The Act: OLI SWAN

The Release: ‘ALL MY FRIENDS ARE LONELY’

The Format: DIGITAL SINGLE

The Release Date: JANUARY 22ND 2021

The Digital Link: orcd.co/oliswan_allmyfriends

The Truth: Oli Swan is a British singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist originally from East Anglia and now based in London, England. He is the frontman and guitarist of the exuberantly fragrant live band Oli Swan & the Dangerous Creatures. ‘All My Friends Are Lonely’ is his impeccably-titled new single, launched in the midst of the viral New Year madness, and it’ll bring a warm glow to the most chilled of midwinter hearts. Check the cosmic hot legs on the excellently groovy video here: youtu.be/dQKBYZWuVHM

  Known by many artists and producers as the go-to ‘guitar guy’ in North London, Oli Swan has been secretly writing and recording his own songs for some time in between studio sessions and guitar repairs. Inspired by an obsession with the classic songwriting sensibilities of musical heroes Paul McCartney and Tom Petty, Swan’s early home recordings caught the attention of the musical industry and led to requests to write with some of the biggest names in pop, as well as a 2020 release for his first single, ‘Looking Back’, on Killing Moon.

It makes sense, too: ‘All My Friends Are Lonely’ nods to classic pop tropes of yore, mixing a gram of glam with a dose of soft rock to create a burst of sunshining loveliness. But this isn’t merely retro-a-go-go as the Swansound is modern, massive and enormously empathetic, as you may be able to judge from the weirdly prescient title, which will reoccur when his ‘All My Friends Are Lonely’ EP appears on fierce panda in the spring.

“‘All My Friends…’ is a strange song for me,” muses Oli. “It literally just fell out of the sky one day, so I was suspicious of it for a while. My friends really loved it though and persuaded me to run with it. I’m glad they did. The song is about coming of age, I think, and the loss of naivety that comes with it. It was actually written and recorded before Covid but it’s funny how literal the main sentiment has become over the course of this weird year.”

Oli Swan has received praise and plays from Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6Music), Gary Crowley (BBC London), Richard & Graeme (BBC Suffolk) and Shell Zenner (Amazing Radio), as well as support from indie heroes The Magic Numbers, The Graveltones and Ren Harvieu. He has also struck up an unlikely bromance with HRH of Pop ROBBIE WILLIAMS - who thinks he’s “incredible!” 

  His live band The Dangerous Creatures, a revolving line-up of A-Team musicians from the London underground, bring Swan’s songs to life in full cosmic Technicolour. Like everyone else they are sadly rocked down in lockdown right now. Luckily, the panda got its first glimpse of their grand, glimmering set onstage at the Old Blue Last towards the close of 2019, back when even a small gig was our hugely happifying place: “The live thing is big!” the singer beams. “It’s joyous and it’s fun. I think that’s what people want from a live show - for it to be fun. I hope we get to take these songs out this year…”

  www.oliswan.com
www.fiercepanda.co.uk