2019 was certainly a year of multi-national acts and The Swoons are definitely not looking to break that streak. Hailing from LA, Toronto, London and Vancouver, the four-piece came together whilst studying in Boston. Trevor, Matt, Tony and Giacomo are all about sharing the spotlight, claiming there isn’t really one frontman.

Making music that is a mix of indie and pop with some electronic, the sound of The Swoons can only be described as eclectic.The release of their first single ‘Conspiracy of Silence’ showcases the band’s ability to make a delightful pop track, paired with meaningful lyrics.

We chat to the boys this week about their backgrounds, their very diverse music tastes and the exciting path ahead of them...

1) For those who don’t know about you and your music, tell us a little bit about who you are and where you’re from…

We are The Swoons, an alternative-pop group hailing from London, Toronto, Los Angeles and Vancouver. We all met while studying in Boston at Berklee College of Music. Post-graduation we collectively moved to Los Angeles to continue developing as a band and to-date we are working on our debut album amongst other projects.

2) Describe your sound in three words…

Eclectic, heartfelt, genre-bending.

3) Who inspired you to start a career in music?

We all come from such different backgrounds both geographically and culturally. Music however,for all of ushas been a constant in our lives. All of us growing up were exposed to a plethora of genres from classical, early rock 'n' roll, pop and indie-folk which inspired us in many ways to pursue a career in music. This melting pot of musical tastes has definitely seeped into the music we create today and continues to evolve and shape our sound as we develop as a band.

4) Who are your biggest musical influences?

As a collective of four individuals from vastly different backgrounds it's hard for us as a band to pin down simply a few musical influences as we love so much music and it continues to inspire us to create new sounds in our original music. There is definitely an influence of the classical in the harmonic content of our music with Tony learning his craft from studying the works of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt to name a few. The Beatles, Coldplay, Radiohead, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, John Mayer, Mumford & Sons, Adele, Skrillex and Bon Iver are definitely acts that have inspired our own work. In terms of our contemporary peers, we're loving what we're hearing from artists like Maggie Rogers, Labrinth, Jorja Smith, Leon Bridges and Scarypoolparty.

5) Tell us about the writing and recording process for your new single/album…

Honestly it varies every time! What's so fun about our creative process is that there are many permutations internally that yield different results. Sometimes it starts with the beat, the chord progression or riff or simply a title. With our recent single 'Conspiracy of Silence' it started with the title. We had a piano riff and rough idea of a beat for the chorus and wrote the sound around that. Once done, we produced a full demo before heading to Germano Studios in New York City where we re-recorded parts and polished the production up with our engineer/co-producer Matt Sim before sending it to mix and master.

6) What can we expect from your live shows?

It's definitely still in development as we learn more about what each song needs to translate from the record to the live stage. It’s going to be a journey - we're all about taking the audience on a rollercoaster so expect a good mix of uptempo anthems and intimate ballads. In terms of instrumentation it's been the four of us with an additional drummer but it's ever changing!

7) What has been your biggest career highlight so far?

Probably our recent debut headline show at The Islington in London. It was also the release day of our single 'Conspiracy of Silence' so was the first time playing it to the public. It was such a fun show and the crowd was all the way out the door with people spilling into the main pub area. It was a great night and we were amazing to see a packed house react so positively to a set list of predominantly unreleased music.

8) Have you met anyone and been totally starstruck?

Not really although we haven't met many superstars - meeting Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Elton John would be pretty surreal! We always try to remember that ultimately these huge artists are just regular people like you and I so I’m sure we would try to keep it cool.

9) What’s on your playlists that people wouldn’t expect?

Hmmm - the new single 'Lose You To Love Me' by Selena Gomez is pretty dope!

10) When can we see you live?

We're looking to play a lot more shows in 2020 so definitely keep your eyes peeled whether it's at festivals or at venues in LA / London.