Barry Can't Swim

Edinburgh-born, London-based producer Barry Can’t Swim is inspirating a new wave in the UK electronic scene, with his own unique brand of world-inspired, jazz-inflicted electronic dance music.

Classically-trained Joshua Mainnie is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ. The first in his family to learn an instrument and to attend university, Mainnie’s meteoric rise maintains a strong grounding to the fans and those around him.

’When Will We Land?’ (LP) is the debut album from the Scotsman, releasing on Ninja Tune and finishing at #12 in the UK Album Charts. This is the highest album finish of any solo, independent, electronic artist in the UK since Jamie xx in 2011.

Moving through deep house to jazz, balearic feels channelled through a colourful prism of rhythms and tempos. Barry’s sound is quintessentially eclectic, and that range is reflected in his diverse fanbase.

When Will We Land?

‘When Will We Land?' is a carefully considered 11 track project - “For me, I want it to have musicality to it,” Barry comments. “I wanted it to have the energy of electronic music but also with a more organic live element".

The album is packed with detail, erupting in surprises at every turn. Barry began to release carefully selected singles, with the gorgeous club-focused energy of ‘Sunsleeper’ arriving first. Utilising a reversed sample of a Galician folk group, Aliboria, it boasts incredible technical skill, while also aiming for something dynamic and succinct. “Sometimes it’s the simpler things that are better,” he grins. Lead single ‘Woman’ offers a fantastic blend of digital production and organic musicianship. A warm bed of notes pirouettes around an emphatic vocal from Låpsley, resulting in a song that moves between the cavernous house of Moodymann, say, and the neo-psychedelic tones of shoegaze. “I sent it out,” he recalls, “Låpsley came back immediately with this unreal vocal. I chopped it up, re-arranged it… it’s one of those things that fell into place.”

“I was very considered with the sounds I would use, and how they would play into other songs on the album. I was pretty ruthless about cutting tracks if they were too similar to other ones. It’s very, very different,” he says. “But also the most fun I’ve had!”