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Apr 03, 2015 By Oli Bayston Photography by Main photo by Wendy Lynch Redfern. Blog photos by Boxed In Web Exclusive

Boxed In kept a diary of their SXSW 2015 experience and took a bunch of Polaroid photos for us. Boxed In is the project of London-based producer/electronic musician/singer Oli Bayston. Boxed In’s self-titled debut album is out now via Nettwerk. Bayston and his backing band played Under the Radar’s official SXSW showcase this year at Central Presbyterian Church.

Day 1: We arrived in Austin after a chaotic flight change with 30 other SXSWesters. Drove up to the house we stayed in all week to the warmest welcome from our hosts, their three cats and the dog, called Puppy-an interesting blend of about eight different breeds of small dog.

Day 2: We’d organized with James Petralli of White Denim to rehearse in his amazing recording studio on the outskirts of Austin. Was such a luxury getting all day to prep before the run of shows at the festival. James was lovely and it’s always nice to geek out on someone else’s studio gear for an hour or two as well.

Day 3: Our first show was at midday, the NoiseTrade party. A small room full of nice people who gave us a very warm reception. Felt like a great start to the week. A few hours later we’re in Maggie Mae’s for our label, Nettwerk Records party. Was lovely to meet all the people we’d been virtually conversing with for a while. Even bumped in to an old school friend from the U.K.!

Day 4: After being given another incredible American breakfast by our hosts-this time breakfast tacos-we headed out to the Music For Listeners Party at El Sapo, a lovely bar a little out of town with a really nice vibe to it. Great burgers and a couple too many Margaritas. A nice couple came up after the show saying they were driving past the venue and had to pull over to come see the end of our performance. John and Lucy I think. At 10pm, after stopping at House of Vans to chill in their huge hammocks and pick up some threads, The Domino Records Party at Mohawk kicked off. One of our most memorable shows of the festival, it got pretty rowdy in there. We’ve found video evidence of someone throwing a full glass of beer at the stage and all over us when we closed with “All Your Love Is Gone.” Good Times

Day 5: Double Header at Latitude 30, The British Embassy Venue. Chucked buckets of rain outside all day so load in was tough. The afternoon show was good and heaving inside. Felt weird that we’d be playing the same venue in a few hours. The Black Jack London Party was at midnight and we shared the bill with some good friends from London-Only Real and Juce. This ended up being a really good one, a lot of moving bodies. U.K. takeover for the night.

Day 6: Our final show at SXSW was the Under the Radar Magazine Party at one of the most interesting venues-The Central Presbyterian Church. A big space designed for seated events and somber occasions. The show started off with attentive seated listeners and we decided to change the set a little to suit the venue. We played “Wild West,” the closer on the album and the slowest song. But picked it up towards the end to finish on a groove. Luckily the crowd took the hint and a whole chunk of them jumped out their seats and ran to the front of the stage to see us out with a mini church rave up. Just like our memorable SXSW experience, there’s a first time for everything.

Day 7: Heavy heads and little sleep after a house party with Kate Tempest and band, we made our way to the airport for the long haul home. Austin’s a grand old place, we can’t wait to see the rest of the USA.

www.boxedinmusic.com