Track By Tracks: Swan Valley Heights - The Heavy Seed (2019)

1.The Heavy Seed:

The Heavy Seed was actually written backwards, as the only things we wanted to keep from the original version were the heavy riff at the end and the linear structure. So we re-built it from the final part, which was rather tricky concerning the song is almost a quarter-hour long. The lyrics in this one revolve around the topic of psychological self-sabotage and destructive behavior. 

2. Vaporizer Woman:

Our beach-vibey summer hit. The album was mixed and mastered by Mr. Dango of Truckfighters and on Vaporizer Woman, he did an especially outstanding job by making the song super heavy without crushing or smothering the calmer acoustic guitar driven parts. This song was also actually the last one we wrote for the album during the last writing session before entering the studio. No prepared riffs or ideas, just the three of us locked in a basement.

3. Take a Swim in God's Washing Machine:

The original version of TASIGWM was even longer and more harmonious, but in the process of shaping it we shortened some passages and added nasty notes and disharmonies which made it sound menacing and even heavier. The title comes from the incredible Eden King who did the artwork for the album.

4. My First Knife Fight:

From recording the initial idea of My First Knife Fight to it being played live for the first time it didn’t even take two days. David came up with the main riff while playing around with a bass and an old and kind of broken distortion pedal in the middle of the night at home. When we rehearsed the following day, it turned into an actual song very quickly. The day after we already premiered it at a festival.

5. Teeth & Waves:

Teeth & Waves is the oldest song of the new album and has gone through many changes. It’s also the song that captures the whole sound of Swan Valley Heights best. Concerning the new mixes we were blown away by hearing Teeth & Waves for the first time and by how much detail and fatness the final version now carries. The lyrics describe a state of mind where one feels like drowning in a negative situation, blowing your sanity little by little.