Fences - "Girls With Accents": SXSW 2011 Showcasing Artist

Fences summarizes Mansfield's music in succinct, compelling fashion—no simple feat, considering that his sound doesn't fit neatly in any single box. He speaks with audible affection of '80s innovators like the Cure, Kate Bush, and Morrissey, icons who created a consummate, all-encompassing aesthetic, just as he aspires to do with Fences. A close listen to the rhythm tracks on several cuts also underscores Mansfield's love of down-tempo classic country. An anthology of Johnny Cash's Sun Records sides was one of his constant soundtracks while working as a dishwasher. "The tempo of that material just has a unrelenting drive," he reflects. "It carries the lyrics from start to finish before you even realize what has been said."

Further enriching his sound, Mansfield also has a powerful affinity for jazz, citing John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Wayne Shorter among his favorites. "Sometimes that music is just so chaotic, which is what growing up feels like," he observes. "I always wondered why more confused teenagers didn't listen to jazz. The girl you're in love with doesn't love you back? Go home and put on Charlie Parker playing 'Embraceable You.'" Later he studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Sometimes Mansfield's jazz background is reflected in something as simple as augmenting a minor chord with a major seventh, but Berklee also sold him on the value of commitment and discipline. Hence Mansfield's laser-like focus on achieving his goals. "I appreciate the workmanship, the dedication required to get the art to where it should be."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• sxsw
• south by southwest
• austin
• texas
• music
• film
• interactive
• festival
• and
• conference
• 2011
• emerging
• independent
• panel
• interview
• talk
• Fences
• Girls with Accents
• south southwest

[MrCoolWhipped]

Fuck censoring

[scrapmassa]

CAN't stop listening!!!!

[Allisunaire]

@PSU77 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX.

[PSU77]

where can i get those shoes?

[donmiguelj]

Seattle definitely produces AMAZING music!

[Jeffries606]

where can I find more of this guy's music????????

[KnudsenKlamfyr]

4 people are fucking up!

[Ausfaq]

This dude needs more publicity.

[mastrubatinsatan]

good music, dudes.

[MsLamename]

@kiddwiffplugs they wrote it on a window and filmed it.

[tummilytumtum]

Seeing him with Girl In a Coma in Denver in a couple weeks! I'm more excited to see him than Girl in a Coma haha