Toppa Top 14: LargeUp’s Guide to South by Southwest 2014

Words by Kieran Meadows, Natalie Weiner and Jesse Serwer—

It’s the time of the year when the music industry decamps to Austin, Texas to spend a week catching up on the best sounds from all around the world… and to have some fun, too. Here at LargeUp we’re excited to be presenting our first South by Southwest showcase. With help from the House of Marley, we’re bringing some of our favorite Caribbean artists and some proper bashment vibes to Empire Patio, part of the Empire Control Room complex in downtown Austin, on Wednesday from 12-5. So bring your wining shoes, and don’t forget to RSVP!. And we’re not the only ones. Caribbean acts, tough to find in past years of the festival, are definitely taking to Austin in greater numbers this year. Click through to find out where to locate the best island sounds at SXSW 2014.

Bunji Garlin

March has already been a busy month for the Viking of Soca—between the festivities and performances of Trinidad Carnival and his Carnival Tabanca EP release last week (stream it exclusively on LargeUp right now) it’s a wonder that Bunji Garlin found the time to make the trek to Austin. Garlin, who brought soca to the international mainstream with 2013’s “Differentology,” is one of Rolling Stone’s 25 must-see acts at SXSW 2014, and with good reason—is anyone better at getting the party started than Bunji? The LargeUp crew is thrilled to present his SXSW debut at our showcase on Wednesday the 12th at Empire Patio. He also performs as part of the Mad Decent official showcase on Friday.—Natalie Weiner

Jesse Royal

We rated Jesse Royal as our top artist to watch in 2014 with good reason — he’s one of the key players in Jamaican music’s current reggae revival, along with Chronixx, Protoje, Kabaka Pyramid and others. With big tunes in 2013 like The Wizard-produced “Wadada” and the one-drop anthem “Modern Day Judas,” the mixtape In Comes the Small Axe, and some very well-received live performances in Jamaica, we foresee this being an even better year for the 24-year-old singer. For all these reasons and more we’ve tapped him for the first ever SXSW LargeUp x Rice & Peas showcase at Empire Patio. If you can’t catch him with us, you get another chance at night with our bashment friends The Heatwave, at 512 Bar at 9pm.—Kieran Meadows

KiT (Kuenta i Tambu)

If you’re looking to do some serious wining at SXSW, look no further than any of the five showcases featuring Dutch/Caribbean group KiT (Kuenta i Tambu). One of our 21 artists to watch for 2014, KiT marries traditional Afro-Caribbean drumming from Curaçao with sounds from contemporary global electronic music. Basically, irresistible dance music—live drums and vocals, a DJ, and a whole lot of energy. Check them out at Red 7 and Bar 96 on Wednesday, Speakeasy on Friday, and with Taj Weekes at Russian House on Saturday. Just make sure you don’t jackhammer!—Natalie Weiner

Collie Buddz

Bermudian bashment star Collie Buddz has been holding down the reggae/dancehall side of SXSW for a few years now, and he’s continuing that trend in 2014. The only difference? This year, his show comes on the heels of Collie’s signing with Salaam Remi’s Sony imprint, Louder Than Life. The announcement, made just last week, was paired with the release of a new single, “Light It Up” — we can only assume that this year’s SXSW performance is the start of a major campaign to bring Buddz back to “Come Around“-era ubiquity. Fittingly, he’s performing at Remi’s Louder Than Life showcase at Remedy on Friday alongside Liam Bailey and Pete Rock (!)—definitely a great chance to see what the two have planned for Buddz’s next releases.—Natalie Weiner

Meta & The Cornerstones

Salaam Remi

For us, the name Salaam Remi is automatically associated with raw talent and artistry. The Trini-Bajan music producer is the man behind hits by The Fugees, Nas, Ini Kamoze, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys and Miguel, just to name a few. At this year’s SXSW, the super-producer and self-described “talent developer” is throwing his own official showcase, “Presented By Salaam Remi and Louder Than Life/Sony Music” at the venue, Remedy, on Friday night. The lineup includes Sweet Da Kid, Collie Buddz, Mack Wilds, U.K. singer Liam Bailey (who’s currently working with Remi on his debut album) and the Grammy-nominated Remi himself.—Kieran Meadows

Liam Bailey

We’ve been checking for this U.K. singer here at LargeUp since we first came across him as the featured vocalist on ragga jungle don Shy FX’s lovers rock throwback “Soon Come.” Before that existed though, Amy Winehouse was so impressed with Bailey she signed him to her Lioness label. Following her death, her own mentor, producer Salaam Remi, began working with Bailey on his debut album, signing him to his Flying Buddha imprint. Just a few reasons why Bailey, the son of a Jamaican father and British mother, was named #3 on our toppa top artists to watch for 2014. The singer, whose music is rooted in soul and often inspired by reggae, is set to make his U.S. debut this week with performances in Austin: Friday night (9:30pm) at Remi’s showcase at Remedy, and Saturday night (8:30pm), alongsie Erykah Badu, Thundercat and Cody Chestnutt at the Okayplayer SXSW showcase at Bungalow.—Kieran Meadows

Black Violin

Los Rakas

Longtime friends of LargeUp, Los Rakas are gearing up for the April release of their major label debut, El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo. Heralded for their unique blend of hip-hop, reggaeton, and dancehall, the Panama-via-Oakland duo who recently signed with Machete Music, Universal Music’s Latin Urban imprint. The album’s first single is a re-release of the LargeUp-endorsed “No Tan Listo,” a track “right in the sweet spot between dancehall and Panamanian plena.” As Converse ambassadors, Raka Rich and Raka Dun also just dropped a great track with L.A.-area group The Bots for the brand’s most recent compilation. Look out for them at the LargeUp Showcase, as well as at the Green Label showcase with Lupe Fiasco, and the Converse/Thrasher Magazine Death Match showcase also featuring Lil B and Perfect Pussy.—Natalie Weiner

Screechy Dan

Bringing the classic dancehall vibes to this year’s SXSW is Screechy Dan, the Kingston-via-Brooklyn artist best known for “Pose Off,” his classic collaboration with Red Fox. To some, the singer/deejay is also known for his impressive yodeling skills, as witnessed on his reggae version of Hank Williams’ “Lonesome Blues.” The yodeling and a general country vibe have been a hallmark of Screechy’s live shows since the days of legendary Brooklyn venue Biltmore Ballroom, all of which made him the perfect act in our mind to represent dancehall out in Texas. Naturally, we’re super hyped to be presenting Screechy’s long overdue Austin debut at the LargeUp x House of Marley showcase on Wednesday afternoon. Read more about Screechy, in our definitive feature on the underrated talent.—Jesse Serwer

Taj Weekes

Taj Weekes will be representing St. Lucia at SXSW 2014 with his mellow, uplifting roots reggae. The singer and guitarist has made waves with his humanitarian efforts as well as his music—when he’s not touring internationally, he works to promote the well-being of St. Lucian youth through his organization TOCO (They Often Cry Outreach). You can see him perform at Russian House as a part of the Rock Paper Scissors showcase on Saturday along with KiT.—Natalie Weiner

The Heatwave

The Heatwave are about to take Austin by storm this week. The London-based dancehall crew (and long-time authors of our Cockney & Yardie column) brings the best island sounds with them whenever they’re on the ones and twos—their Hot Wuk series is one of London’s “maddest” bashments for a reason. Check them out at the LargeUp showcase on Wednesday afternoon, then at their own official showcase at The 512 Bar later that night. If you’re Wednesday is all booked up, they’re playing a total of five parties around SXSW., so you’ll have ample opportunities to catch the UK’s number one bashment sound,—Natalie Weiner

Deejay Theory

LargeUp fam Deejay Theory, the esteemed curator/author of our weekly Mixtape Mondays column, will be spinning at the LargeUp showcase Wednesday—so expect a guaranteed good time from “San Francisco’s tropical-bass expert.” If you somehow manage to miss the showcase (we’ll forgive you eventually), Theory is also helping bring Bay-area party Tormenta Tropical to Texas along with The Heatwave—check out their party at Chupacabra on Sunday, or one of the other five where he’ll be touching the decks. In other news, Theory’s recently teamed up with fellow San Franciscan J Boogie as Brother in Arms: check their wicked rework of Grace Jones’ “My Jamaican Guy,” “Jamaican Gyal” below.—Natalie Weiner

Rice + Peas Crew

The Rice & Peas crew has been bringing authentic bashment vibes to downtown NYC for over six years, and in 2014 they’re finally bringing them out to Austin for South by Southwest. LargeUp’s own DJ Gravy and Federation Sound’s Max Glazer will be representing the DJ crew out in Texas, and they’re bringing along MC Mountain Doo and dancer extraordinaire Miss LikkleBit, ensuring that the the LargeUp x House of Marley showcase/Austin edition of R&P will be the most authentic dancehall party SxSW has ever seen. If you love Caribbean music and you’re out in Austin, you won’t want to miss this—so, one last time: RSVP to make sure you’re on the list! —Jesse Serwer