Hailing from Bristol, Giant Swan have somehow transformed from a notorious techno-act with a cheeky punk-attitude playing dingy DIY spaces, into a notorious techno-act with a cheeky punk-attitude playing massive festival stages. After releasing kick-ass EPs on Howling Owl Records, FuckPunk, Timedance, Mannequin, and Whities, the duo has launched its own label Keck in late 2019 to release its self-titled debut album.
A few weeks into the new year the two giant swans have found the time to compile a list of music that was important in their lifes. From electro clash over dub to post-hardcore—you get the idea:
ROBIN STEWART
Aba Shanti-I – Forces Of Selah
Harry and I have both taken a lot of influence from dub and particularly from attending sound clashes in Bristol over the years. Aba is one of the best ever to do it and this tune is one we both really love. The melody and the development of the tune is unusual and the jacking digi quality is really infectious. Super heavy track.
Regis – Sand
This is techno ground zero. The riff to end all riffs. Atonal beauty body slam!
Daughters – Fiery
Some people say the new Daughters album is the best of their career and that they’ve never been better etc. but REALLY the truth is that Hell Songs is peerlessly one of the best metal albums ever made and the call-&-response guitar interplay in „Firey“ changed ya wee Swans’ lives forever and ever. Seriously, this band and this album is one of the most noxious, disturbed, and haunted things ever we’ve listened to.
So.
Good.
HARRY WRIGHT
The Blood Brothers – We Ride Skeletal Lightning
Obviously a big one for us seeing as we’re named after the last track on this album, hehe… Totally fell in love with their harsh, camp energy and how heavy it is without having to rely on more traditional punk and metal aesthetics to convey an overall sense of brutality and depth. The lyrics and artwork also create these amazing narratives and proved them to not take themselves too seriously. All ideas that resonate with us a lot.
Justice – Genesis
Bloghouse / Electroclash / Nu-rave ANTHEM. LOL. It was stuff like this and that whole wave of mid 00s indie band x electro crossovers that helped bridge the gap between indie kids and DJs and certainly helped pave the way for our journey into dance music. I remember hearing this at a grime night in Thekla [club in Bristol] about four years after it was released and that really cemented how far reaching this tune was and how it represented and influenced a lot of stuff going on today. It was supposedly this album that made Zedd start producing music. LOL. Whether you take that as a positive or negative I dunno. Haha.
The Knife – Stay Out Here ft. Shannon Funchess and Emily Roysdon
Politics can and will exist on the dance floor, and The Knife, for me, are one of the best at creating a space and platform to enable a more inclusive discussion to happen. Their focus on FUN, dancing, and a genuine pursuit of experimentation has also helped me open my mind up to ways we can remove ego from the art in order to empower, unify, and encourage others. Every other techno night we play at I always go to Rob “Wait a sec… I think they’re playing… The Knife!?” And they never ever are :( … Except for the other night. It happened. And it was this song. It was a magical moment… But we were outside smoking so missed most of it.
Giant Swan’s Giant Swan was released on Keck. Listen to the record’s opener “55 Year Old Daughter” below and get the record here.