The Wants
The Wants offer a union of downtown New York punk with minimal techno marked by songwriter Madison Velding-VanDam's earnest yet absurdist observations. The group flexes their obsessiveness to earn the tagline "Brooklyn's Most Anxious Dance Party" using skeletal components that interlock seamlessly, a guise of their complexity.
A multimedia project at heart, The Wants see their music as a component of a wider artistic universe designed to communicate their perspective. Velding-VanDam's attention to detail extends to the graphic and product design, marketing materials, and the filming and editing of their video content. He found a wealth of inspiration in "Pleasures and Terrors of Domestic Comfort" a 1991 retrospective of American photography.
Each member is highly active in the Brooklyn scene: Lydia Gammill is the egoslob "Gustaf"; Jason Gates drums for veterans "Veda Rays"; and Madison Velding-VanDam is the guitarist and a composer for "BODEGA". Their machine like rhythm section features Gammill's syncopated bass lines locking firmly with Gates' metronomic precision. Between caustically humorous lyrics, Velding-VanDam's guitar thrashes like a deranged Pete Townshend.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.