The Swagger - The music is raw, unique and doesn't fit into any category

The13th AÑO: 3

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NÚMERO 28

UNA R E VISTA IMA GINARIA

KAS PRODUCT | INTROFLIRT ALAN COURTIS | LIGHTS THAT CHANGE | MICHEL LEROY THE CULT OF FREE LOVE | THE SWAGGER | TAN FRÍO EL VERANO

[ Interview with Lee Stevens of The Swagger by Diego Centuriรณn ]

THE MUSIC IS RAW, UNIQUE AND DOESN'T FIT INTO ANY CATEGORY

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Who is The Swagger and when was your band formed?

The Swagger are made up of two brothers Lee Stevens (Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar) Paul Stevens (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals) Will O'Connell (Bass Guitar) & Roger Malaquias (Drums) The band formed in March 2012.

How would you describe your music?

Raw, Unique & In ya face. I call it Grit-rock which i created.

Who and what are your influences as musicians?

Well there are so many to choose from. I would have to mention The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who, The Sex Pistols, Nirvana, Oasis the list goes on...

How did you end up choosing to record your EP at London's legendary Konk studios?

Well we met up with our friend/producer Graham Bonnar (Swervedriver/The Brian Jonestown Massacre) and had a chat. We then decided we were going to record our debut EP at Konk studios. Being a fan of The Kinks made sense to choose this studio.

Also it's only a 2 minute walk from my house so that was handy hehe...

What was it like to record with Graham Bonnar?

Well Graham was very inspiring and we learn't a lot from his experience in the studio. He truly believes in the songs and has backed us all the way.

Who else was involved in creating your EP? Graham brought in guitar tech Brendan Quinn to help mould our guitar sound at Konk and was very inspiring in and around the studio. We had Josh Green the sound engineer at Konk he was very helpful. Co-producer Felix Macintosh from Tigersonic studios helped shape the EP too and was very supportive as we recorded the guitar overdubs & vo-

cals there.

Pat Collier (The Vibrators) mixed & mastered the EP at Perry Vale studios, Forest Hill, South London.

Finally Neil Barrie who also done the EP artwork and done a really professional job. So overall was very pleased with the whole outcome of the EP. You were mainly a ‘live band’ before recording your debut EP. Would you say this process has transformed you somehow or put you on a new trajectory, so to speak?

I think playing live has transformed the band and have made us a lot tighter in the last couple of years.

It has gave us the self belief, passion and drive to succeed and has given us the energy & sound to make a decent record/EP. Are you planning your first album? Can you tell us something about this?

Yes we are indeed, we will be recording the first single from our debut album 'Sleeping With The Enemy' on the 3rd September 2016 at Pat Collier's (The Vibrators) Perry Vale studios, Forest Hill, South London.

What can we expect to see happening with The Swagger in the second half of 2016?

We plan to record 2 more singles 'Loaded Gun' & 'Want It All' and are planning an album release end of 2017/18 and a tour on the horizon. We also plan to do 3 music videos for the singles.

What are the qualities in The Swagger’s music that you think make people want to listen to your band?

Well the songs are just great aren't they he and will stand the test of time cos the music is raw, unique and doesn't fit into any category and that makes us different from all of the other bands in today’s music.

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