Quick picks for the SXSW Orange Influencers Playlist

The iSchool is looking for a mixtape of SU artists to hype at SXSW, here are three quick suggestions from Otto-Tune.

Syracuse's social media presence has been making things happen for quite some time now and this week they came up with another great idea for the iSchool's upcoming SXSW Orange Influencers party: 

Let a 'Cuse alum DJ the event. Let the playlist be comprised of 'Cuse artists.

Today is the deadline for 'Cuse musicians past and present to submit their music (up to 3 songs, mp3 format, e-mailed to suxswmixtape@gmail.com) for consideration. Anyone submitting will be considered primarily on the merit of the music but any promotional campaigns running across various social medias will add to their cause. Full rules are here if you or any colleagues think your material is up to the task. Unfortunately neither of my undergraduate projects likely fits the bill.

At first it's easy to immediately throw out Ra Ra Riot or Pete Yorn (don't forget Lou Reed folks) or to suggest any of the current bands on campus. They did make a splash at CMJ in the fall so logic says they'd make an impression at this festival too. However, there are plenty of recent 'Cuse music alums who deserve a few moments in the spotlight so consider these three suggestions for any SU playlist:

 

Andrew Maury ('08) and The Remix Artist Collective

We wrote about Maury as one of the big SU-related music items of 2010 because of his production prowess, but the music he puts out as the only U.S.-based member of The RAC needs more play as well. Stereogum has been an avid supporter of the group's work and, by proxy, all the bands the group samples are supporters too. That list includes acts like Bloc Party, Phoenix and Tokyo Police Club among others. For the SU SXSW mixtape, might as well use their remix of "A Manner to Act" from fellow alumni darlings Ra Ra Riot.

Erikino ('07)

It's hard to break out as a musician on campus any time, but perhaps particularly when Ra Ra Riot is still around. Erikino's time at SU overlapped quite a bit with the band but his group Camp Camp used to receive their only healthy share of fandom, attention and buzz in the campus scene. That group's music was heavy dance electronica that got students moving, but Erikino's solo work was even better. His "Little Guy Demo" featured electronic-pop music with airy emotional vocals. It was minimalist electronica done as well as Spoon providing minimalist indie rock. Try "Electric Touch" for the mixtape and dare yourself to not be intrigued.

ToTs (current)

If you want to catch someone's attention with something different at SXSW, including current SU community member ToTs on the mixtape will certainly work. The local potato rapper has been slowly gaining more and more steam with his own genre and now world-record breaking music. He even had a brief stint on Wikipedia before editors cited a lack of credible media coverage. His work has been featured in the Village Voice, USA Today Pop Candy and the Universal Record Database however. It's worth mentioning the ascent of ToTs made its way into the NewsHouse's 2010 Year-End Music List as well. Try the track "Crispy" off his latest release as a conversation starter for the SU SXSW mixtape.

ToTs - Crispy from Reserve17 on Vimeo.

 

The Sister Lovers would've been a solid option for the third pick but it's hard to confirm if any of the members ever did attend SU (straightforward indie rock, played with Ra Ra Riot a few times and once had Vampire Weekend play before them at Funk N' Waffles). Any other acts that need to be on the SU SXSW mixtape that are likely being overlooked?

Erikino's recent tracks:

Erikino's recent tracks: http://erikino.bandcamp.com

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