After drawing a massive crowd to the BBC Radio 1 Stage, Teddy Swims caught up with NME to talk about his first time at Reading Festival, his surprise performance at Reading train station, new music and his mammoth hit, ‘Lose Control’.
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00:00Hi, I'm Rhian from NME and I'm backstage at Reading with Teddy Swims.
00:10How about it?
00:11How's it going?
00:12Alright, man, we just got off.
00:13I'm just, you know, freaking out, man.
00:14I'm glad.
00:15It's the time of my life.
00:16You know, we just did a little shooter and we're ready to go, baby.
00:24How was the performance?
00:25I heard that the crowd was massive.
00:26It was beautiful, man.
00:27It was beautiful.
00:28This crowd is so beautiful and as far as I've been hearing, there's a lot of, you know,
00:34kids get their exam things and they come out here and they have their first, you know,
00:38you can kind of see it, you know, you can kind of see kids like having their first liberating
00:42moments and stuff and it was, it was a really beautiful thing to be a part of.
00:45Yeah.
00:46And we're done by, what, 6.15 right now, so, I mean, it's also great.
00:50I get to spend the rest of the time just being a part of the culture.
00:54I'm really excited.
00:55Are you going to go out and have a little explore and see some other artists?
00:58Yeah, but as far as like getting out there in the general population, I don't think I
01:03can, but as far as, you know, just standing next to the side stage, which never sounds
01:08as good, I will go see some bangs for sure.
01:11We're enjoying it though.
01:12Yeah.
01:13This is your first time at Reading.
01:14What does it mean to you to be here?
01:15It means a lot, man, and to Leeds tomorrow, it means a lot.
01:20This is something that when we started the project, you know, Teddy Swims five years
01:25ago, this meant a lot for us to come and do this.
01:29This is a legendary, legendary place to be and a legendary showcase to be in and I'm
01:36super grateful.
01:37Yeah.
01:38How is it kind of living up to your expectations then?
01:40Exceeding, abundantly over, like my cup is just running over.
01:46Yeah.
01:47You got your weekend started early yesterday with a performance at the train station.
01:51How did that go?
01:52It went really well, actually.
01:53It went really well, man.
01:54So I teamed up with Rockstar Energy and they wanted to like, kind of put, you know, a little
02:00situation at Reading train station.
02:03And we always love to go like, because a lot of times we go and we do these shows and a
02:09lot of times, again, we don't get to really leave the venue and like go experience a lot.
02:13So we always try to prioritize those tiny little things where there's like a, where
02:17there's like a piano in a local area.
02:20We just try to go over there and try to meet whoever we can and play for whoever we can
02:24and just see whoever is willing to listen to us.
02:27And so that was like a really, really cool thing to like, kind of, you know, just have
02:31fun and hug on some necks and take some pictures.
02:34And it was a really cool thing.
02:35Yeah.
02:36Is it quite liberating to turn up to a performance like that where people aren't expecting you
02:39to be there, aren't expecting to see Teddy Swims when they're like arriving at the train
02:43station?
02:44Yeah.
02:45It's really cool to just see how many people are, either if they know me or not, are like,
02:49are just struck by the voice and walk up, you know, because there's, there's always
02:55a thing that about when, when you do this for long enough, you, you kind of sometimes
02:59forget about the, the, what, what, what you do to people when you, when you like speak
03:06honestly and you, you, you just sing well, you know, and I always, I love to know that
03:11like when, if I'm walking around a train station and I open my mouth, that people are still
03:16willing to be like, where the fuck is that voice coming from?
03:19You know, and it's always such a wonderful thing to see that people are, are moved by
03:23something that commands attention and, and to know that I have a thing that commands
03:27attention is, is always such a special thing to know and to reassure myself that I have,
03:33you know, and I'm, I'm, I'm grateful to hear my voice in that light and see people
03:36want to be like, Oh my God, I know that voice or that voice is moving me in a way I got
03:41to walk away from where I am and I got to show up right there and see that voice.
03:45It's a, it's, it's, it's such a special power.
03:48It's, it's kind of a superpower in a way that I forget sometimes.
03:51Yeah.
03:51Nice to be reminded of it.
03:52Yeah.
03:53You've been commanding attention on the new singles that you've been putting out lately,
03:57including Funeral, which you did for the NME Bose C24 mixtape.
04:02You've described that song as both joyful and heartbreaking.
04:05Why do you like kind of mixing those two emotions in music?
04:08Well, I think, I think the reason I always do that and also shout out freaking Mickey
04:14echo is the greatest at all time of doing this.
04:16And my best friend, my mentor, my hero, my uncle, my brother, whatever you want to call
04:22him.
04:22Um, I think he does a really good job and we do really good job about, because when
04:27you, when you're going through trauma and you're going through trying to recreate and
04:31reprioritize in your brain, what, what trauma means to you, it's, it's so wonderful to
04:36take something that you're, uh, that really hurts you and, and to turn it into something
04:42that is, uh, a celebration because, and I think a lot of people get to feel less alone
04:47and I get to feel less alone and we all get to come together and find each other through
04:52celebrating some trauma that only we have together.
04:54It's like a, it's like an inside joke amongst friends, you know, that like might be
04:59about pain, but it's like something that we get to re recreate as, as a, as a champion
05:07of this.
05:08Like if we wouldn't have gone through this, we wouldn't have had this together.
05:11And so I, I, I get this lucky space to, to change some trauma I went through into being
05:19success and into being a celebration.
05:22And, um, isn't that what you would want that your trauma to, to resemble in your brain
05:28and to turn it around?
05:29It's, it's such a beautiful opportunity and, and as a career, like to make that a
05:35career is, is incredible.
05:36Yeah.
05:37Does it also then make it easier when you're having to kind of like sing about this
05:40trauma on stage, if it's kind of repackaged as this joyful thing and turn it into a
05:44celebration, like you said?
05:45Yeah, of course it is.
05:46And it's also like something that's still, I always get to go back and get in tune with,
05:51because as soon as everything feels too joyful, you can always go back and tap right
05:55back into this, this pain that is still so real and, and, and remembering why this pain
06:03is so real and remembering who you are and how you got here, you know, and it's, it's
06:08a good thing to, to be able to also be remembering and recounting the, the, the
06:14hurt that it caused and, and because you were willing enough to be open and vulnerable and
06:20honest that you could reclaim it as celebration, but it does still hurt.
06:25And, and sometimes you also still want that hurt at the same time.
06:29And just to tap back into it also feels great.
06:31You know, that makes sense.
06:33It does make sense.
06:34Makes so much sense.
06:35It's been a little while since you released the album, I've Tried Everything But Therapy
06:39Part One, you've been releasing these new songs, you have like the extended edition
06:43as well of the record, what's coming up next?
06:45What have you been working on?
06:46Is there more new music in the pipeline?
06:48Yeah, we have, we have a part two coming out.
06:50I think it's done.
06:53We had to kind of like button up some loose ends.
06:55And there's so many people that have opinions and ideas now that we have to kind
06:59of, we keep pushing back.
07:01I think, I think we have it.
07:02I think it's just about figuring out what songs there are, the, you know, the
07:09configuration of where they go and where they belong.
07:12But I think we have it.
07:13And I think it's going to be a whole lot more of a me on the journey of my healing
07:19versus me just being in turmoil.
07:22So yeah, I think it's gonna be a beautiful thing.
07:24Yeah.
07:24And where's the sound kind of heading on those songs too?
07:26Um, a little bit more.
07:30Um, I think it's a little bit more all over the place than the last one was, but
07:36I do believe it's, it's a little bit more healed.
07:39It's coming from more of a healed spot.
07:41So, you know, who cares what it sounds like?
07:43It sounds more healed is what the plan is.
07:45That's the main thing.
07:47Um, you're someone who's been very collaborative so far in your career and
07:50you've worked with all kinds of artists from like One Ok Rock to All Time Low to
07:53Mara Morris.
07:55What do you look for in a collaborator?
07:57Um, honesty, safety, um, uh, ability.
08:02I just got a chance to put out a song with one of my favorite, favorite, favorite
08:07singers and writers of all time, Lucky Day.
08:10We just did a song with him on his record called Blame, uh, his song, his album
08:15Algorithm.
08:15And, um, I just got to release something with Jesse Murph, who's one of the
08:19greatest upcoming singers in the world.
08:21We just did a song called Dirty.
08:23Um, Orville Peck too.
08:25He just put out an amazing album also on Warner too, man.
08:29And, uh, we just did a song together and, um, I just always look for honesty and
08:34safety.
08:34And if anybody ever like hits you up and they're like kind of about this, like,
08:39what is it going to cost for the collab or what it's going to cost for the
08:42feature?
08:43I think people can kind of snuff out what it like, what it costs for a
08:47collaboration or if it's, I always want to, if something moves me and something
08:51touches me, I want to add to a song.
08:53And also even if something, it moves me and touches me and I can't add to the
08:57song and somebody asked me to, I'd be like, yo, I will like, I'll not even
09:03touch the song if I can add something to it.
09:05So it's just, as long as it's authentic and honest and vulnerable and honest,
09:09and I'm a huge fan of the person that I'm working with.
09:12I think that's, what's really important about a collaboration is that there's,
09:16there's some honesty and some vulnerability and there's some, uh, it's
09:20got to be authentic, you know, no matter what.
09:22Yeah, definitely.
09:23What would you say is the biggest thing that you've learned from working with
09:25other artists on music?
09:28Um, well, I think, I think I, what I've learned from working with other artists
09:32is that, um, when something speaks to you, it's about learning how to bring
09:37yourself to something and knowing that because I, at the beginning of my career,
09:42when I had certain things that would come over the pipeline and it would be a
09:46great opportunity to work with this artist or this artist, but I didn't feel
09:51like it was like authentic, like maybe it was like an artist that was bigger than
09:55me.
09:55And then I had an opportunity to work with them and I might've done that work.
10:00And then that song did nothing.
10:02It was, it was, it was, it just kind of reassured my gut to me to say that like,
10:07if, if it's not authentic and we're not connecting on the same page and we're not
10:12talking about the same thing and we don't understand where we're coming from,
10:15then, then clearly the, uh, the collaboration is just not worth it.
10:19You know, it's, if, if, if, if this, this person that's collaborating with me is
10:24just doing something for me to be a co-sign to get me into a place, or if I'm
10:29doing something for somebody to get them into a place that's co-sign or we're both
10:34doing something where we both can get an offshoot of both of us co-signing each
10:38other is going to give each other our fan base.
10:41No matter what, um, if, if, if, if the biggest artists in the world and the
10:46other biggest artists in the world work together to try to get each other's fan
10:49bases, that song is going to fall on its face.
10:52It might debut at number one and fall right back off, you know?
10:55And that's, that just goes to show you that people now crave authenticity and
10:59they crave like real music and real people understanding each other.
11:03And so I think what one thing that has taught me is that if you don't really
11:07understand what you're talking about or what's going on with the song, and it's,
11:12it's taught me that the number one band member of the song is the song, you know,
11:16no matter how many people have written the song or it's the band and the song,
11:21the number one band member is the song.
11:22And if it's authentic song, it's going to work.
11:24And if it's, if it's a song that's not authentic, it's just not going to work.
11:28And it doesn't matter if, if the greatest artists in the world are on it, it just
11:32matters about it being something that connects that really people, everybody
11:36involved feels.
11:37Yeah. One song of yours that has definitely worked is Lose Control.
11:41You said that when you were writing that, you knew it was going to change your
11:44life. What was it about the song that kind of gave you that sense?
11:47Well, I think, I think Julian Boneta was like the greatest person on just knowing
11:51what it was going to be and wanted this thing to be.
11:55But we, I don't know, that song, I was, I was in a place, we went to a
12:00writing camp in Palm Springs and, you know, Julian kind of had the idea for
12:05the song and Ammo had already had like the, the, the instrumental and the whole
12:09thing written out. And I think, I think the thing was after we got it done and we
12:14knew it was going to change my life, I didn't know it was going to change it like
12:17this. I didn't know it was going to be this, but I knew it was going to work.
12:20But I think it was the first time that I felt honest and I was, I was in a
12:23relationship at the time with somebody that I was running away from to be at that
12:28camp for a week. And, you know, I needed to get out of, and I think my heart and my
12:33mind, and I was talking to them about stuff and they were trying to tell me to
12:37get out of this situation that was really rough for me. And I had, I knew it
12:44was something I needed to listen to from my own heart. You know, it's like
12:47sometimes your heart's trying to tell you something and then you, you're, you're
12:53not quite there for yourself. You might be numbing yourself down to something.
12:56And every day still that song shows up and I play it. And the further I go into
13:02that song, the more I'm like, I've been there for myself the whole time, but I
13:06just wasn't there for myself, you know? And I think as, as that song came to be
13:11when I was numbing myself, I realized I was like, this is something I really
13:15should hear, you know, something I should really take in. And, you know,
13:19you're, you're, you're, you're so, you're so easily to tell somebody that the
13:25advice they need to hear. But also you suck at giving yourself that advice, you
13:30know? And I think the thing about writing or having friends that write
13:34with you, having the perfect crew that writes with you and put your feelings
13:37into words, you can look back on to a journal or anything and say like, damn, I
13:42should have listened to myself there. And that song was something I just
13:46listened to myself on after I got out of that and was like, the more I listened
13:50to it, the more I was like, man, I really need to trust my gut and the people
13:56around me that are helping me write this. And they were, instead of telling me
14:00that I should get out of this situation, they were just let me be in it and not
14:05ever telling you I told you so, you know, they were just giving me the right
14:08advice, but let me go through the thing I needed to go through to get to that
14:12point. And it's always like, whenever you have a friend that's like, yo, I can't
14:18sit here and watch you make this wrong decision over and over again, I'm out of
14:21your life. It's more about the people that are like, Hey, man, I'm gonna tell
14:25you this is a bad decision. Let's put it into words, let's put it into feelings.
14:28And then, but also, I'm gonna sit here and I'm gonna love that person with you
14:33no matter what, but I think this person's bad for you. But I'm gonna stay with you
14:36no matter what and then and let you see when it comes to fruition, you know, and
14:41that was that was the thing for me is like the guys that wrote that with me
14:44and made that with me were always just about my being my friend no matter what
14:48and never giving you the I told you so. And that's not what friends are meant to
14:52be.
14:53Exactly. Very true. The Youth Control is nominated for a few VMAs, including
14:57Song of the Year. What would it mean to win such a big award for a song that's
15:01so honest and meaningful to you?
15:03I mean, it means a lot to win. I just think I personally like I've gotten what
15:08I needed out of it. I think currently right now as VMAs go. I mean, there's
15:15like, there's like Boozy, there's Chapel Rowan, there's the sweetest love of my
15:21life. Benson Boone, you know what I mean? I think I think I'd rather I'd rather
15:27them take it home because it's like way better for life in general that they
15:32they're so beautiful to me and I'm such a big fan. So I think I think I've gotten
15:38enough about what I wanted from it. But just to be this is a huge year for music.
15:44This is a massive year for music, man. This is a huge year for artists coming up
15:49and it just to be one of the rookies amongst some of these huge rookies that
15:54are coming up. I'm okay. We got Tyler, we got Sexy Red, we got like, there's so
16:01many amazing artists coming up. I'm the back burner of that. But just to be
16:06mentioned, I'm okay. I don't need anything from that. I'd rather them win
16:10than me get anything. I just would rather be mentioned in the name that this is a
16:14massive year for music. 2024 is huge for new artists coming up. It's crazy. It's
16:22crazy. It's really crazy. Well, cool to be a part of it. So yes, always good. I'm
16:28just grateful to be here. Yeah. Thank you so much for your time today. Enjoy the
16:32rest of your time at Reading. Yeah, I will.