PACES SET AS SWAGWAVE SOUNDS OUT FOR SUMMER
FORGET cybergrind, nupunk, indietronica and k-pop – when it comes to music genres, summer 2018 is shaping up as the season of swagwave.
Gold Coast producer and electro pop artist Mike Perry, better known as Paces, is preparing to show off his latest collection of “swagwave” originals on new album, ZAG, due out on Friday.
The devoted dad of yearold son Koa and selfconfessed dog-loving owner of mini bulldog Chilli (Perry sites dogs among his musical influences) coined the term “swagwave” in 2015 “as a joke on my SoundCloud”.
“I just think it’s hilarious when people say things are ‘swag’,” he said at the time.
“I just started calling it swagwave as a silly thing, but yeah it’s totally catching on now. If we can get swagwave popping, I’ll feel like I’ve contributed something to popular culture.”
So what is swagwave? It’s the sounds of and soundtrack to the Palm Beach music maker’s wonderful life, heard in samples of everything from Perry’s son (“a couple of his first laughs are on the album for sure”) to the surf and even his dog (“everything from recording her breath to growls”).
“I like subliminal layers – little textures from everyday life that people don’t notice,” Perry says. “My music’s just about fun really.
“I’m trying to help contribute to the world switching off.”
Perry reteamed with vocalists Nyne and Reija Lea on ZAG, which also features rising US pop star Calysta Bevier, a talent well-known to fans of Ellen DeGeneres.
The album follows his 2016 endless summer-vibed debut Vacation, which saw him tour Australia and overseas.
Perry will hit the road in November for a national album tour that brings him home to play Elsewhere, in Surfers Paradise, on December 21.
He’ll also join fellow local artists San Mei, Eliza and The Delusionals and Hollow Coves for the Gold Coast Music Awards (GCMA) showcase at next month’s Bigsound Festival and Conference in Brisbane.
See pacesmusic.com for tour and album details.