Black Swan Runners

An Aside, the forthcoming debut from Black Swan Runners, is a testament to simultaneous transitions; to changing things if they’re not working, and of not stopping until things feel right. That dedication to pushing on to the Promised Land comes through in a collection of polished modern pop tracks that blend traditional rock instrumentation with tasteful electronics.

Born from the ashes of other music projects that have come and gone; Black Swan Runners nod to the aggressive tunefulness of '90s alternative rock and the noisy drift of shoegaze, while making music that’s decisively of the moment.

As singer Kevin Castillo puts it “After making music with other projects and realizing it was based on a lot of music that we grew up with in the 90's, it was time to start something new as Black Swan Runners. We all love The Replacements, but we also really dig a lot of new music right now.”

Most bands gravitate to entertainment hot spots; Black Swan Runners decided to move the base of the band very far away from one. Saying goodbye to SoCal, the core of the band relocated to Ferndale, CA. The Humboldt County town has a bustling population of 1,300 (and no mail carrier) and is surrounded by green fields on one side and forest on the other. Work on An Aside began in the urban sprawl of Orange County, but the record was finished in a 100 year old house in the "Victorian village" of Ferndale – with stops in various kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and lofts.

As the title of the album suggests An Aside was written and recorded on and off while the band was working, traveling, playing shows and just basically living their lives. By recording the album on their own using the stockpile of equipment collected over a number of years, the band was able to concentrate on experimenting with sounds and getting the right performance. Castillo notes that “we asked the same question after each take - did that one feel right? It didn't have to be perfect; it just had to feel right at the end of the day.”

Having a substantial stockpile of gear at their disposal had a direct impact of the final sound of the record itself. Much of the record was recorded live with guitar, bass, and drums. The band then went back and deconstructed those tracks, treating them as if they were remixing themselves. This gave way to a new approach, and the band ended up incorporating programmed drums, keyboards, and sampling vocals on an AKAI MPC 2000 and using it as an instrument.

The rough tracks were then sent to Grammy-nominated producer Alex Newport (Death Cab for Cutie, City and Colour) for mixing. Newport’s deft hand lends the album cohesion and uniformity. Although the songs are very different from one another and were written and recorded in different times and places, An Aside comes across as a focused piece of art.