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swim deep “A bit of this, a bit of that. A bit of unicorn piss” Ahead of Reading & Leeds, the boys have conjured up a rather, um, interesting formula for their debut.
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Words & Photos: Emma Swann.
t’s probably impossible for Swim Deep to release their debut album at any other time of year. Well, not impossible maybe, there are hardly set rules against these kind of things, but highly improbable. These are four boys from Birmingham who belong in the summer. If singles ‘King City’, ‘Honey’, ‘The Sea’ and ‘She Changes The Weather’ weren’t enough of a hint – all four tracks feature on the forthcoming full-length – then titles like ‘Make My Sun Shine’ or ‘Francisco’ (with its “I’ve found a place the sun shines forever”) will do it. It’s a reaction, frontman Austin Williams tells us, to the quartet’s home surroundings. “It’s a bit grim in Birmingham,” he admits of the city that hasn’t only bore Swim Deep in the past eighteen months, but also B-town brethren Peace, JAWS and hot
44 thisisfakediy.co.uk
newcomers Superfood, “but this is more hopeful music. It’s not about drinking K cider in a warehouse; that’d be a boring song, it’s more about what you could be doing, not just waiting for something. It’s a very escapist album. It’s pretty optimistic. It’s got a bit of this, a bit of that. A bit of magic powder, a bit of unicorn piss...” The band all laugh. “I think it’s a special album,” he finally decides, “I’m going to say that.” The band recorded in Brussels, with producer Charlie Hugall, known for his work with the likes of Florence + The Machine and Lucy Rose. “We wanted to get out of England,” explains bassist Cavan McCarthy, “We wanted to go away, have some fun.” “We didn’t want to go to a ‘normal’ place to record our album,” continues Austin. “One of the advantages of being a musician is that you can