Snow Strippers were originally scheduled to play at Austin City Limits Music Festival’s Miller Lite Stage early Saturday evening. After British rapper fakemink dropped out, the New York based EDM duo took his 7:30 p.m. BeatBox stage slot. Despite the resulting time conflict with headliners, the change gave Snow Strippers’ club-ready sound the nocturnal atmosphere it needed.
DJ Graham Perez and vocalist Tatiana Schwaninger, who have been rising in popularity since their emergence in 2021, appeared as shadows against a disorienting graphic display, adding a mystery to their aesthetic. The whole production had a distinctly Gen Z energy, from the duo’s maximalist, hysteric sound drenched in digital effects to their unhinged theatrics onstage. Perez obscured his face with sunglasses and pulled a bandana over his nose, playing the role of the forever-jumping hype man while Schwaninger flailed erratically in a way that could not have been choreographed.
Even their calls to the audience members, who appeared to be mostly high-school aged, bore an unmistakable Gen Z informality.
“Austin, Texas, we in this bitch,” Perez said. “ACL, what up? We got hella songs to play for you guys.”
The 40-minute set felt more like a curated medley than a series of distinct songs, transitioning between sounds in a way that made it difficult to discern where one track ended and the next began. Rather than specific catchy moments, the performance focused on the build-up and release of tension. Icy synth melodies combined with throbbing, high BPM rhythms made for electrifying beat drops that kept the spry crowd jumping, phones in hand to record for social media stories. In a festival that accorded more time than ever to DJs, Snow Strippers stood out as particularly original and relevant, especially in contrast to nostalgia acts who relied mostly on remixes of existing pop songs.
Despite a sense of self-indulgence, Snow Strippers’ set wasn’t a strictly feel-good affair. Some of the noisiest, most overwhelming moments felt viscerally punishing. Between raving songs featuring calls to “get down” and “pop your pussy,” Perez made a somewhat unexpected religious statement, reminding attendees of the proximity of Saturday night and Sunday morning.
“With God in your life, there’s no reason to fear,” Perez said to mild applause. “Christ is king.”
Several hits were discernable even through the extremely fast-paced, delirious set. In “It’s A Dream,” the guest verse from rapper Lil Uzi Vert, though pumped in through the speaker system, brought a welcome addition of clear lyrics to contrast Schwaninger’s warped screams.
“Under Your Spell,” the group’s biggest hit by far, incited the most calamitous mosh of the night. By the time the song reached its euphoric drop, all the tension built up throughout Snow Strippers’ set exploded into unfettered euphoria.
If ACL is going to continue to move towards EDM, Snow Strippers provided a template for the kind of act the festival should be booking.
