Barry Can't Swim Tickets

Barry Can’t Swim is a bold, colourful, impetuous voice in electronic music. Across a flurry of vital, cutting edge tracks he’s been able to blend club sounds with organic aspects, an outer-national approach that fuses house with afrobeat productions and jazz. From breakout EP ‘Amor Fati’ to club bangers such as 2022’s ‘Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore’, the producer has darted from style to style, all held together by that gleefully infectious approach. Incoming debut album ‘When Will We Land?’ finds Barry Can’t Swim switching it up once more – daringly ambitious, it’s also carefully finessed. His boldest statement yet? Don’t doubt it.

Real name Joshua Mainnie, the Edinburgh-born artist spent his youth in the Scottish capital. Taking piano lessons as a kid, he quickly found his passion in life. “I wasn’t great at school,” he recalls with a laugh. “Music was the only thing I was good at.” Joining some ad hoc bands, he tried everything – piano, guitar, and drums – before also becoming the de-facto lead singer. “I had this attitude,” he says, “where I didn’t want other people singing songs that I wrote. It was so personal to me, so even if the songs weren’t amazing, they were mine. It felt wrong. I still carry that sense of autonomy in everything I do.” Club culture entered his life as a student. Enrolling at Edinburgh Napier University, he matched his lectures to late night club sessions at seminal electronic dugouts such as Cabaret Voltaire and Sneaky Pete’s. “It wasn’t just about clubbing,” he points out. “There’s a real sense of community. You’d go to after-parties and meet people who were doing interesting things – like running nights, or they had their own labels. I was really involved in all of that.”

Studying music at university, he began seeking out collaborators. Failing to find like-minded people, he simply went it alone. “I thought, I’ll just start producing. I started doing my own thing, and really enjoyed having creative control.” It wasn’t easy, but gradually Barry Can’t Swim brought his singular sound into focus. It’s broad and ultra colourful, complex at times but also undeniably open and pop. “I’ve always been really fascinated by melody,” he says, citing the Beatles as a key formative childhood influence. “It’s simple, but the thing that sets those tunes apart are the amazing melodies.”

Drawn towards the percussive kick of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti while at university, the producer’s sound is held together by its unpretentious approach, and its vivacious cheekiness. “As a rule in life I don’t take myself that seriously,” he grins. “It’s who I am as a person.”

Initially placing some tunes on SoundCloud, the producer was stunned by the response. Something about his music simply connected with people – the melodies, the hooks, and the technicolour energy. Drawn into the orbit of seminal British label Ninja Tune, he’s now ready to unleash his debut album, ‘When Will We Land?’. A totemic moment in his life, it’s not something he’s taking lightly. “I put a lot of dedication and finesse into this,” he says. “It’s my debut album, something that I’m going to listen to personally and reflect on. So I knew it needed time and dedication.”

Deeply ambitious, Barry Can’t Swim wants to build his sound, looking to artists such as The Avalanches and Maribou State as key inspirations. With ‘When Will We Land?’ set to land on record shelves later this year, his rise is assured.