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October 16, 2024

DAIISTAR: “Velvet Reality” (KUTX Pop-Up at ACL Fest)

By: Jack Anderson

It’s always super cool to see our KUTX Artists of the Month get some additional hometown love out at ACL Fest. Off the top of our head, this year we saw Kalu & The Electric Joint, promqueen, Chief Cleopatra, and West 22nd added to the lineup. On top of those, we were stoked to see our October 2023 Artist of the Month DAIISTAR get some well-deserved recognition in the stacked ACL schedule as well.

Considering the quartet only hit streaming last February, DAIISTAR is decidedly still in a dawning phase. But with the release of their debut full-length Good Time last September, the four-piece made their mellotron-tinged brand of noise-pop felt far across Austin and beyond. Between a pair of recent remixes, a standalone original that dropped right around SXSW, and a handful of appearances on the West Coast over the next couple of months, 2024’s been a busy year for DAIISTAR.

And that includes the Good Time they had opening up the Miller Lite Stage this past toasty Sunday at ACL. After which DAIISTAR took shelter from the sun, shades still donned, in the KUTX multi-media tent for an unconventional twist on their Good Time closer “Velvet Reality”. Alongside the Sonic Boom remix that came out in April, this low-volume rendition of “Velvet Reality” is a testament to the versatility of DAIISTAR’s songwriting and the absence of limits in the nuanced world of noise.


Episodes

February 13, 2025

Tommy Francisco: “Tommy’s Groove”

Even a piping hot bowl of tokontsu ramen can’t fully shake-off today’s bone chill, but maybe the headspace of partying on a yacht in Mallorca can. Austin native Tommy Francisco hit the scene in 2020 with “Fever,” giving him an international audience and proving his ability to blend his Latin and Indigenous backgrounds into a […]

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February 12, 2025

Serebii: “Verrans Corner”

Auckland, New Zealand’s Callum Mower, known as Serebii, has always focused on pushing forward. Forward musically, forward personally, and now, forward into naked vulnerability.   Serebii’s upcoming album Dime finds Mower at his most vulnerable. Historically, Mower has relied on his mastery of instruments and production with others, namely fellow New Zealander Arjuna Oakes, but […]

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February 11, 2025

Slept All Day: “Asteria”

Austin duo Slept All Day may be new on the scene, but don’t sleep on them. Together, the two create moving soundscapes a la Bonobo and Washed Out. And they use their vocals as an element of the scape instead of its driving force. And despite the electronic instrumentation and vocal effects, the music is […]

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February 10, 2025

Middle Satre: “Corrupted (Uncorrupted)”

Welcome! Today’s theme is vision and reimagining. After spending a childhood in Salt Lake City, Hunter Preuger moved to Austin to sow oats with his project Middle Sattre. The project quickly expanded into a six-piece…and then an eight-piece, and a year after the release of their debut album Tendencies, the experimental folk outfit returned to […]

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February 7, 2025

Death Palmz: “IL2H2LU”

I’ve heard your week’s woes, I know it’s been one, so Aunt Tay is here to deliver a little Friday elixir to shift you into weekend mode as you get ready to burn rubber in the parking garage. Austin’s Death Palmz is another project from Exotic Frutica, and if you’re familiar with the punk band, […]

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February 6, 2025

Scott Collins: “Aphophenia”

Austin singer-songwriter Scott Collins has been ever-evolving in both songwriting and sound and now he’s started leaning in more to letting himself define his sound, branching out and seeing what feels right. His 9th EP And All This Happened serves on the title’s promise: it’s all happening. But the early 00’s indie sound is still […]

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February 5, 2025

Small Engine Fire: “Good Old Day”

Who said that energy and introspection can’t co-exist? It wasn’t me. And it certainly wasn’t Small Engine Fire. The new Austin band is made up of members of Lola Tried and Quiet Company, and together they create something a little nostalgic, like taking a ride out to Wilco with your Grandaddy. Small Engine Fire throws […]

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February 4, 2025

Her Mana: “Oh This Moment” (ft. Sarita and Gene Evaro Jr.)

We love a side project, don’t we? Especially when ace collaborations are involved. For a couple of years, Ley Line’s Emilie Basez and Kate Robberson have been creating music as a Her Mana, honing an even earthier and more ethereal sound with the same incredible complex guitar noodling, harmonies, and wide range of world instruments […]

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