Live music preview: Oblivion Access Festival begins Thursday

Now that shows and festivals are back in full force, Austin is benefiting from the return of specialty mid-tier festivals like the psych rock themed, LEVITATION and this weekend’s sublimely booked, Oblivion Access Festival. The four-day metal, punk and experimental music fest begins Thursday at seven downtown venues, presenting a pleasing variety of acts for music fans to see including Toronto’s Metz, Cosmic Clash’s favorite NYC noise bomb artists, A Place to Bury Strangers, plus rare performances by composer William Basinski, and hip-hop twosome Armand Hammer who will perform with iconic music producer The Alchemist.

Formerly known as Austin Terror Fest, the event rebranded in 2020 before the pandemic pulled the plug on Oblivion Access for three years. That delay resulted in the organizers booking not a stripped down, cheaper-to-book version like we’ve seen with some large format festivals. Instead, festival founders, Dusty Brooks and Dorian Domi doubled-down on their vision, expanding to four nights, adding elements like a comedy showcase at Valhalla as well as a Night Swim (woman-owned screen printing shop) poster show and pop-up vinyl record shop curated by Revolver Magazine at Native Hostel.  That location is also where four day ticket-holders pick up their passes beginning at noon tomorrow.

While the festival sold-out of four-day passes, with performances slated for Empire Control Room and Garage, Mohawk, Elysium, Belmont, Valhalla and Central Presbyterian Church as well as after hours late night shows at Blue Norther’s showroom there’s a lot to choose from for folks buying individual tickets. With a few exceptions, most shows still have tickets available for purchase including Metz’s fest-opening set at Elysium (as of time of publishing today).

Thursday, May 12

As we just mentioned, a great way to kick off the festival is with noise punks Metz, who are Cosmic Clash staff favorites. We can’t think of a better way to start off Oblivion Access than with these talented, uncompromising act who’ve dropped a great new record, Atlas Vending in 2020. We are looking forward to hearing the band perform the new material after having delayed this tour for almost two years due to the world wide COVID pandemic at Elysium in the heart of the Red River Cultural District.

Friday, May 13

It’s back to Elysium Friday for Manchester, England’s Andy Stott who is an electronic artist whose discography reflects a wide range of musical influences. Consequently, his debut and follow-up LP sound quite different.

The author explains in a Vice Magazine interview with Stott from 2016: “his music draws from where he’s at creatively, functioning as a reflection of whatever curiosity is currently making the gears in his head churn.” When creating albums, he also tries to make each track have a very different aesthetic by using a variety of equipment and musical influences. As he explained, “I go to the studio and I don’t mess around, but at the same time, I don’t really know what’s going to come out.”

Saturday May 14

Empire Control Room and Garage are the place to be Saturday with a killer lineup with Blonde Redhead, experimental pop act, XIU XIU and Brooklyn’s A Place to Bury Strangers (another TCC favorite). Anika and Grivo open the show which is clearly the top billing of the festival.

We cannot decide which band we’re most excited for; APTBS and Oliver Ackermann’s trio of experimental noise rockers, NYC alternative rockers, Blonde Redhead or the much hyped XIU XIU who we’ve never covered before. Either way you slice it, this bill has something for every music fan.

Inside the venue is an equally compelling lineup; Youth of Today, Vio-lence (Eternal Nightmare set), Melt Banana, Kool Keith, Candy, Portrayal of Guilt and Blank Hellscape. it’s an embarrassment of musical riches Oblivion Access fans won’t soon forget.

Sunday, May 15

Take it down a notch on Sunday by heading to Elysium for a rare live performance by American electronic music composer, William Basinski. He is best know for his works,The Disintegration Loops  which is a series of four albums released in 2002 and 2003. The records consist of recordings of tape loops that gradually deteriorate.

Basinski created the effect by playing the loops for extended periods, allowing the tape to deteriorate each time they passed the tape head. This unique technique was discovered after Basinski attempted to transfer his recordings to a digital format.

The completion of the project coincided with the 9/11 attacks, which Basinski witnessed from his rooftop in Brooklyn; the artwork features Basinski’s footage of the New York City skyline in the aftermath of the World Trade Center’s collapse. He dedicated the music to the victims of the attacks.

After Shows