In writing their mature guitar-pop, Swim Season draws from the five very different musical backgrounds of its members- James Seymour (Vocals/Guitar), Matthew Jennings (Guitar/Vocals), Danielle Smarrelli (Keys/Vocals), Nelson Yeung (Bass) & Jonathon Ferraro (Drums). The Melbourne quintet born from earlier project We The People quickly garnered respect locally for their energetic live show and internationally for their remarkably catchy tunes and film clips.
Praise flowed in for 2014 singles ‘The Throne’ and ‘Hide & Seek’, but 2015’s ‘Soldiers’ really allowed them to make their mark, and after taking some time off, the group now take on 2017 with single “Lungs.”
Keep reading to learn more about the band.
How did the band come together?
It all started after myself and Jon (our drummer) decided music was what we wanted to do. We liked the same music, were both comfortable with our shortness in stature, and thought we were super cool ‘coz Gotye went to our school – so there were multiple great connections there. Years down the track, we eventually molded into Swim Season as it is today, with Jenno (guitar), Nelson (bass) & Dani (synth) all jumping on board somewhere along the way – everyone meeting through gigging and being involved in the Melbourne music scene in some way. Not much has changed since high school, and hopefully one day we all still get to meet Gotye.
Who or what has inspired your sound and latest single, “Lungs?”
Jon actually wrote the lyrics to this one! He’s been developing a keen progression into poetry over the past year, and I must say, the man does have a way with words. We really worked hard on nailing the sounds this time around, and looked to blending the guitars & synth together to be able to sit behind the melody well.
Is there a story behind your band name?
I think we were all huddled up in someone’s studio during Winter, thinking about how much we wanted it to be warm again. The Swim Season was just on our minds I guess – simple as that! Not really, it took bloody months of brainstorming *rolls eyes*.
What is your favorite show memory?
Personally, my favorite memory was crowd surfing whilst playing our single launch at The Workers. We totally planned it too, making the instrumental section longer so I could do it haha. I’ve always wanted to and it was totally worth it.
What would be your dream tour and why?
I think band support wise, the overwhelming consensus would probably be with The Wombats or The 1975, just ‘coz it’d be a wild time. Otherwise, we are pretty damn keen to get on the festival circuit.
Tell us about your writing process; any unusual quirks?
No quirks here! However, it’s always evolving, and we never really have a solid game plan. Some people might bring ideas to the group, other times we might write together from scratch – it’s just the nature of the beast!
What’s your favourite song to cover?
We just did a mashup of Anderson .Paak – ‘Comedown’ & RATM – ‘Bulls On Parade’ at our single launch – that was pretty wild.
If you were to create a “soundtrack to your life,” what songs would be on it?
So many options! If it was to reflect what I’m listening to right now, I’d say some Anderson .Paak vibes, or even some Sampha.
Would you like to add anything else?
Cheers for having us! See you at the next show
Filed under: Creation Stories Tagged: Creation Stories, lungs, music creates us, swim season
