SXSW ’12 Artist Profile: The Black And White Years
Given all the surprise headliners and famous keynote speakers, sometimes good Texas talent can get lost in the South By Southwest shuffle. In anticipation of this year’s festival, Texas Music Matters will be profiling some of the best showcasing acts that the Lone Star State has to offer come March.
The Black And White Years have been bringing a dance beat to Austin’s music scene for half a decade now, but they haven’t always been uptempo. The group started out in Nashville as a folk act, but after the departure of their drummer, they bought a keyboard to keep the rhythm. The change in membership turned into a change in sound as well, bringing more electronic elements to the forefront. It wasn’t long before the Black And White Years were discovered at South By Southwest in 2007 by none other than Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and the Modern Lovers, who produced their self-titled debut.
The group is slated to return to SXSW this year, and we talked to frontman Scott Butler about moving to Austin, their change in sound, and his unique songwriting process.
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