Bodytronix live at SXSW

Ever since I stepped off the plane I’ve been hearing one word, over and over: Bodytronix. It’s been Bodytronix this and Bodytronix that. I wasn’t exactly sure who or what Bodytronix was but it was clear that the great and good of the Austin music scene were very excited they were playing. It turned out Bodytronix are two local guys called Eric Archer and Erich Ragsdale who, Jesse from Pure X explained, “build all their own synthesisers and mod out their drum machines. They have a really amazing looking set-up and they’re just really, really good musicians. Ultra jammers.” What they jam, I discovered last night, is improv acid techno of the squelchiest, most outrageously funk-rinsed kind. They played after Survive and everyone flipped out. It was like some high impact hoedown on, quite legitimately, acid. I was particularly spellbound by Erich Ragsdale, pictured right, feeding pieces of card through a machine that turned braille-like indents into sound. Apparently Bodytronix don’t make records – it’s part of their whole approach – but there are some live recordings floating about, including this one below. Enjoy.