First up, congratulations on the new track! An absolute belter, especially with Clay J Gladstone featuring on the track. What was it like collaborating with another band?

It was great. Having a feature singer was a "goal" we've been wanting to tick off our list for ages and Tim was the best. He's such a talented singer and it only took an afternoon to record. When we asked him to scream or to hit ridiculously high notes, he just did it. When we first messaged him to ask him to sing on the song, we were scared he wouldn't want to do it but as soon as he heard the song, he was 100% keen which was nice.

Your video is super high energy! Can you tell us a little bit about how you came up with the concept?

We actually wrote this song because we needed an energetic song. Once the song was finished, we figured that was a success and we might as well emphasise this energetic vibe by having a super energetic video too. Glad you noticed it! And the concept was inspired by the lyrics. We played on the contradiction “looking fine on the outside/ hiding a storm of bad feelings inside”. You can see us performing in two very different sets: a dark, “buried” set which represents how you feel inside. And a pretty set filled with flowers which stands for "pretending to be fine on the outside".

The feelings you explore in the track are very relatable. What are some of the ways you like to de-stress when you’re feeling overwhelmed?

Personally, I turn my phone off, make a LOT of pop corn and watch a movie (usually a feel-good comedy that's easy to watch). If I can't do that because I'm working or driving or have things to do, I just put on the same song on loop for hours and for some reason, listening to the same thing for a while makes me relax.

You’ve recently played some shows around Sydney. What has it been like performing since coming out of lockdown?

Well, the first shows back (last year), were weird because people were sitting down. It was a lot of pressure because you knew people where focusing on your playing more and also because we had to be even more energetic to be entertaining despite the fact that the crowd wasn't able to move around and "get into it". Then people started standing up and moshing again and it was even weirder because we were used to the seated shows at that point. It felt surreal, like a dream. We never want to go back to seated shows again now.

This is your 8th release in three years, how have you found your dynamic as a band change? Has the songwriting process changed?

Our dynamic did change because in these 3 years, we really got to know each other. At the start, we were slow at organising things, felt a bit uncomfortable etc... but now we know each other's personnalities, each other's schedules, what people like to do and even how long they usually take to reply on Messenger etc... We're like a well-oiled machine and it also makes song writing easier. When I start a demo (Sarah), I know what other people in the band like to write so it saves me time. Don't need to focus on drum fills because Dwayne (drums) writes cool ones, leave the bass and some lead guitar parts to Ryo (Guitar) because he loves writing it, leave the bridge blank so Emma (vocals) can add some harmonies or new vocals, etc... It saves us time and everyone gets to do what they like doing.

‘Stressed Out’ ft. Clay J Gladstone is available worldwide now

A SWIFT FAREWELL
LIVE SHOWS

SUN 27 MAR | BURDEKIN HOTEL, SYDNEY NSW

Click to view 'Stressed Out' ft. Clay J Gladstone

A Quick Chat with A Swift Farewell