Swarvy - Anti-Anxiety (2018)

By now you know the production of Swarvy, musical polymath and Calidelphia incarnate - who has been perfecting his craft and releasing work modestly and assiduously over the past decade. He returns with Anti-Anxiety, his second vinyl release with Paxico following last year's fearless, left-field-of-left-field BOP. Here we find a return to form and an ascension in his sound, which is so consistently and gracefully imbued with cosmic perspective and sublime, auroral warmth. This record is no exception, and it shines in its totality of vision and cathartic affect. On the one hand, the title Anti-Anxiety rings true to the timeless, live session quality of the production, which is brought here to near-sedative and corporeal effect. On another it points toward a philosophy of creation in which there are no hindrances to a pure expression of the self. At the helm all instrumentation, production, engineering, mastering and mixing, Swarvy is on each track so wholly that we approach zones that feel so private and real, raw and intense, that notes form the linings of memories. On the lyrical front, he enlists the minds and talents of Jeremiah Jae, Ivan Ave, Norvis Junior and more to provide dreamy sparks of guidance for the imagination. In all its wit, candor and virtuosity, in its highest highs and moodiest lows, the record uncovers the essence of a guy, with his instruments and machines, musing on everyday life and its holy rhythms.