SXSW Music 2022: Da:lum, Amra, Sophia Shen & More Asian Acts Confirmed

South By Southwest (SXSW) has recently announced a new wave of artists, including Asian acts Da:lum, Sophia Shen, Kiana V, AGE, Mong Tong, and Balming Tiger (a collective from Seoul, South Korea) who will perform at this year’s festival in March.

Following a two-year gap caused by the pandemic in 2019, the festival will once again take place. And is scheduled to run from 14-20 March in Austin, Texas.

SXSW has been progressively unveiling its 2022 performers. Other acts newly announced recently include Cartel Madras (South India), Chihiro Yamazaki (Japan), Elephant Gym (Taiwan), Shelhiel (Malaysia), Kiana V (Philippines), Cifika (S.Korea), and more. last Friday were Japanese punk outfit CHAI, South Korean indie band ADOY, and Malaysian pop act Shelhiel. Click here for the complete list of performers at SXSW 2022.

Here are some of our selected music and artists to watch at SXSW Festival 2022.

1. “Mystery 秘神” by Mong Tong

The psychedelic experimental duo Mong Tong was formed by the brothers of nature-based psychedelic group WWWW guitarist Hom Yu and Dope Purple guitarist Jiun Chi. Growing up with “relaxing Chinese synth-pop”, video game soundtracks and psychedelic rock music, the creations of MongDong are filled with elements of their obsession with Taiwanese occult art and retro superstitious imagery, with themes ranging from folklore to aliens. 

2. “Dot” by Da:lum 달음

DAL: UM is a Korean music ensemble formed with two members performing Korea’s most well-known traditional string instruments, Gayaguem (Su Yean Ha) and Geomungo (HyeYoung Hwang). DAL:UM did their debut in 2018. Since then, they have challenged the possibility of traditional sounds of these instruments. They experimented by freely reforming and modernizing the sounds of these two instruments.

3. “Mahal” by Chihiro Yamazaki +Route14 band

Fun jazz isn’t so entertaining without the existence of Chihiro Yamazaki 山崎千裕 and her band. After the release of their second album “Sweet Thing” released by King Records in August 2017, the group went on to perform at ChilpoJazz2019 in Pohang, Korea. Rave reviews continue to follow this band ever since. Their continuing partnership with King Records, a Japanese record company founded in January 1931 as a division of the Japanese publisher Kodansha, resulted in the release of their fifth album in 2018.

Featured speakers and topics at SXSW 2022 include:

Chairman and CEO of Pfizer Dr. Albert Bourla
Grammy Award-Winning singer and songwriter Jason Isbell
Producer, Songwriter and Philanthropist Linda Perry
Warner Records SVP of A&R/TheBasement Series CEO Ericka J. Coulter

What’s Your Life’s Soundtrack?: Music is one of a few things that can transport you back
to a moment in time, a special memory, and a song would not be whole without the
songwriter. In this session, founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Song Management, Merck
Mercuriadis and GRAMMY-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist Nile
Rodgers talk about where the songwriter currently sits in the economic equation and
their mission to change the dynamics as to how songwriters are compensated in the
future.

What’s in A Metaverse?: CEO of Epyllion Matthew Ball, Head of Brands & Advertisers
Solutions for Epic Games’ Unreal Engine Raffaella Camera, tech columnist and author
Charlie Fink, and co-founder and CEO of High Fidelity Philip Rosedale answer questions
such as how shall we define a metaverse, who else is building – or has built – a
metaverse, what technology does a metaverse require, and on which platforms will these
virtual, social spaces manifest, when, and how?

The post SXSW Music 2022: Da:lum, Amra, Sophia Shen & More Asian Acts Confirmed appeared first on Music Press Asia.