Sun-bleached psychedelia
Swimming make the kind of swirling, detail-rich music that tends to be described as ‘trippy’; their lyrics brim with spaced-out statements such as “I’m flying all around / It feels like I’m projected”; they’ve named their second album ‘Ecstatics International’. Faced with that seemingly incontrovertible evidence, it’s reasonable to conclude that the members of the Nottingham five-piece were off their collective mashbox on drugs when recording said album.
When that charge is put to him directly, Swimming’s lead vocalist and primary songwriter John Sampson laughs warily. “We thought we were going to get this one quite a lot,” he sighs. As it happens, nothing more potent than PG Tips has passed Sampson’s lips for twelve years, and the recording of ‘Ecstatics International’ was a strictly narcotics-free process. Not that Sampson is naïve enough not to see the druggy connotations of his band’s second album title; he’d simply like to reclaim the term ‘ecstatic’ and remind us of “what it means in Asian and African cultures, [where] you can use the term without everyone immediately thinking of MDMA”. On ‘Ecstatics International’, then, Swimming have pulled off quite a feat: they’ve made druggy-sounding music without being on drugs.
What’s more, they exhibit a level of ambition which isn’t found in most bands. In 2009 Swimming collaborated with Dallas Simpson - a performance artist who specialises in binaural soundscapes - for a series of gigs where the band performed in unusual locations while audience members listened on headphones. Alongside more traditional gigs, Swimming are planning more of those soundscape performances in the future, and they’re well worth catching. Just don’t ask the band what combination of pills they’re on. “Whenever we’re playing live people come up to us afterwards and say, ‘You must be off your faces!’”, says Sampson. “And I always say, ‘No, I’m driving everyone home tonight, so I’d better not be!’ I’m always the designated driver.”
Words by Ellie Bothwell
Where: Nottingham
What: Sun-bleached psychedelia
Unique fact: Band member Pete Sampson is a former UK champion beatboxer.
Get 3 songs: ‘Neutron Wireless Crystal’, ‘Mining For Diamonds’, ‘Team Jetstream’
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This article appears in the October issue of Clash Magazine, find out more about the issue and how to subscribe HERE.
When that charge is put to him directly, Swimming’s lead vocalist and primary songwriter John Sampson laughs warily. “We thought we were going to get this one quite a lot,” he sighs. As it happens, nothing more potent than PG Tips has passed Sampson’s lips for twelve years, and the recording of ‘Ecstatics International’ was a strictly narcotics-free process. Not that Sampson is naïve enough not to see the druggy connotations of his band’s second album title; he’d simply like to reclaim the term ‘ecstatic’ and remind us of “what it means in Asian and African cultures, [where] you can use the term without everyone immediately thinking of MDMA”. On ‘Ecstatics International’, then, Swimming have pulled off quite a feat: they’ve made druggy-sounding music without being on drugs.
What’s more, they exhibit a level of ambition which isn’t found in most bands. In 2009 Swimming collaborated with Dallas Simpson - a performance artist who specialises in binaural soundscapes - for a series of gigs where the band performed in unusual locations while audience members listened on headphones. Alongside more traditional gigs, Swimming are planning more of those soundscape performances in the future, and they’re well worth catching. Just don’t ask the band what combination of pills they’re on. “Whenever we’re playing live people come up to us afterwards and say, ‘You must be off your faces!’”, says Sampson. “And I always say, ‘No, I’m driving everyone home tonight, so I’d better not be!’ I’m always the designated driver.”
Words by Ellie Bothwell
Where: Nottingham
What: Sun-bleached psychedelia
Unique fact: Band member Pete Sampson is a former UK champion beatboxer.
Get 3 songs: ‘Neutron Wireless Crystal’, ‘Mining For Diamonds’, ‘Team Jetstream’
-
This article appears in the October issue of Clash Magazine, find out more about the issue and how to subscribe HERE.
