Giant Swan

The pummeling, off-kilter techno and acerbic electronic noise of Giant Swan saw them become an intimidating yet hypnotic live act before channeling their own brand of punk chaos onto records such as 2018′s thumping High Wasted EP. Formed in Bristol, U.K. by Robin Stewart and Harry Wright as an offshoot of their band the Naturals, the duo originally used jam sessions to flesh out material before their live improvised sets snowballed into their own entity. Giant Swan quickly became a regular act on the local D.I.Y. scene, with their live performances channeling the same energy and reaction as punk acts, with each show becoming a completely different, improvised-sounding set.
The pair’s first recorded material surfaced in 2014 with the track “Slum” appearing on the Howling Owl Record Store Day EP Sink. The label went on to release their murky-sounding eponymous EP a year later. Comparisons to early Holy Fuck and fellow Bristolians Fuck Buttons followed, with the duo’s live shows crossing into the techno club scene. The pair delivered their second single, the more focused Earn EP, in 2016. The following year saw them cross further over into the techno scene, delivering the single Celebrate the Last 30 Years of Human Ego for bass and techno producer Batu’s Timedance label. While booked to play numerous techno nights — alongside the likes of Headless Horseman, Peder Mannerfelt, and Container — they also continued to play to the underground noise scene across Europe. Giant Swan delivered two more EPs, Whities 016 and High Wasted, in 2018, while also performing for Boiler Room at London’s Southbank Centre, and playing at the alternative electronic festival Berlin Atonal. In their brief moments of downtime, the duo began constructing their debut album. Giant Swan saw release in 2019, aiming to capture the intensity of their live show but adding guitar into the mix to enrich the experience. ~ Rich Wilson