What is your name and role within Safe To Swim?
I’m Jim! I sing the songs.
Where are you currently based?
Brighton.
You have just released your new single ‘Boyfriend’. What inspired the writing of this track?
It was bit of a weird one because I don’t usually write like that and I guess I could say that it is probably the first decent love song I’ve written. I ended up writing the lyrics in a Wetherspoons at Victoria station in London after the parts of the song started coming to me. It was written as something to kill time waiting for a train which is probably why it’s a little less serious then some of our other songs… so it’s more or less about falling in love with someone at a train station.
How do you generally go about writing songs?
Usually alone. Mostly after I’ve had a bath, cleaned the flat or something. I’ve got to have no distractions and absolutely no stress at the time for me to write. Then I crack on with any sounds or lyrics I’ve made on the go that are inspiring me at the time.
What or who influences your sound?
This changes all the time but a good mixture of old and new. The list could go on but a few who are currently shaping our sound would be songs from The Cure, M83, The Psychedelic Furs and The Big Moon. But really the list could go on and is ever-changing!
‘Boyfriend’ was produced by Larry Hibbitt (Sundara Karma, Marmozets) how did you come to be working with Larry?
Industry connections but I also co-wrote the song with him so it seemed most suitable to record it with him too.
What equipment/programs do you use when playing live and recording?
We’ve got a sample pad which we use as our 3-in-1 secret weapon playing the synths, extra percussion and backing vocals.
What can we expect from this EP?
I think the rest of the songs are shaping out to be much more personal and self aware than anything I’ve written before. I see it as a bit of a therapy session more than anything. Songwriting has really become that for me recently.
How did Safe To Swim start?
We all met studying at uni in Brighton, decided to jam and then one rehearsal lead to another… and here we are!
How did you first get into music?
My mum was always a big music fan so she got me into bands like The Rolling Stones and Thin Lizzy. Those bands made me want to play guitar, along with the advent of Guitar Hero at the time which got me into even more bands. I then took up the guitar, got the confidence to sing and then started writing songs when I knew I wanted to take up music seriously.
What’s planned for 2018?
We’ve got an EP coming out in the spring of 2018 and some really great shows in the works around then too.
When and where are you playing next?
The only one that’s been announced is with Suzi Island at the Green Door Store in Brighton on the 24th of January.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Temple of Hackney! It’s a vegan fried chicken shop. Our hotspot after band meetings.
