In Conversation With #151 - Swim School
Hotly-tipped Edinburgh indie-outfit swim school have just released their debut EP ‘making sense of it all’. Likened to names including Wolf Alice, Foals and Dream Wife, this collection of songs puts swim school firmly out there as one of the top bands to watch out for this year, with their youthful mix of grunge and dream-pop. The band took a moment to talk to us about the EP.
Hey Swim School, so your debut EP is finally here - how does it feel to have it finally out there in the world?
It feels amazing. We’ve spent the last year writing some of our favourite material so the fact we can finally let people hear it is so exciting. Since we had so much free time over lockdown to write, our sound changed a lot. We took a lot of inspiration from heavier and grungey bands which influenced our heavier sound. “let me inside your head” is our heaviest song so we felt a bit nervous releasing that song as it was so different to anything that we had released before but after the amazing response we received, we became so confident in our new sound. Each track we released after that was followed by pure excitement - to know that people are loving our new sound is all we could ask for.
It is titled ‘making sense of it all’ - what is the meaning behind that?
Each track on the E.P. is based on a different experience that happened over the last year. It was a hard year for everyone and there was more bad than good. We wanted the title to relate to each track and the overall meaning of the E.P.. When flicking through my lyric book I came across the words “trying to make sense of it all”. As soon as I read it out loud, we all agreed that it would be the perfect title. “making sense of it all” basically means to find the good in the bad, to make sense of why bad things happen, allowing you to move on.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process?
We recorded all of the 5 tracks at Magic Box in Dundee with our producer Scotty Anderson. It’s a beautiful studio that we love to spend time in. Each track was recorded over two days which meant we had time to focus on fine details in the songs and experiment. It also meant that we had time to make any drastic changes and take chances. We played a lot of pool in-between takes, which was a good palate cleanser, meant we could switch off our writing mode for a bit then get back into it after. We love recording, it’s such an important part of being in a band and an artist. When listening back to all the songs at the end of the sessions we got so excited imagining how we would play them live.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
Like I said earlier, each track is about personal experience that happened over the last year and how those experiences affected us mentally. A running theme in all the songs in the E.P. is about expressing how those experiences affected you and that there was something positive to take from each one.
One of the main themes of the EP is the difficulties you have faced over the past year and the effect it has had on your mental health. Has the EP helped get you through that experience to a certain level?
Music was the first thing that introduced me to what mental health really is. When you listen to songs that describe exactly how you are feeling, it makes you feel less lonely and proves that you aren’t the only one who feels that way. To me, it’s amazing to think that music can help the listeners get through some of the toughest situations, showing just how powerful music can be. Since music helped me mentally, I felt like I owed it to music to be as honest as possible and create a body of work that was filled with lyrics that might help someone who listens.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
My favourite lyric has to be “how was it not another planned attack, when your last knife is still hanging out my back” from our song see red. “see red” is about people you once trusted turning on you and stabbing you in the back. You once trusted them but they then betray you over and over again.That song is our angry anthem that allows us to take any frustration out on our instruments when playing live. The reason it’s my favorite is because it's unapologetically honest. It's the most honest and blunt I have ever been when it comes to writing lyrics, I think the anger took over when writing the lyrics - its so fun to play live.
You played your first ever English festival slot at Latitude Festival recently, what was that experience like?
Words honestly can’t describe how insane Latitude was – we still can’t believe that it happened. Our first set was on the Friday. Since it was our first gig in over 18 months, nerves were high but adrenaline from a packed tent soon took over. We experienced our first mosh pit and found out after the set that there was a long queue waiting outside to get in to see us play. Our expectations were low as we were so far from home but it couldn’t have gone any better. We then got asked to play again on the Saturday which was more intimate but the crowd was just as lively as the day before. We got to meet some of our idols as well as seeing them play – overall the weekend felt like a dream and we didn’t want it to end. We couldn’t be happier that live music is back.
Now the EP is out there, what next for Swim School?
We are going to keep writing as much as we can whilst rehearsing and preparing for all the live shows coming back. The mixture of releasing “making sense of it all” and playing live again is so exciting for us. Going from having no live shows for 18 months to then everything coming back at once is overwhelming, but also so exciting and it finally feels like our old lives are coming back.