«Swunk is an English archaic word that means hard work, labor. Swunk is a mix of energies. The energies of four musicians telling their different experiences of life and music. Swunk is an enso, nsō (円 相) is a Japanese word meaning circle. It symbolizes enlightenment, strength, the universe. A lot of people believe that the artist’s nature is fully revealed by the way he designs this circle. Swunk is the search for a crossover of different genres we have grown with: rock, grunge, metal, progressive, jazz, electronics, techno, classic Neapolitan songs, trip hop, soul, funk! We love to think that our way of composing and songwriting is like sitting in a restaurant and drawing on all the food!». This is the best presentation to understand the meaning of Swunk, the new Italian quartet coming from Naples and based in London that shows not only a crossover but also a way of thinking, playing and living in music. Swunk is a circle full of energy captured by the well known sound engineer Alfonso La Verghetta, producer and owner of Italy Sound Lab, the indie label that has just released Soundscapes, the second album by Swunk band.
The band was born in 2012 with the name Swunk Infusion, then changed in Swunk, a crasis of swing, funk and fusion. The band released the first album Swunk Infusion in 2014, three years later it’s time for Soundscapes, a second album that focuses better the sonic eclecticism and the multicultural way of playing of the Italian quartet. For Swunk has been important the involvement of new drummer Marco Fazzari since 2014: «Every drummer is the driving force of a group and three years are so many for adding different shades and colours to keep on searching and playing another kind of music, with no limits and differences between genres. In Soundscapes we have used a deep electronic component and sound research in each song. It has been the first time for us in this kind of music so we have tried and rehearsed very hard for a year in order to reach the right balance. Soundscapes is our beloved son and it contains the whole musical vision and energy of Swunk».
Soundscapes is a melting pot, rather a “salad bowl album” that reveals every ingredient, from funk to rock, from fusion to electronic: a lively and dynamic jazz-rock with a lot of sonic detours just like a “live in studio” work. Swunk feature eight instrumental tracks with a large-scale feeling, experimenting an up-to-date sound inspired by visual art as well. «We are fans of movies and visual art, one of us has studied art, another is a crazy Dali’s lover, Marco’s nickname is Van Gogh, so we couldn’t put our love for art in our music. Swunk sound is full of colours! Definitely we like playing our instruments as if the notes were colours, as if we were painters. Making instrumental music allows you to work with notes and colours and we want to create a strong connection with the unconscious and the imagination of the listener. Soundscapes is Sound Landscapes, each track is a different story based on the individual feelings of everyone of us, each track is splitted in sections as if they were rooms, landscapes, settings where the listener can lose himself in. Swunk is a visual and musical experience».
Swunk released also two videoclips for promoting Soundscapes. The first is Solaium by Daniele Rosselli, the latest one is Ore 22:00, completely drawn in digital 3d by Walton Zed: they fully embody the artistic leaning of Swunk, evoking a parallel world, a blend of music and visuals that makes Swunk of of the most interesting young Italian bands. «We’re going to come in 2018 and we cannot overlook that Music is in continuous renewal, the Meltin Pot, fusion of genres and contamination dominate in any kind. It was difficult for us to close our ears and eyes in front of so much material from which to draw on».
Soundscapes – tracklist:
1. Standing On The Shoulders Of The Giant
2. Savmarine
3. Preambolo Primaverile
4. Solaium
5. 118
6. Ore 22:00
7. Buddha
8. Travel
Swunk:
Saverio Giugliano: sax & keyboards
Antonio Cece: guitars & computer programming
Daniele De Santo: bass guitar
Marco Fazzari: drums & drum machine
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/SwunkInfusion/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOneTLsa9NwcC9IqFY1riHQ
