Astral Swans

Astral Swans is the main project of acclaimed Canadian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matthew Swann, making its debut in 2012 as support for Chad Vangaalen in their hometown of Calgary, Canada. Swann’s previous project Extra Happy Ghost!!! was produced by Vangaalen.

In 2014, Astral Swans rose to national prominence, when two-time Juno award-winning songwriter Dan Mangan signed Astral Swans to his newly-minted label Madic Records (a subsidiary of Arts & Crafts) on the strength of Swann’s demos.

In 2015, the debut LP All My Favourite Singers Are Willie Nelson was released to critical acclaim. Swann accompanied Mangan, and Toronto songwriter Hayden, on a 20-show North American tour. The remaining months would see Astral Swans circling back and forth across Canada, Europe, and the States, playing festivals and sharing the stage with such notable performers as Feist, Colin Stetson, Angel Olsen, Julie Doiron, Art Bergman, and more.

As a follow-up, in 2017, Swann re-entered the studio with new material, working with producer Scott Munro of the band Preoccupations, recording engineer Paul Chirka (Calgary Philharmonic), and Dan Mangan offering his hand with co-production.

The result is STRANGE PRISON -- an experimental folk record combining pristine production with Swann’s abstract narratives of lonerism, human frailty, and dread, all told with darkly comedic empathy and helpless concern. STRANGE PRISON is out May 2018 on Saved by Vinyl (North America), Moorworks (Japan), and Tiny Room Records (Europe).