“I am all for cross-pollination” Swim the Shine interview
In the vibrant world of electronic music, Swim the Shine stands out as a multifaceted talent hailing from Budapest, now based in Zurich. Known for blending the pulsating rhythms of progressive house and melodic techno, his music transcends traditional boundaries, offering a unique sonic experience.
With roots as a DJ, VJ, and producer, Swim the Shine’s creativity extends beyond music to interactive visuals, enriching the auditory experience. His journey from the drums of the London Olympics to global stages showcases a dynamic artist continually pushing the envelope.
Welcome to EDM Cave. How has the start of the year been for you? Do you tend to find this time of year inspirational, or daunting?
Thank you! I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you and your audience.
I don’t really celebrate Christmas (or any other holiday really), but the time when one year gives way to another has a very special spot in my heart. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on the recent past, re-group and make plans for the near future. With a very good friend of mine, each year we share our New Year’s Resolutions and check in with each other at the end of the year to see what we’ve accomplished. My resolution in the beginning of 2023 was to have 4 releases on Gun Raven (my record label). I failed. We only had 3 releases! In 2024, I will try to fail a little better.
The transition from analog to digital is central to your work, especially with Gun Raven. Can you discuss the challenges and opportunities this shift presents for artists today?
I can’t talk about challenges or opportunities for artists in general. Great pieces of art have been created in both realm. But for me personally, embracing the digital still feels a bit rebellious and full of potential – like the Beatles and other bands of the 1960’s and 1970’s plugging into their guitar amplifiers, turning it up to 11 and creating the hysteria we now see only in documentaries. With live streaming DJ sets, performances in the metaverse and an ever-widening set of software synths, there exists the same potential for today’s digital artist to create hysteria. That’s why the catchphrase (or tagline?) we chose for Gun Raven is “21st Century Rock n Roll”.
Your new single “Gilles Said We Cannot Fuck” has a provocative title. Can you share the story or inspiration behind this unique title, and how it reflects the themes or messages in the song?
Hahaha… No! Not now, not ever! Let’s just say, somewhere in this galaxy, there were a certain number of people who met on a boat and could have had some fun but they didn’t. And Gilles was involved somehow…. and with that I’m ready for the next question. But at least you know why there is a boat on the cover. 😉
How did you go about selecting the remixers for this project?
I started Gun Raven during the COVID pandemic, which was great because it allowed time for the boring legal and admin aspects of setting up a business. On the other hand it was obviously horrendous for networking. So the start was rough. But by now I have a talented group of producers/DJs who I can always count on. Having said that, I am always on the lookout for both undiscovered talent and a bigger name trusting me with their next release. Some people say to me “you party a lot”. But I’m just networking…
The sound and style of “Gilles Said We Cannot Fuck” seem to mark a distinct direction in your music. How does this track represent your current artistic evolution, and what do you hope listeners take away from it?
Sometimes, I wish I could say it’s an evolution. But the truth is, I’m terrible at branding and terrible at sticking to a genre. Both my DJ mixes and my own productions just weave in and out of genres. Perhaps if you listen to this mix of mine that starts with Black Eyed Peas and melts into a techno track by Timo Maas you’ll agree that my musical evolution is much more haphazard than I could take credit for.
Gun Raven represents a new venture for you. What vision do you have for the label and platform, and how do you see it contributing to the wider electronic music and arts community?
In my vision, Gun Raven is a full-blown audio-visual label – not only releasing music but also VJing content packs, music videos, audio-visual art installations, etc. Also, for each EP, I search for visual artists to create the cover art. Some are oil paintings while others are digital creations. For example, the cover of Guided Boogie was painted on canvas, while the cover of Gilles Said We Cannot Fuck is created in a computer. We have also made (and currently making) music videos. For example, in collaboration with a vary talented local visual artist from Zurich, we created this animated music video for Timo Maas’s remix of Stealth Mode.
Collaboration across genres and cultures has become a hallmark of electronic music. How do you see these cross-genre collaborations influencing the identity and diversity of the electronic music community?
I am all for cross-pollination. If I may return to your previous question while answering this one, what I hope I manage to bring to the electronic music and art community is connecting artists who collaborate to create art that neither of them would have managed alone. All the Gun Raven releases include remixes – remixes that range in genre from jungle through dubstep to techno and house. I always think of the stories where a huge international artist with all the machinery and millions behind them says “well, that song going #1 was a total surprise to us, first we didn’t even want to have it on the album”. I, as the label head, am not going to stand in the way of any great music or visual art piece just because it doesn’t conform to some pre-conceived set of rules.
What music do you listen to outside of the studio? Outside of dance music, what has been the album or artist you’ve listened to the most?
I’m almost ashamed to say, but I “have to” listen to so much electronic dance music that I can hardly keep up with music from the rest of the world. But what I try to do is listen to the radio. Elton John’s Rocket Hour is my favourite radio show lately.
What’s 2024 looking like for Swim the Shine?
Oh nice of you to ask… Although I’ve been very busy with building and running Gun Raven, I still manage to play local gigs in Zurich. Recently most of my gigs were VJing, but my personal aim for 2024 is to sign to an agency and gig more regularly – both DJing and VJing. Maybe we can talk again at the end of the year to see how well I failed this year.
Gilles Said We Cannot Fuck is out now: https://ditto.fm/gilles-said-we-cannot-fuck
Follow Gun Raven:
https://soundcloud.com/gunraven
https://www.instagram.com/gunraven
