South By Southwest

South By Southwest

Damien Binder this week returned from a brief tour of America which included a succesful showcase at Austin's South By SouthWest Festival. "The crowd was great - they listened intenetly to the songs and were really enthusiastic... they wouldn't let me leave the stage!" said Binder of his gig at The Hideout.

With interest already been shown pre-festival and even more being shown post-festival, Binder's manager Mark Roach said that the trip was very worthwhile, "I had discussions with several key marketing, A&R and legal reps who were unanimously positive about Damien and his material. From here it's building on those relationships and seeing where it takes us."

Binder and Roach are also quick to praise the New Zealand government's role in Austin. "The coalition between the Arts, Culture & Heritage Ministry, Trade NZ and the NZ Music Industry Commission provided the platform for us to initiate contacts and really capitalise on our time there. 'Shock & Awe' might be the term to describe the American industry's reaction to our government's pro-activeness in promoting the NZ music industry!" said Roach.

Binder now heads back to the studio to finish work on his second album which is being mixed by one-time bandmate, now Stellar guitarist and producer to the stars Chris Van de Geer. The lead single 'Till Now' is out now and can be downloaded from Binder's website - http://www.damienbinder.com

*For more on the kiwis at SXSW listen to The Mix on National Radio (NZ) at 6.07pm this Saturday 29th.

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