same/similar fields, share or promote a product or service.

How do I apply? Just download the NXNE 2011 Application Form and forward to Alison Hawkins  at UKTI – A.Hawkins [@] birmingham-chamber.com

Deadline for applications: As the event is just over 1 month away and spaces are VERY limited we urge you to send your application to Alison by the 20th May 2011.

Want to know more? Feel free to give myself or David a call – we’ve both been out there.

This mission is funded by UKTI West Midlands.

Having just returned from SXSW and Canadian Music week, make sure you catch up to Fever Fever back on home ground, as they prepare to take on the UK with a string of live performances.

19th May – Liverpool Sound City.
20th May – Actress & Bishop, Birmingham.
25th May – Bitterscene Bassment, Chelmsford.
29th May – Play Fest, Norwich.

Download new single Teeth for free, limited time only at: www.feverfever.bandcamp.com.

Ross Cotton

The film is being shown for one night only at cinema’s throughout the UK on the 7th April. You can buy your tickets here. Along with the history of the band the film will showcase the making of the new album which will also be performed in its entirety on the night.

“FOO FIGHTERS BACK AND FORTH” culminates with the making of the band’s new album “Wasting Light“: a process in which the band pushed itself forward by going fully back to basics and recording in Grohl’s garage completely on analog tape. No computers, no software – just a band recording an album to tape in a garage. The new record also marks the Foos’ first full-length effort with legendary producer Butch Vig, with whom Grohl worked on Nirvana’s classic album Nevermind.

As part of our visit we will also be hosting a small networking event for people to come along to and find out what our delegates are up to.

If you are going to be out in Austin make sure you drop us an email and pop in for a drink to say hello.

Thursday 17th March
Parkside, 301E 6th Street, Austin
4pm-6.30pm
RSVP to: sxsw@fusedmagazine.com

The South By Southwest Music & Media Conference and Festival takes place at the Austin Convention Center and on over 80 stages throughout downtown Austin every March.

We’ve just had through a partial list of who is playing this year and it looks great!

We’ve just had through a partial list of who is playing this year and it looks great!

We’ll keep you posted on more updates as and when they happen

a few highlights selected out of over 10,000 music applications include:

!!! (Brooklyn, NY), Amaral (Madrid, SPAIN), Anita Tijoux (Santiago, CHILE), Apoptygma Berzerk (Oslo, NORWAY), Athlete (London, ENGLAND), Bajofondo (Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA), Balkan Beat Box (Tel Aviv, ISRAEL), Band of Skulls (London, ENGLAND), Bear In Heaven (Brooklyn, NY), Black Milk (Detroit, MI), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Los Angeles, CA), Bomba Estereo (Bogota, Colombia), Broken Social Scene (Toronto, CANADA), Chalie Boy (Hearne, TX), Chamillionaire & Paul Wall (Houston, TX), Cymbals Eat Guitars (New York, NY), Deer Tick (Providence, RI), Evan Dando (New York, NY), Frightened Rabbit (Selkirk, SCOTLAND), Fucked Up (Toronto, CANADA), Grant Hart (St. Paul, MN), Hauschka (Dusseldorf, GERMANY), Here We Go Magic (Brooklyn, NY), Hudson Mohawke (Glasgow, SCOTLAND), Invincible (Detroit, MI), jj (Gothenburg, SWEDEN), Killer Mike (Atlanta, GA), LA Riots (Los Angeles, CA), Les Savy Fav (Brooklyn, NY), Maldita Vecindad (Mexico City, MEXICO), Marina & The Diamonds (London, ENGLAND), Mayer Hawthorne & The County (Ann Arbor, MI), Midlake (Denton, TX), Miike Snow (Stockholm, SWEDEN), Mr Hudson (London, ENGLAND), Mundo Livre SA (Recife, BRAZIL), Murs (Los Angeles, CA), Natalia Lafourcade (Mexico City, MEXICO), Pretty Lights (Charlottesville, VA), Rye Rye (Baltimore, MD), Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (Brooklyn, NY), She & Him (Los Angeles, CA), Shwayze (Malibu, CA), Spoon (Austin, TX), Steve Aoki (Los Angeles, CA), Systema Solar (Taganga, COLOMBIA), Texas Tornados (San Antonio, TX), The Drums (Brooklyn, NY), The Middle East (Townsville, AUSTRALIA), The Soft Pack (San Diego, CA), The Very Best (New York, NY), The xx (London, ENGLAND), Trae (Houston, TX), VV Brown (London, ENGLAND), and Wolfgang Gartner (Austin, TX).

This list is subject to change. This is only a portion of the bands that will be performing at the SXSW Music Festi

.

Fused Magazine along with UKTI are organising a mission to SXSW Music 2010. The visit is being organised by UK Trade & Investment and FUSED.

Companies from the West Midlands are invited to join a UKTI supported visit to SXSW Music in Austin Texas from the 17th to 21st March 2010. The aim is to take a group of companies representing Music in the region in order to network, develop partner relationships, increase international trade  and meet companies interested in developing opportunities and investment in the West Midlands.

Benefits of the Visit:
-Pre-visit and in market briefing by UKTI staff
-Excellent networking opportunities through SXSW networking events, trade show and panels
-A networking event hosted by Fused
-New contacts and shared intelligence within the market visit group

Why apply?
The SXSW MUSIC AND MEDIA CONFERENCE showcases hundreds of musical acts from around the globe on over eighty stages in downtown Austin. By day, conference registrants do business in the SXSW Trade Show in the Austin Convention Center and partake of a full agenda of informative, provocative panel discussions featuring hundreds of speakers of international stature.

The fund covers up to 50% of your costs. These costs can include: your event pass, travel expenses (flight) and accommodation costs.
Costs will be reimbursed upon production of receipts up to a maximum of: £500 (in retrospect).

Deadline for applications: 19th Ocober 2009.

On your application you must demonstrate the following:
• The reason you or your company would like you to attend the event.
• What markets you would like to reach?
• A list of potential companies or contacts you wish to talk to.

Conditions of Funding
Successful applicants should currently work within the music industry in the West Midlands and will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to working with Fused and UKTI to ensure they gain maximum benefit from their visit and to share knowledge and experience gained with the music and creative sector.

This will include:
• Pre and post event meetings with Fused, Screen WM, UKTI and partners
• You may be asked to appear as a panel member at a public event to discuss your experiences at the festival and must show willingness to share information with the sector by contributing to blog posts and/or written reports.

In partnership with: UKTI

To apply please email kerry@fusedmagazine.com for an application form.

Terms and conditions:
1) If awarded funding, you will be expected to attend a meeting with Fused. UKTI and partners before and after the event to discuss your objectives and to feed back what you learnt. You may also be expected to attend a public event as a panel member to share your experiences.
2) Any funds awarded will be paid retrospectively. You will be required to keep receipts for your expenses. Costs will be refunded based on the limits outlined above.
3) Applications are open to companies working within the music industry in the West Midlands region.
4) Only one person per company can apply for this funding.
5) The person attending must hold a valid passport.

For more information on SXSW visit: http://sxsw.com/attend/
For more information on the trip call Kerry or David on 0121 246 1946 or email kerry@fusedmagazine.com.

The last of our SXSW coverage is from our final day at the event – Saturday 21st March.Having popped in to see the Yorkshire Showcase at the British Music Embassy we managed to catch the rather charming Rolo Tomassi on stage. I am not sure I will ever get how such a sound can come out of a pretty girls mouth.

We had spent all week looking for a suitable place to meet some friends but during South by restaurants are so busy they refuse to take bookings. However we managed to twist the arms of the kind people at The Iron Cactus on 6th Street to let us invite some friends and our West Midlands delegates for a few hours of food, drink and networking.

UKTI West Midlands helped support 10 delegates to get out to SXSW 09 and Fused were asked to organise an event that would give the delegates the opportunity to meet some new people. So luckily for us some people thought it was a nice idea to get out of the midday sun and away from all the music attacking the senses and join us for a bite to eat.

After all the networking action and winding down it was time to fit in our last few showcases.

We popped over to Pangaea a ‘classy’ joint in the warehouse district, where tables are reserved for the moneyed people of SXSW, to catch ex Death in Vegas frontman Richard Fearless with Black Acid. The psychedelic show, complete with strobe lighting, was one of the highlights of the 4 days.

From Pangaea it was over to Mexican Restaurant Rio Grande, the waiters of which offer up a mean line in Margaritas and Tequila’s. However that was not what we were there to sample (well maybe a bit) but it was The Gin Riots who were the pulling power. An odd setting for the band who managed to shirk off film posters of the good the bad and the ugly along with giant neon cowboys to play to a small but very grateful crowd – most of which were wearing the bands t-shirts and hung around to get posters they had taken off the walls signed.

The showcases may finish at around 1.45pm in Austin but when you are on the right guest list, and can muster up the stamina to stay out, there is plenty happening until the early hours. As it was our last night of SXSW 09 we worked our way to the Red Bull party – out past the suburbs and on an industrial estate.

Red Bull had set up a stage with an impressive list of acts over 4 nights. However we weren’t so successful that night. Having passed through some tight guest list procedure, had a fake and much too large tattoo pasted on to our arms – settled in with free Vodka with (yes of course) Red Bull we waited for the bands to arrive. First was a set from Shout Out Out Out Out, which was pretty unimpressive or dull dull dull dull, then queen of the chavettes Goldielocks came on stage. Unfortunately for her two to three songs in and the whole thing was shut down by the local law enforcement.

Not too much of a problem given now it was about 3am however over a thousand people leaving an industrial estate at the same time, most headed in a similar direction, and with no taxis to find meant a long long walk home.

If you want to see more of what we did at South by South West then take a look at our video.

Continuing with our adventures at SXSW 09 – see what team Fused got up to whilst out in Texas.

Friday: Once again we headed out to the convention centre to catch up with two other West Midland Delegates Clare Edwards of Gigbeth and Vijay Kishore’s very busy manager Rob McKenzie to find out what they had been up to.

As it was Clare’s first day in Austin we took her hostage and went to the Fused and Dance Your Face Off ‘Backyard Blowout’ which was housed in a Austin native’s back garden – of course.

We stuck around as the guests arrived, the beer flowed out of a handy little pump and the DJ’s got busy in the sun but at SXSW there is no time to stop for long so it was off to hail a cab and back to 6th street.

West Midlands band The Culprit were playing their second gig at the event and having picked up second hand guitars at the local thrift stores they set about making a big noise on the rock stage.

Dinnertime soon swings round so the North-by-North East BBQ was where we went to eat. Taking at the same beautiful house as last year Bedouin Soundclash were the main act and as the sun set and the temperature dropped it was time to leave and head down to Mohawks to see Nashville band The Ettes. Playing to a packed crowd the band managed to squeeze in an extra song at the end of the set – much to the crowds delight.

Funny thing about SXSW is the amount of sponsors that are everywhere willing to give you free stuff so when non-smoking Fused headed to the ‘Smokin Lounge’ to see rock ‘n’ roll old timers the New York Dolls we ended coming out with 4 packets of fags a new 10 a day habit!

Finally last band for us on Friday night was the much anticipated viewing of King Khan and The Shrines at EMO’s. King Khan had been very busy doing the rounds over the event playing several times a day however he was in no way lacking in energy. Jumping around the stage in his crown and hailing his staff he kept the crowd truly entertained – especially when he stripped off to reveal his sizeable belly. What a nice man.

Primal Scream at the Cedar Courtyard

SXSW REVIEW THURSDAY: SXSW is no walk in the park let me to you – it’s more a walk down lots of streets but by-the-by it is really hard work. Endless standing around in the sun watching bands drinking free beer and eating fine BBQ food – phew! Someone has to do it right?

So Thursday started with us heading down to the Convention Centre to hand out CD’s and Flyers to the good and the great of the music industry – and it was all going fine until we passed the Smoking Lounge (heavily sponsored by a US tobacco brand who give away umpteen packets of fags) where Entertainment Magazine were having a littles soiree. “Come inside for free food and drink” said the girl on the door and who is going to turn that down? Not Fused! It may have only been noon but the drinks were flowing and we managed to catch a little bit of the Annuals and Laura Marling which was very pleasant indeed.

So we tore ourselves away and headed to meet our buddy Mikey from Dance Your Face Off at Buffalo Billiards. Now we were in for a treat – LA hair band Steel Panther were being interviewed by a local radio station. Imagine Motley Cru, Poison and 80’s Cher tossed in a blender and regurgitated out of a dog and you should have a good idea of what we are talking about. They did a little ‘turn’ of a song about something rude and we knew it was time to leave.

Next it was over to The Wave for Kerrrang Magazine’s party where we caught an excellent and lively set by The Bronx. All the action made us peckish so it was on to see what the Spanish have to offer – it was Paella and Sangria and some not so Spanish bands apparently.

NASA at Emo's Annex

The afternoon continued in to the evening with more bar hopping and a visit to EMO’s annex to catch the NASA boys doing their up-beat techno best to get everyone moving. $5 lap dancers painted green and a few aliens in the mix made for an eye-catching stage presence that really woke us up.

Finally it was over to the Cedar Courtyard to catch The Black Lips and the mighty Primal Scream. We managed to wiggle our way to near the front of the stage and were awarded with an amazing set from Bobby and the boys. Crowd surfing ensued and security got a little angry but a cracking set left the audience shouting for more a good 10 minutes after the band had departed stage right.