​Last year, as SXSW'ers swarmed downtown Austin, Texas, Alexander "DJ RTC" Fruchter rented a palatial mansion in the nearby hills for four days and set about creating a "hip-hop fantasy camp." Rappers like Freddie Gibbs, Fashawn, Rhymefest, and Kanye West associate GLC passed through, hung out, and wrote music together. Along with compiling the best of those sessions for an album project, video footage of the bonds the artists forged was recorded for an accompanying documentary. As Fruchter puts it, the aim was to "not just document the culture and the art that came out of those four days but to tell the story of the artists and what makes them unique." With Closed Sessions: ATX released on March 15th, we asked Gibbs, Fashawn, GLC, RTC and Dilated Peoples' Rakaa to look back on their time inside hip-hop's most grandiose recording spot.

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photo by J. Hettwer

GayBiGayGay

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One last post about the 2011 edition of SXSW:

In its 6th year, the SXSW spin-off Gay Bi Gay Gay Fest packs in enough merrymaking and debauchery to hold everyone over until Gay Pride in June.

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photo by Siran Babayan

Braids

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Had we known we'd be stuck in the middle of a riot trying to catch Death from Above 1979, we would've stayed put for art-pop group Braids on the festival's final night. Another one of the SXSW's buzzed-about and hardest working bands, the four Canadian 20- and 21-year olds performed at Club de Ville, the last of their whopping nine shows. Their recently-released debut, Native Speaker, is a moody and atmospheric affair resembling the Cocteau Twins and Ladytron, with shoegaze-inspired guitars and synths, and singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston's Karen O-meets-Elizabeth Fraser vocals.

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Siran Babayan

James Blake

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What: James Blake
Where: Stubb's, Austin, TX
When: March 16

Of all the buzzed about artists at SXSW, 22-year-old British electronica-pop crooner James Blake is certainly worthy of the hype. Blake's been a critic's darling since producing three EPs in 2010 and his just released self-titled debut, on which the singer sets a wounded, warbling falsetto (think Antony and the Johnsons meets D'Angelo) against a sparse, ambient dubstep soundscape, breathing soul into a soul-sucking genre.

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photo by Siran Babayan

Gayngs

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What: Gayngs
Where: Lustre Pearl, Austin, TX
When: March18

Amid constant crowd chatter, the second of retro dance-pop Gayngs' SXSW shows at Lustre Pearl was a another festival example of right band, wrong venue. There was a lot to see on up there. Twenty-five artists contributed to the Minnesota collective's 2010 debut, Relayted, and the people on the club's outdoor stage included 11 musicians and singers, and a few others whose purpose seemed unclear.

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photos by Siran Babayan

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Konichiwa Austin! In addition to showcasing six of the best Japanese artists playing everything from soul to punk to metal, SXSW's annual Japan Nite at Elysium had a bigger cause this year. All proceeds from ticket sales benefitted the Red Cross, making up the nearly 100,000 raised over the festival's six days.

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youtube credit: mplstv

Kanye's not-so-secret show at the defunct Austin power plant Saturday was not the shocker of SXSW's last night. The big surprise was who joined him onstage.

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Irish-for-a-day and drunk-for-the-week revelers came out in full force on St. Paddy's Day to test their luck and sobriety. Here's our survey of Assorted Freaks and Fools on St. Patrick's Day at SXSW:

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Whether posted by bands or hipster jokers (or both), there's always a lot to read during SXSW, and we're not talking about the festival handbook. Here are the Top Ten Funniest Flyers and Posters at SXSW:

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photo by Wendy Gilmartin

Le Butcherettes

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Hands down, on Friday the ladies ruled SXSW. Dancing, looking good, showing panties, spilling BBQ sauce, spilling fake blood and, oh yeah, rocking some really great tunes.

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