In the midst of SXSW, Feels drop a new single Bad4me feat. MISSY

If you read Pilerats, chances are you're already well familiar with our mates Feels. The Perth two-piece and their percussive grooves are one of our favourite local acts around at the moment, verging on the edge of a full national break-out with their intricate and complex productions, often layering these bubbling, saccharine synth melodies with thick layers of percussion that form the backbone of their work, especially when combined with guest vocalists including Stella Donnelly and ZĀN. They're on the many AU/NZ acts over in Austin at the moment for music mega-conference/festival SXSW - alongside names including Angie McMahon and Body Type - where they aim to spread their percussive rhythms internationally with five appearances over the week-long event. "We have been blown away by the support our Perth community has had for Feels this past few years," they say on their first SXSW shows. "We are often inspired by our community at how openly they accept new ideas and styles of electronic music. Taking our live set to SXSW, means the world to us, because we are being given the opportunity to present how we see the future of electronic performance. Our musical upbringing in Perth, allows us to be confidently ourselves and go for it without hesitation."

In the midst of the madness, however, they've just dropped a new titled Bad4me, one that sees them team up with New Zealand musician MISSY for what's essentially a masterclass of their clanging, hyper-energy sound. Combining these punchy synth melodies with warping sampling and MISSY's disjointed, almost-chopped and screwed vocals, Feels offer something a touch different to everything else they've shared in the road to their long-awaited debut album due later this year, toying around and experimenting with vocalists and how to intertwine guest collaborators like MISSY with their signature sound. "MISSY is also a producer, so working with her in the studio she understood how to complement our production. The chord stabs in this track were so fun to put together with the vocals, I love how ‘on edge’ you feel listening back to it," the duo says on the single. "We couldn’t believe how naturally this song came together, we could all relate to the tone of the lyrics and we were excited to be writing something darker than our usual stuff."

Listen to the single below, and catch their SXSW dates underneath that:

Feels SXSW Showcases:

Sunday March 10
2 For the Showcase at Australia House
Lucille’s, 77 Rainey St, 9:00pm - 9:30pm

Tuesday March 12
Presentation at the Austin Ableton User Group
The Dub Academy, 906 E 5th St #109, 6:30pm - 7:15pm

Thursday March 14
Trace Patio inside the W Hotel
200 Lavaca St, 6pm - 6:45pm

Friday March 15
The Bigsound Brunch
Australia House at Lucille’s, 77 Rainey St, 2:15pm - 2:40pm

Saturday March 16
The Iron Bear
121 W 8th St, 11:00pm - 11:45pm

Follow Feels: FACEBOOK

-

Feels would like to thank The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries for their support of this project.