Swell Maps

A gang of six English teenagers started to play music together in their obscure Midlands hometown of Solihull in 1972. This project evolved until it came to be known as Swell Maps, centred around four core members: Nikki Sudden (guitar, vocals), Epic Soundtracks, (drums, keyboards), Richard Earl (guitars, vocals), and Jowe Head (bass, guitars, vocals). Swell Maps recorded & produced the tracks for their debut single, Read About Seymour themselves, in late 1977. They released this independently on their own label, Rather Records; this was when “do-it-yourself” record releases by bands was still a bold new idea. These days, the band are now acknowledged as one of the pioneers of what is now often known as the “Alternative Rock” scene. Musically, they mixed punk rock with experimental & psychedelic sounds. Swell Maps released four singles & two albums in a brief but dramatic career, in a partnership with Rough Trade Records. This led to them topping the UK independent charts, & influencing a diverse array of bands such as Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Pavement, Stereolab, The Pastels, & Blur. The original incarnation split up in 1980. Their two original studio albums, A Trip to Marineville & Jane from Occupied Europe, continue to be available & still attract enthusiastic new listeners, due to re-releases by Mute in Europe, & Secretly Canadian in the USA. In 2021, Jowe Head started a new incarnation of the band, called Swell Maps C21.