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‘They give intelligence a good name and are more windswept than worthy. Their music has the quirky intricacy of Belle & Sebastian and the soaring atmosphere of Blue Nile, and it is very, very good’ - The Guardian.
‘Their songs often evoke the wind-blown expanses of the Scottish countryside and coastline. But there’s little narrow-minded or hidebound about their exhilarating debut, The Regional Variations, one of the finest of this year’s freshman efforts.’ The Independent.
‘One of the country’s most exciting bands.’ - The List.
‘Electropop marvels.’ - Metro.

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Swimmer One write and record their experimental pop music in a studio next to an art gallery on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in Scotland. Difficult to categorise, they have been compared to everyone from the Pet Shop Boys and the Associates to the Blue Nile and The Who.

To date they have released two albums, The Regional Variations (2007) and Dead Orchestras (2010), and four singles - We Just Make Music For Ourselves, Come On, Let’s Go!, Largs Hum and The Balance Company. All their releases have received enthusiastic reviews at home and abroad.

Hamish Brown and Andrew Eaton formed Swimmer One in 2002, with Laura Cameron Lewis joining the line-up in 2007. Another key contributor is Daniel Warren, who has made six short films with the band and designs all their artwork. All four have worked together in various different combinations outside of Swimmer One - Hamish has done soundtrack work on Daniel’s films, Laura and Daniel collaborated on Linder Sterling’s 13-hour performance The Darktown Cakewalk, and Andrew and Laura make theatre installations together.

Hamish is a musician and producer who, as well as having played in various bands, has written the music for films about Samuel Beckett and Scottish Ballet (both made by Daniel) and recorded the score for an existential clown show about cannibalism and polar exploration. He also does remixes under the name Hunterheck.

Andrew is a singer-songwriter whose music, before Swimmer One, found its way into one guitar band, one cabaret act, one play and one short film, but mostly into his cupboard. Recently he began making his own music again, releasing an album on Biphonic Records under the name Seafieldroad, produced by Hamish and including songs co-written by Laura. A second Seafieldroad album will be released in November 2011.

Laura has worked as an actor, writer, theatre director and producer, as well as making music with her own band, Laura Lewis and the Tea Dance Orchestra. Her company Highway Diner have collaborated with Swimmer One on two projects, a live show called We Just Make Music For Ourselves, performed in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Italy, and a short film for the single The Balance Company, directed by Daniel. Recently Laura curated a new ‘virtual festival’ for Edinburgh called (g)Host City, which received widespread media coverage.

Daniel is an award-winning artist and filmmaker whose work has been screened at film festivals in Cannes, Naples, Chicago and Zurich, as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh. His recent commissions include a series of short films for Edinburgh Art Festival. You can watch a selection of his work online here or read more at his website.

Swimmer One also run an independent record label, Biphonic Records, which looks after Swimmer One, Seafieldroad, Hunterheck and Luxury Car.

Swimmer One are currently working on a Creative Scotland-funded theatre project with director Cora Bissett and playwright David Greig.

Here’s what some other people have said about Swimmer One…

‘Sublime electronic chamber pop.’ - The Herald.
‘A glorious duo who manage to combine the occasional blip, bleep, synth and machine drum with some of the warmest melodies and heartfelt lyrics around. Infectious and articulate.’ The List
‘Sounds like the Divine Comedy dabbling with mellow techno - in a good way. Definitely something VERY interesting going on here.’ Playlouder
‘Terrific. A little bit Elbow, a little bit Pulp, a little bit the Blue Nile, a little bit The Who, even. I keep saying that there’s so many people out there doing interesting stuff. I wish we could play more of it.’ Mark Radcliffe.
‘Intelligent experimental pop with quite lovely melodies.’ Scotland on Sunday
‘We want more. More. More of their wily words, their tender synth fare, their surprisingly colossal pop.’ - Plan B
‘The KLF are jealous, Death in Vegas more so. How, I wonder, can they fail to rule the universe?’ Unpeeled
‘One of the best debut outings I’ve heard in a long while. Very smart stuff indeed.’ Losing Today
‘The missing link between Pulp and the Chemical Brothers‚ Swimmer One are making some of the most exciting sounds to come out of Scotland at the moment.’ Jim Gellatly, XFM Scotland
‘(Swimmer One) fit effortlessly in the upper echelons of Scottish music.’ Logo magazine
‘A perfect piece of pop.’ Leeds Music Scene
‘A pulsating manifesto for unglamourised electronic pop.’ Take Your Medicine
‘A supreme example of old school electro pop‚ huge fun, and very impressive.’ I Really Love Music
‘Swimmer One are kind of like Belle and Sebastian twiddling knobs and hanging out with the Pet Shop Boys. Perfectly poppy indie electronica with melodies to warm a crooked heart… Really they are quite lovely indeed.’ Ballroom Favourites
‘The most suave act on the block… Sublime.’ Is This Music
‘Hey music, I remember you! Swimmer One hail from Scotland, have an album out in the near future, and appear to be fantastically good. ’ To Hell With
‘Brilliant. A fizzing electro-pop nugget that simmers with insanity.’ High Voltage