“Weaving irresistible pop hooks with an inward search for meaning.” – Under the Radar Magazine on Grant Swift’s “First Elephant” LP ...“I took a whimsical and spontaneous approach” says Swift. “A lot of the sounds on [Transformation] are things I recorded on my phone, or on a small handheld recorder while out in the world, like a foghorn in Japan, or waves on a beach. The “snare” drum on “Be There” is actually just the sound of turning off a small practice amp of mine. So, this album is also more of an exercise in creative limitation.” Everything was recorded and mixed by Swift in his Brooklyn apartment, a bathroom in Paris, and an Italian basement. While Swift is known to dabble in the abstract, with Transformation the lyrics, melody, timbre, and instrumentation coalesce, drawing intangible feelings and ideas into a space where they find coherence. We find change a major theme throughout the record, along with a meditation on how personal perspectives and worldviews, shape the experience of transformation to describe what we call “destruction” or “creation.” Despite the metaphysical philosophical underpinnings, Swift has humble hopes for the record. “Ultimately, I hope the album inspires” he says. “What else is music good for?” – Ever Kipp, 2023 ###