Electrifying Female Percussion Duo Feels from Western Australia Showcasing at SXSW Music Festival 2019

Two dynamic women, one four-octave electronic marimba/xylophone, 11 different drum pads, up to six sticks hitting the triggers at any time - meet Feels, the boundary-pushing, award-winning artists, producers, label founders and gender equality ground breakers landing in Austin next month as Australia's only instrumental electronic duo at SXSW.

Combining their classical percussion training with a unique self-invented production style, Feels has been pioneering a new sound and setting new performance standards for writing and performing forward-thinking electronic music as well as spearheading equal gender representation in the music industry.

Feels is Elise Reitze-Swensen and Rosie Taylor, who met at age 14 at an after school percussion program at The West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). They bonded over an exchange in hand drum solos and have been friends and collaborators ever since. Elise and Rosie have Bachelor Degrees in Music Composition and Performance respectively, and both are well respected as music educators around Australia. Elise is also an Ableton Certified Trainer.

Their musical journey has taken them from nascent experimentation to performing for Queen Elizabeth II at the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Opening Ceremony. Since forming Feels in 2016, Elise and Rose have attended Ableton Loop Berlin and presented at Ableton user groups across Australia, New Zealand and the USA. They have also undertaken studio residencies at Red Bull HQ in Sydney and Auckland, showcased at the 2018 Electronic Music Conference (EMC) in Sydney, and presented a TEDxPerth talk at the Perth Concert Hall.

In 2017, Feels made their music festival debut after winning the Triple J Unearthed Listen Out Festival competition. They have since performed festivals including Falls Festival 2018 and 2019, Laneway Festival, Kickstart Festival, Perth International Arts Festival and Disrupted Festival. Feels has supported concerts by Kimbra, Ngaiire, Mansionair, Yeo, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Orbital.

Their recorded output has garnered rave reviews and strong airplay in Australia and internationally, from Triple J to BBC Radio 1 to Spotify playlists. In 2017 Feels released their first single "Prior Engagement" from their debut EP Emerald. The track received international praise from the likes of RedBull, Spotify (Fresh Finds) and Apple Music (Best of The Week). Their follow-up singles included "Cutiepie," "Research" and "They Need Us" (feat. Stella Donnelly).

"Feels and Stella Donnelly offer up a sonic antidote, a call-to-arms for women everywhere to remember that THEY need US and that we will find our places in this world together... They're changing the message to how important we are and by doing so they're bringing the focus onto how brilliant women are and how needed we are, and the fact that our voices are getting more and more impossible to ignore." - Purple Sneakers

Feels has dominated the West Australian Music (WAM) Awards for the past two years, winning Best Electronic Producer in 2017 and 2018, and Song of the Year in 2017 for "Prior Engagement." Feels also won the WAM Awards in 2018 for Best Electronic Live Act and Label of The Year for their label WOMPP (Women of Music Production Perth).

Elise and Rosie co-founded WOMPP as a female-run label, booking agency and Ableton user group community. WOMPP gives opportunities to female, transgender and non-binary music makers to share, discuss and showcase music production within the broader Australian and international music community. Alongside the record label and booking agency, WOMPP curates monthly community meetings and showcases. WOMPP established as a national community in August 2018 and further expanded to include New Zealand in January 2019. WOMPP aims to inspire and nurture a diverse electronic music scene and provide a safe place for learning and growth. WOMPP is the only all-female, trans, non-binary Ableton User Group in the world and now has over 500 members across Australia and New Zealand.

Feels comes to SXSW with a new single, "Piha," a dynamic dance track that draws on fun and splashy samples created and recorded on location in Piha, New Zealand during a writing trip to explore new territory in their sound design. "Piha" encapsulates Elise and Rosie's love for upbeat dance music - and music that makes you move is the focus for the duo this year. Elise says, "We had a studio looking over the ocean on the cliffs of Piha, I got to go surfing everyday! I feel like I really got to capture the beach side vibe and bubbling sounds of our time in that beautiful place - it definitely comes through in the sound design."

Rosie says, "We had a lot of fun writing this track and definitely felt our relaxed surroundings gave us the freedom and time to experiment with the energetic beats and rhythms. I think the hook came so naturally because we literally woke up inspired everyday, ready to write new music!"

With no less than three showcase performances at SXSW 2019 Feels will capture their audiences in a unique auditory and visual experience. Their SXSW appearances will be followed up with multiple single releases followed by their debut album in September.

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