SXSW 2007, Fool’s Gold, and the Sound of Becoming

 

SXSW 2007: Fool’s Gold, VICE SAVES TEXAS, and the Sound of Becoming

By OutOfPrint Recordings · Archive Series · Austin Music Scene, 2000s

SXSW 2007 Volume Party Fool’s Gold banner

The Night Texas Belonged to Bass

Austin in March still smells like barbecue smoke, sunscreen, and vinyl. At SXSW 2007, that scent carried a new beat—one born from the blog era, when electro met hip hop, and DJ culture turned physical. It was a time when labels were built on laptops, and sound was a signal to access freedom.

This was Fool’s Gold before it was a brand. Just a crew. A manifesto testing waters out with a focus on context.

Nationally, March 2007 was chaos. Britney shaved her head. Obama announced his run. The Sopranos was circling its final scene. But in Austin, inside a venue called Volume, a banner read: VICE SAVES TEXAS. And it felt true.

VICE SAVES TEXAS banner at Fool's Gold SXSW 2007 showcase

Fool’s Gold Records—barely even a label yet—threw something between a block party and a lightning strike. Kid Sister rapped. Flosstradamus thrashed. Chromeo played like irony had a gold chain on. The floor moved like it had somewhere to be.

Inside: clip-on sunglasses, sweat, and bass. Outside: asphalt, smoke, and kids chain-smoking Parliament Lights in Justice shirts. Someone asked what time Diplo was on. No one knew. That was the point.

Before the iPhone, After the Blog

This was before the iPhone shipped. Texting was still T9. MySpace ruled. YouTube hadn't yet become God. Sharing meant being *there*. If you missed it, you missed it.

Crowd at Fool’s Gold SXSW 2007 event at Volume, Austin

Today, this moment lives on—in crates of worn vinyl, in flash-lit photos from digital cameras no longer sold. We archive culture. We remember nights like this.

Built for presence. Worn with memory.

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