So Young Issue Twenty-Two

Page 26

Swim Deep Swim Deep are back. The Birmingham (“b-town”?) rockers

O: Well, we were finally surrounded by a band who actually

have returned from the wilderness with a brand new line-

wanted to do something instead of just pottering along. So

up, album and live set that’s as trim and potent as it’s ever

that happened and everything started to come into shape and

been. Having being dropped by their label RCA, the album

we met Dave (McCracken, producer) and he just kicked us

represents a turning point for the band. Losing two founding

up the arse a thousand times, and he knew that we wanted it

members and the financial security of big-industry money

so bad, so we just worked really hard.

might have been the death-knell of a lesser band, but for Swim Deep it was a chance to make the record they’d

So, it’s been a while since ‘Mothers’, what have you been

always wanted to. We caught up with Ozzy, Cav, James and

up to since then?

new members Robbie and Tommy to find out what they’ve James Balmont: We finished ‘Mothers’ and then went to

been up to.

write almost straight away for about three months and it was Hello Swim Deep. You’re back! Why now?

just really grim. It was three months at the Fortress…

Cavan McCarthy: Why now? Why not.

O: It’s gone now but it was just this really horrible studio complex in East London. Nothing came out of that except

Ozzy Williams: There was a massive turning point about

for meeting Dave, who helped us see the bigger picture.

two years ago when Higgy and Zac decided they wanted to

And then after that we just all kind of got back to reality in

leave the band, in the space of the same month. Even though

a way. Everyone had to pick up part time jobs, and DJ sets

we knew one of them was coming, the other was a complete

every week and that also shaped the record. You know, it

surprise. Me, James and Cav just sat there in the pub and

gave us this drive to be back being a full time band.

decided it was all or nothing really. That must have been pretty tricky to pick yourself up from...

25

Words by Rob Knaggs, illustration by Leanne Rule


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