Swayzak

London-based electronic pair Swayzak display comparable ingenuity whether shaping material in the studio, delivering performances, or handling DJ duties. Emerging toward the close of the 1990s, they fused deep house and minimal techno with pronounced dub elements, a style captured on their acclaimed first full-length Snowboarding in Argentina from 1998. Guest vocalists entered their process beginning with the 2000 release Himawari, while stage presentations shifted away from hardware setups toward spontaneous laptop explorations. Microhouse gained prominence through compilations such as the 2002 Groovetechnology v1.3, whereas efforts like Loops from the Bergerie in 2004 gravitated toward synth pop and electro textures once live instruments and singing joined their shows. Following the exit of founding member James S. Taylor, David Brown issued a dark, driving self-titled album under the s_w_z_k moniker on Tresor in 2012 before resuming live dates and understated single releases under the Swayzak name. Taylor returned to the project in 2023 to mark the 25th anniversary of Snowboarding in Argentina via a deluxe reissue.

James S. Taylor and David Brown first convened in a basement workspace to lay down sample-driven downtempo pieces under the Language Lab banner starting in 1993. A solitary concert occurred with that moniker, and the bulk of those recordings stayed unavailable until decades later when digital archival editions appeared. Rechristened Swayzak, the duo issued dubby house singles on their own imprint beginning in 1997. Snowboarding in Argentina arrived in multiple CD and LP configurations through Pagan in the U.K. and Medicine Label in the U.S., assembling single versions alongside further cuts that retained the impromptu character of their concerts; Mixer magazine named it Album of the Year. Subsequent singles included two editions of “Lokal” plus the instrumental hip-hop experiments Snooploops & Sneakbeats. They also joined Detroit’s Theorem for the 1999 EP Break in at Apartment 205, an early entry on Richie Hawtin’s M_nus label.

Their second album Himawari surfaced in 2000, featuring contributions from dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah and former Opus III vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw. That same year they established the 240 Volts imprint. Regular broadcasts of their DJ sets aired on the early internet radio platform Groovetech, culminating in the double-CD mix Groovetechnology v1.3 issued by !K7 in 2002, which highlighted the rising microhouse aesthetic. Third album Dirty Dancing wove in synth pop and electroclash strands, with ADULT. and Carl Finlow appearing on “I Dance Alone” and additional singers including Clair Dietrich, March21, and the duo themselves. Frequent Fabric club appearances in London from its 1999 launch led to the 2003 Fabric 11 mix CD blending microhouse, post-punk, and neo-disco. Those threads continued on fourth album Loops from the Bergerie in 2004, co-produced with Kenny Paterson and spotlighting vocalists Richard Davis, Mathilde Mallen, and Dietrich. Route de la Slack: Remixes & Rarities from 2006 gathered reworkings for Señor Coconut, Slam, and Tahiti 80 alongside unreleased and scarce material. Serieculture, a double-CD pairing an original Swayzak disc with a Roger 23 DJ mix, came out via San Francisco’s Avantgarde organization. Final !K7 album Some Other Country arrived in 2007 with Davis, Cassy, and Les Fauves providing vocals. A Japanese edition titled Re: Serieculture appeared on Timothy Really in 2009.

Taylor departed Swayzak around 2011 to focus on experimental work as Lugano Fell. Brown released the self-titled s_w_z_k album of dark, dubby techno on Tresor in 2012, then revived Swayzak activity in 2013 with the two-part Songs of My Supper on Third Wave Black and the Richard Davis collaboration “Shut Me Down” on Construct. Flanders Field EP followed on Curle Recordings in 2016, and Gestures of a Syncophant appeared via Beatnik Boulevard in 2017. A series of Lost Tapes compilations emerged in 2017, succeeded by “Odessa Calling” on Rekids in 2018. The deluxe 25th-anniversary remastered edition of Snowboarding in Argentina surfaced in 2023 alongside Taylor’s return.