Abracadabra

If you find the time, please come and stay a while in abracadabra’s beautiful neighbourhood; a magically wonky wonderland where strangers leave as friends to a block party soundtrack as eclectic as it is infectious. The California duo’s album shapes & colors is a dazzling collage of psych-fuelled synthscapes and contemporary Baroque-pop of anti-capitalist movements and escapism, precisely pieced around their own working lives in a blue-collar town.

In the heart of Oakland’s industrial Jingletown above a former auto-repair shop in what was once a mechanics’ break room where poker rounds ensued, Hannah Skelton (Vocals, Synthesizers) and Chris Niles, (Bass, Synthesizers) constructed the angular 80s-tinged anthems (think John Hughes montages to Talking Heads) of their new album, to positively offset the pandemic’s amplification of dysfunctional society.

Diving into decades of electronica and crunchy sound effects, field recordings and animal sounds, blended with an infectious Latin influence, "shapes & colors" shimmies with the charismatic energy of ESG, Tom Tom Club, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, and the dub hits of King Tubby.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

Events featuring Abracadabra

Mar 14, 2023
10:00pm — 10:40pm
About
From:
Oakland, CA
Subgenre:
Synthpop
Professional Connections
Abracadabra is seeking the following:
  • Management
  • Brand Partnership
  • Other Artists to Tour With
  • Booking Agent - US
  • Booking Agent - UK/Europe
  • Booking Agent - Worldwide
  • Publishing