The enigmatic and energetic one-man composer Roger Sellers had a big SXSW with The Deli, with not only a cover article in our South By print issue, but also headlining our showcase at the Austin Convention Center. Somehow between doing all of that and his other South By Southwesterly duties, Sellers found the time to chat with The Deli’s own Brian Chidester about his career and his approach to music. Check out what Mr. Sellers had to say below, along with a few of his best recent tracks.

Brian Chidester: You were working in a roots direction not long ago. What brought about the new direction and interest in things like Minimalism, electro and "Pet Sounds"?

Roger Sellers: Minimalism is something that I’ve always been inspired by and practiced in my recordings through the years, but it definitely became more prevalent in Primitives. For my last 3 studio records, I would generally start from scratch to record and write simultaneously. Primitives was a much different approach. Most of the songs on the record had already been written and performed for about 5 years. Primitives was a way for me to release the songs publicly on hard media, so that people could enjoy them in their homes or cars, not just at a show or on youtube. While it does have many aspects of electro involved, most of what you hear was recorded acoustically.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW WITH ROGER SELLERS

South By is dead, long live South By. Or maybe not, what with the trend this South By being a smaller, more compressed (but still quite corporate) version of itself, with less free shit, fewer unofficial parties and a lot more roadblocks downtown (that last is probably a good thing). Regardless, SX is over, we can all return to being regular levels of alcoholic-ness and taco consumption and maybe actually sleep a little and walk a little less. Speaking of, is it possible to get more and less healthy at the same time? Because all those miles walked have to count as some sort-of workout, but mixed with ounces drunk and pounds of tacos consumed…not so sure.

Now that the SouthBeast is good ‘n slain, it also means the online portion of The Deli is back in full swing. We’ve been goin’ hard as nails on the street at South By Southwest this year, and if you were there, you probably saw somewhere between one and five billion of our print issues, and maybe even our exhibits of synthesizers and stompboxes at the Convention Center, or our showcase with magazine cover-gracer and electronic wizard Roger Sellers. If you did pick up a magazine, or came by one of our events, The Deli thanks you and your wonderful, sexy, good-taste-having self very muchly.

To usher in the post-SXSW year (we might as well just call the day after SX the New Year on the Austin Calendar system), we’ve got somethin’ quite good for your ears that’s also appropriate to what we saw this year at SX. Quite happily for us at The Deli Austin, SXSW 2015 saw what this writer believes was the most hip-hop of the highest quality that the festival has ever seen. This has been a long time coming, and whatever made it happen (people finally realizing there’s an audience for it here? less indie acts shoved into the fest by a smaller corporate presence?), we’re goddamn glad that this city is finally coming around in at least some ways to hip-hop. With that in mind, we present Malik, a young homegrown hip-hopper that’s just the newest and freshest entry into the already excellent and underrated Austin hip-hop canon.

Malik’s dropped three tracks in the last month on Soundcloud, and listening across the three you can get a taste for what this kid can do and what he’s got to offer. And what Malik has to offer is smart, attractive hip-hop. From the most recent track, the chronologically-named "March 9th," you know that he’s music aware, with that beat based on a sample from classic Outkast ("Vibrate"). You know from track "On My Own" that Malik can toe that Drake-associated pop/hip-hop line, but that Malik falls more firmly on the hip-hop side while hittin’ the pop bullseye just as nicely as the Degrassi vet. And you know from all three tracks that the man can spit quite clever and thoughtful, with lines like "I can’t lie, you the baddest that I ever seen/But it’s sad to say that your tree of life is far from evergreen," on track "Life." It looks like Malik is about to drop more music soon, so get up to speed below with "On My Own" and keep a lookout for more from this top-notch example of the Austin hip-hop world. SXSW 2015 is just a start; there’s a hell of a lot more hip-hop to come from this town going forward.

Ooh boy y’all, we just picked up boxes containing 10,000 copies of The Deli’s SXSW 2015 print issue, featuring the enigmatic and supremely badass Roger Sellers on the cover, and we’re about to drop these bitchin’ little pieces of literature all over Austin. Chances are you’ll find yourself in possession of one or five copies if you’re taking part in the festivities, and if not, you can check out the whole thing online here.

As an extra special delicious bonus treat for all you sexy, sexy readers, we’ve put up an extended version of our article on venues not on 6th Street, which you can read at the link below. Check it on out, and get yourself to some awesome spots that ain’t covered in crowds and vomit this SX. Or, at least, a little less crowds and vomit. Have a great fest errbody!

Positively Not 6th Street

By Trevor Talley, photos by Xavier Villalon

If math is a real thing, you’re either on 6th Street in Austin at South By Southwest right now while you’re reading this, or you’re not. That’s just facts, straight to you from your friends at The Deli. We’re glad to be of service to your brain.

If you’re are at South By, and you probably are because we’re handing out 10,000 of these magazines to cool people with haircuts just like you during South By this year, we at The Deli wanted to give you somethin’ useful to use around our fair city through this magazine. Somethin’ that shows you a bit of the town that you might not normally have seen, that gets you wandering the scene and seeing what the whole of our city has to offer. That’s this here article, which is all about venues Not on 6th, because, let’s be honest, those 6th and Red River spots really don’t need much help from anyone to get boots in the door during SXSW.

Austin, though, is a big place these days that stretches far beyond the booze and vomit of 6th Street, and it’s one that’s growing as we speak. Growing, as it were, at the rate of over 100 people every day (an actual fact). Another fact: 100% of the people who move here will not see all of Austin before they leave or, more likely, they die. There’s just too much of it out there for even us locals to see, much less anyone who is only here for a wild week in March.

So to cut down on your researchin’ needs while at SXSW, and to show you a bit about the music scene as it exists in our Hill Country town outside of the primary party areas (which everyone is already pretty damn aware of), here are some excellent venues Not on 6th to give a try. Each and every one is a true representation of the music culture here in Austin, and most certainly worth the trip over. Get to ‘em, and have a great SX y’all.

Trailer Space

Website

1401 RoseWood Ave.

Any location that has blue underwear prominently framed on its wall, good pizza next door and an honest-to-god Area 51 arcade cabinet among its many fine public offerings is a place that automatically makes this list. Trailer Space, though, is more than just a spot with good ass video games and the venerable East Side Pies as a next-door neighbor. Set deep on the north end of the East Side, Trailer Space is a record store and music venue with the spirit of the 90s (in Austin, not that other copycat city) alive. By that I mean that they seriously care about local music and creating an authentic experience, and they also carry VHS tapes. Crossing the threshold of this venue bears immediate gifts: local records, loads more records of all kinds, the aforementioned tapes and DVDs, a bunch of scrawny kids hanging about picking through the crates, and music industry shit all over the walls that lets you know you’re not just dealin’ with a bunch of young hipsters into retro music, you’re in a place run by people who’ve actually been there in Austin’s music scene for a long time, and who’ve brought a bunch of awesome shit back to prove it. The shows here are much the same, curated, played and attended by real-deal Austin music lovers. That there is pizza within 10 feet at all times does not hurt, either.

///CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE\

Ooh boy y’all, we just picked up boxes containing 10,000 copies of The Deli’s SXSW 2015 print issue, featuring the enigmatic and supremely badass Roger Sellers on the cover, and we’re about to drop these bitchin’ little pieces of literature all over Austin. Chances are you’ll find yourself in possession of one or five copies if you’re taking part in the festivities, and if not, you can check out the whole thing online here.

As an extra special delicious bonus treat for all you sexy, sexy readers, we’ve put up an extended version of our article on venues not on 6th Street, which you can read at the link below. Check it on out, and get yourself to some awesome spots that ain’t covered in crowds and vomit this SX. Or, at least, a little less crowds and vomit. Have a great fest errbody!

Positively Not 6th Street

By Trevor Talley, photos by Xavier Villalon

If math is a real thing, you’re either on 6th Street in Austin at South By Southwest right now while you’re reading this, or you’re not. That’s just facts, straight to you from your friends at The Deli. We’re glad to be of service to your brain.

If you’re are at South By, and you probably are because we’re handing out 10,000 of these magazines to cool people with haircuts just like you during South By this year, we at The Deli wanted to give you somethin’ useful to use around our fair city through this magazine. Somethin’ that shows you a bit of the town that you might not normally have seen, that gets you wandering the scene and seeing what the whole of our city has to offer. That’s this here article, which is all about venues Not on 6th, because, let’s be honest, those 6th and Red River spots really don’t need much help from anyone to get boots in the door during SXSW.

Austin, though, is a big place these days that stretches far beyond the booze and vomit of 6th Street, and it’s one that’s growing as we speak. Growing, as it were, at the rate of over 100 people every day (an actual fact). Another fact: 100% of the people who move here will not see all of Austin before they leave or, more likely, they die. There’s just too much of it out there for even us locals to see, much less anyone who is only here for a wild week in March.

So to cut down on your researchin’ needs while at SXSW, and to show you a bit about the music scene as it exists in our Hill Country town outside of the primary party areas (which everyone is already pretty damn aware of), here are some excellent venues Not on 6th to give a try. Each and every one is a true representation of the music culture here in Austin, and most certainly worth the trip over. Get to ‘em, and have a great SX y’all.

Trailer Space

Website

1401 RoseWood Ave.

Any location that has blue underwear prominently framed on its wall, good pizza next door and an honest-to-god Area 51 arcade cabinet among its many fine public offerings is a place that automatically makes this list. Trailer Space, though, is more than just a spot with good ass video games and the venerable East Side Pies as a next-door neighbor. Set deep on the north end of the East Side, Trailer Space is a record store and music venue with the spirit of the 90s (in Austin, not that other copycat city) alive. By that I mean that they seriously care about local music and creating an authentic experience, and they also carry VHS tapes. Crossing the threshold of this venue bears immediate gifts: local records, loads more records of all kinds, the aforementioned tapes and DVDs, a bunch of scrawny kids hanging about picking through the crates, and music industry shit all over the walls that lets you know you’re not just dealin’ with a bunch of young hipsters into retro music, you’re in a place run by people who’ve actually been there in Austin’s music scene for a long time, and who’ve brought a bunch of awesome shit back to prove it. The shows here are much the same, curated, played and attended by real-deal Austin music lovers. That there is pizza within 10 feet at all times does not hurt, either.

///CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE\

Yet another poll hath gone, and the people have spoken: Wildfires is your Austin Deli Artist of the Month, coming in hard with a big push in the last few days that rocketed them straight into first. We’ve got a pretty good idea where Wildfires’ roaring race to the win got its fuel, as this dreamy and deceptively-named indie outfit had a recent EP release at Cheer Up Charlies on March 11. Wildfires has transitioned over the years from a more acoustic-heavy American roots sound to poppy indie with a hazey shoegaze bent, which is what you’ll get from single "Sad Wolverine" off the new EP and found below. The digital release of the album is said to be available soon, and we think it’s a pretty cool coincidence that the band was able to time its release to match so perfectly with the weather, as this airy indiepop entry goes quite lovely with the light spring weather we’ve got in Austin right now. We suggest making Wildfires your spring soundtrack for all the hours of driving about looking for parking you’re about to do this fest, so get listenin’ and happy goddamn SX, y’all.

Time to get familiar with another entry in our Austin Deli Artist of the Month poll. Next up, Apojii, and Austin-by-way-of-San-Antonio rapper who has been goin’ strong in the scene for some time now. Apojii is a stylistic gymnast, with a sound that tips its hat to mainstream party hip-hop but which is much more creative and conscious in his overall approach to music production and to rapping. Just look at his mission statement on his Soundcloud, which says he’s making these tracks "to bring people to the awareness of themselves," or the lyrics on tracks like our featured joint that say, "Everything’s got to be sold/Whether it’s god or whether it’s gold." That’s not stuff you’d hear from Top 40 tracks too often, yet Apojii’s work still always stays within that "fun to listen to" realm that mainstream shit typically makes its sole aim. That merger of a pop sound that draws you in (and gets the head bobbin’ to the rhythm) with a sharp mind that knows its hip-hop, its pop culture and itself is Apojii’s strength. And his continued and recent tracks as a solo producer/rapper double threat as well as his excellent featured work with San Antonio artist Tommie Wong are what got Apojii nominated for this month’s Austin Deli Artist of the Month. Music below, vote to the right y’all.

Super Thief is one of the four artists up for our most recent edition of The Deli Austin’s Artist of the Month Poll, and they are without question the loudest, grittiest band in consideration this go around. They also just put out a 7 song eponymous EP in January that’s not just good and heavy as fuck, it’s also smart, and from the first thudding, gut-shaking bass line on intro track "On the Internet," you know you’re not about to hear another Austin indie-pop or psych-rock group. No, this is music that remembers 80s hardcore and no wave, music that scratches that guttural screaming and crunching guitar itch and which does so while speaking about the modern condition without pretension. There’s not a boring spot on this whole EP, and it’s been on heavy rotation in the Austin Deli offices since we came across it. That’s partly because Super Thief’s use of chaos and dissonance and confusion turned into tight, complex songs is refreshing as fuck to hear coming out of Austin, where bands so often focus on the pretty and the peaceful. Sometimes you just want to thrash and wreck shit and work out some fucking frustration about this weird goddamn world, and Super Thief gives the listener the chance to do just that for a bit. Listen to standout track "Needle Fix" below, the rest of the EP here and vote to the right if Super Thief is hitting your shit-wrecking nerve nice and good, like it is ours.

Hark ye youngin’s, and listen to a tale of ancient musical glory from yer fast-fading elders. Believe it or not, once there was a day when indie was primarily a genre that was less of a particular sound and more of a feeling. Really, it was just a term you used to refer to the weird, maybe rock-ish shit made by people that felt a little different and who didn’t fit into the regular music industry mold. It was weird, and it was kinda awkward and raw, and Growl is a band from Austin that is that weird, kinda awkward raw indie sound done right, and done right now. The record they put out late last December has been entrenched in my daily playlist since I first heard it, and while it’s worth any Austinite’s ear time, those who are into that old sound from the 90s and early 2000s will paritcularly love the Growl. They’re a return to where this shit all came from, and their whole album is available for listening at their Bandcamp link right damn here. Listen, and bathe yourself in the echoes of the memories of late 90s youths.

Hold on to yer butts guys, SXSW is nigh. We’ve got mere days before Austin turns into the creative/partiers playground it does every March, and if you didn’t know, The Deli has a lot goin’ on. We’re handing out 10,000 free print editions of The Deli to people with cool haircuts just like you, for one, and we’re also adding to the creative dreamland mix a bit with a Stompbox Exhibit at the Convention Center and a Synth Space at the same spot. If you’re into the idea of playing around and making weird noises with cool music tech, this shit is not only free and right downtown, it’s also open to anyone whether you sold a kidney to get a badge or you remained poor and multi-kidneyed.

All this thinkin’ on SXSW was on my mind when I saw somethin’ that had me remembering South Bys gone this week, in the form of a new Austin-tacular music video by hip-hop duo Riders Against the Storm. My awareness and subsequent jamming of this group came about first because of SXSW, SX 2013 to be specific, when I stopped the husband side of Riders Against the Storm, Chaka Mandla Mhambi Mpeanaji, on the street to shoot his bitchin’ feather includin’ outfit for my friend ATX Streetstyle‘s blog (click through here, if you wanna see one damn well-dressed local musician). Chaka told me he was a teacher and a musician, which I typed into my phone and let him hurry on his SX way. I found RAS later when I looked him up at home, and their high-energy, big-thoughts music got me hooked real quick. But, y’know, I’m a bit of a sucker for soul, skill and some goddamn good rappin’.

And that, plus ass shakin’, is what you’ll get in the boombastic, butt-focused "Booty Sweat" music video that RAS released on YouTube on Feb. 26. That this video is pure Austin love is no surprise to me, as the people I’ve known around town that have had the love for RAS the hardest have always been the most Austin folks I know, and with the optimistic thing it seems that RAS has got goin’ on, that they love the ATX back makes sense. This vid is good, good Austin stuff, and if someone else in this town puts out another video even half this fun this year, well we’ll have one hell of a year on our hands. Get that booty sweatin’ good y’all, and come on by The Deli’s shit this SX if you got a free, mildly sober moment (perhaps too much to ask, just come on by whatever your BAC).

If his music is anything to go by, Caterwaulrus is probably a nice dude to kick it with. He seems like he could be the kind that’d show up to a hang with some flowers he picked on his walk over, just for you, but who’d also be willing to tell you that he feels a bit weird about killing something pretty. That feeling of sunshine and good days with an underlying soft gloom just drips from the sound on songwriter’s newest album, the just-released "Songs that Go Nowhere." That title is a bit misleading, but also a bit of the truth- these songs do float around like gentle clouds, but they’re also dense and complex and there’s nothing ambiguous about the way they hone in on their target tone. The album is laced with looping vocals all reverb-ed out to blissfulness, little electronic touches and pieces of beats, all of which melds together with no element ever threatening to overwhelm the rest of the track. And, despite the expansive warmth and haze in the sound, the sounds collectively bely the underlying subject of the tracks on the album, which almost all speak of Caterwaulrus’ melancholy. Lyrics like "I’m so fucking picky and I over think god damn everything," or "I’m a synesthetic skeptic slowly snoozing with regret, it’s not quite what mom expected" reveal a mind that is a bit worried and not always happy with itself, though it’d like to be, and that thought tunnels through the whole album. But, it’s delivered in such a poppy (albeit highly experimental pop), major-key fashion, buried deep within the summer smile that is the overriding tone, that you barely notice that these aren’t songs about having a good day at all. It’s a modern feeling buried in a modern sound, and if you have enjoyed artists like Toro y Moi in the recent past, you might find Caterwaulrus a good fit for your modern moods. Give it a go below, and float through your own contemporary, confusing life with a friend in your ear who understands.

We showed you a bit about Austin art garage group Pollen back in June 2014, and Pollen is back early this year with a new release, mostly about products and how we in the world deal with them. It’s raw as fuck music, both in terms of its no frills, no bullshit approach and for its true garage band sound, and single "Supply Chain" is one that’ll get pounding around in your head for a while. It’s a little bit old NYC dancepunk with a bit of D.C.’s The Evens, plus some Austin awareness and DIY that work pretty well together, with that "Coca cola, co-coca cola," "Motorola, Mo-motorola" hook just refusing to leave the brain once it gets in there. See what we mean below, and keep these guys on your radar if you like your music to say something about society while also givin’ you a beat to move your feet to.

After a month of intense deliberation, polling and exactly 500 million emails sent on the subject, The Deli Austin announced our Emerging Artist of the Year a few weeks ago. This year’s edition is Löwin, a rising rock act that just about ran away with the whole contest. We had a chat with the newly crowned Artists of the Year for 2014, and that’s what we’ve got for you to get yer eyes on today:

Löwin is The Deli Austin’s 2014 Artist of the Year. Our jurors and readers handily voted you into the winner’s spot, how do you guys feel about that?

S: It feels pretty awesome considering we didn’t even have a record out in 2014! To me that just means we won people over with our live show which is a wonderful feeling for a band…especially one as new as we are.

C: Yeah, the response at our shows has been great every time we play out, and when people are into you it just makes you want to perform that much harder for them.

N: Feels great, there were a lot of awesome bands in the poll.

K: Very awesome. Its a great feeling knowing the shows are making noise and it just makes the EP release that much more exciting.

[Click here for the full interview!]