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One of the more enigmatic bands of the classic 4AD era, Swallow was formed by Louise Trehy and Mike Mason, who met in early 90’s Camberwell, London.
Their first songs quickly surfaced and were recorded onto a Tascam 4-track portastudio. Louise posted the four-song demo to Ivo Watts-Russell who signed them to 4AD, sight unseen. With the task of finishing their first record, the pair borrowed guitars from Tom Greenhalgh of the Mekons and they de-camped to record at Edinburgh’s Palladium Studios and later, Blackwing in London. John Fryer was enlisted to produce (right off handling Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine), utilizing Eventide Harmonizers (a Cocteau Twins staple) to provide the band’s lush, ethereal dazzle.
Blow would be released in July of 1992, and arrived in a sleeve designed by Vaughan Oliver (v23). The band found the finished album different than they imagined it would sound. Feeling as though their initial ideas had
been lost in the production, they petitioned Ivo to re-record parts of the album; he suggested they remix the tracks as they wished, instead. New mixes and overdubs resulted in dissonant and ambient versions closer to the band’s intentions, Released as Blowback in the autumn of 1992 as a limited CDEP that quickly fell out of print, it was known only to the most
fervent 4AD fans.
At long last, Swallow’s 4AD recordings will be paid their due via a new double-LP+ 12” package entitled Blown. Comprising both Blow and Blowback, the previously unreleased title track “Blow”, and “Lovesleep (Vocal Version”). The songs were reconstructed from the original 24-track tape recordings and remixed. They were freshly remastered by Anne Taegart at Dubplates & Mastering Berlin and lovingly presented in a brand new package designed by longtime supporter Chris Bigg (v23). A cornerstone dream pop classic obscured by the mists of time and memory, until now.
