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‘Different’, released March 13, demonstrates Barry Can’t Swim’s unique contribution to the UK’s ever-evolving dance music scene. The jittery club track teeters on the edge of chaos, driven by choppy breaks, piercing synths, and distorted vocals that audibly appear alongside percussion of unusual inspiration – including sirens. Meanwhile, ‘The Person You’d Like To Be’ represents a reflective side to the genre, pairing spoken-word vocals to a slowed garage-inspired beat. The opening line ‘there is nothing permanent, except change’ sets the eerie tone, showcasing the sonically interesting sound that the producer skillfully brings to the table. 

Previously released single ‘Still Riding’ (2024) is also set to appear on the upcoming record, having been launched last September under an EP of the same name, featuring other singles such as ‘Kimbara’ and ‘How It Feels’. The album’s preview tracks are also accompanied by an album trailer that shows an unenthusiastic Barry Can’t Swim dotted about various locations in a public building setting, exposing a nostalgic colour palette that purposefully contrasts the exuberant beat. See below for the visual preview. 

In a press release, Mainnie spoke about the second album, saying, “If my first album was a collage of all the music I loved and was inspired by growing up, then this album is the most authentic expression I could offer of myself and my life over the past year.” The press release dives deeper, expressing that the LP will see the DJ “navigate and explore the world he’s found himself in, a highly personal album that asks profound questions of its creator and his audience.” 

The 12-track LP marks the next steps forward in Barry Can’t Swim’s promising career within contemporary UK house music. Following the acclaimed ‘When Will We Land?’, the Edinburgh-born producer has since been nominated for various awards including the Mercury Prize, Scottish Album of the Year, BRIT Awards and BBC Sound of 2025. The debut’s standout track ‘Sonder’ (released as a single prior in 2022) reached the peak position of #22 on the UK Official Charts. The upcoming release of ‘Loner’ coincides with Barry Can’t Swim’s scheduled sets at numerous UK festivals this summer, such as All Points East, Bristol’s FORWARDS and Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Liverpool – Fans and club-goers alike eagerly anticipate the forthcoming material from the DJ.

See below for the tracklist to ‘Loner’:

1. The Person You’d Like To Be
2. Different 
3. Kimpton (with O’Flynn)
4. All My Friends
5. About To Begin
6. Still Riding 
7. Cars Pass By Like Childhood Sweethearts 
8. Machine Noise For A Quiet Daydream (feat. Séamus)
9. Like It’s Part Of The Dance
10. Childhood
11. Marriage
12. Wandering Mt. Moon

‘Loner’ is available for pre-order now. 

BBC Sound of 2025: Barry Can’t Swim is a new dance music superstar https://t.co/9uf6hFyb9A

— BBC Edinburgh & East (@BBCEastScot) January 8, 2025

Scottish DJ and producer, Barry Can’t Swim, born Joshua Mainnie, has captivated audiences with his distinctive blend of jazz, house, and dance music. His musical journey began at age 10 when his grandfather gifted him a piano, sparking a passion that later led him to form bands influenced by acts like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. 

Speaking to the BBC about his music inspiration, he said: “[those acts were] some of the first people to really try and create a hybrid of the music that I loved, which was 60s psychedelic rock with more modern electronic music. And that’s exactly what I was trying to do – incorporate the more traditional form of songwriting and melody of 60s music with electronic production.”

Finding inspiration in the club scene during his time at Edinburgh Napier University, he transitioned to electronic music, according to the BBC: “My earliest producing really came from clubbing, really, and going out and just falling in love with dance music that way.” 

 

 

 

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His 2023 debut album, ‘When Will We Land?’, showcases his signature style – a vibrant fusion of electronic, jazz, and world influences with dynamic layers and memorable vocal samples. The album’s success earned him multiple nominations including for the 2024 Mercury Prize and Best Dance Act at the 2024 Brit Awards and positioned him as a standout in the recent surge of dance music acts that has flooded charts. 

Meanwhile, Ezra Collective has claimed the runner-up spot, cementing their status as one of the most innovative voices in modern jazz.

The quintet met through a jazz youth program in London called Tomorrow’s Warriors and is comprised of drummer Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison.Drawing from Afrobeat, Hip-Hop, Grime, Reggae, and R&B, Ezra Collective aims to make jazz more accessible and reflects the genre-defying approach to music present in the new generation of artists. 

Speaking to the BBC, drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso explained: “We’re the shuffle generation. We listen to Beethoven and 50 Cent comes on straight after. That influences the way we approach music: We love jazz but at the same time I love salsa too, so why not try and get that in there?”

We made “Ajala“ for dancing.
Hope you’ve been enjoying the vibes since it dropped.
Stream it here: https://t.co/O8A3CecJZm pic.twitter.com/Z43lXFbTvD

— Ezra Collective (@EzraCollective) May 1, 2024

After their 2016 debut EP, ‘Chapter 7’, and 2019 debut album, ‘You Can’t Steal My Joy’,  the group were about to embark on a tour when the COVID-19 Pandemic disrupted their plans. Despite this, the group used the national lockdown as inspiration and began working towards their second album, ‘Where I’m Meant To Be’, centred around hope for a post-pandemic world. Koleoso recalled to the BBC: “What we found was we had each other. It felt like we were meant to be together, and we made as many tracks as we could that articulate that.”

The album has since gone on to make history as the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize and was quickly followed by their third album. Innovatively, ‘Dance, No-One’s Watching’, was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios over three days, with an audience comprised of their family and friends.

Through tracks like ‘Ajala’, the project aims to capture the energy and excitement of performing to a live audience. Commenting to the BBC on the inclusion of the audience in the final record, Koleoso said: “There’s a lot of things in the world that don’t feel real enough, but music shouldn’t be one of them.”

The recognition of Barry Can’t Swim and Ezra Collective in the BBC’s Sound of 2025 celebrates the vibrant and genre-blurring creativity shaping modern music. Both acts exemplify the power of blending diverse influences to create something entirely unique.

The winner of the BBC Sound of 2025 will be revealed tomorrow, concluding this year’s celebration of groundbreaking talent.

Chappell Roan and Ezra Collective on BBC Sound of 2025 list https://t.co/cCUFmwZZvg

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) November 21, 2024

BBC’s “Sound of” first begun in 2003 and since has awarded the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Lady Gaga, Adele, PinkPantheress, RAYE, The Weeknd and HAIM. Last year, the title was won by The Last Dinner Party. This year, some eligibility rules were changed in order to fit more artists: previously, artists couldn’t be nominated if they had an album charting at number two or one in the UK, however now artist are eligible unless they have had more than one album charting in the UK top ten.

Here is the full list of nominees:

• Barry Can’t Swim
• Chappell Roan
• Confidence Man
• Doechii
• English Teacher
• Ezra Collective
• Good Neighbours
• KNEECAP
• gee
• Myles Smith
• Pozer

Perhaps the most known on a worldwide level out of the eleven contestants is Chappell Roan. The American singer has in fact taken over the world with a very swift rise to fame after releasing her debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess” in 2023. Her songs have gone viral on social media platforms, and she achieved two top 10 songs in UK charts (“Good Luck Babe” and “Hot To Go”) and her album peaked at number one.

While Chappell Roan has become a pop icon in less than a year, another strong contestant is English Teacher, the 2025 Mercury Prize winner. The Mercury Prize is awarded to the best British or Irish album of the year, and English Teacher was surely deserving of this title: their debut album “This Could Be Texas” peaked at number eight in the UK, and their tour around the country was sold out.

With English Teacher, another contestant for the Mercury Prize this year was Barry Can’t Swim. Originally from Scotland, Barry Can’t Swim is a DJ and electronic music producer. His debut album “Where Will We Land?” peaked at 12 on UK charts; furthermore, he will be headlining All Points East 2025 in London. But 2023’s Mercury Prize Winner has also been longlisted for the BBC award: Ezra Collective has recently headlined Wembley Arena and their latest album “Dance Like No One’s Watching” peaked at number seven in the UK.

Overall, this year’s competition for “Sound of 2025” is strong and eclectic, with the only well-known artist around the world being Chappell Roan. The winner will be announced on January 10^th after a top five countdown which will take place in the weeks prior to the announcement of the winner.

Other artists to feature on the list for the prestigious award are Scottish electronic DJ and Producer Barry Can’t Swim, Jungle artist Nia Archives, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, Corinne Bailey Rae, and grime artist Ghetts. The remaining nominees are Berwyn, Cat Burns, CMAT, Corto.alto, and English Teacher.

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The full list of Albums nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize are:

Barry Can’t Swim – When Will We Land?

Berwyn – Who Am I

Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown

Cat Burns – Early Twenties

Charli XCX – Brat

CMAT – Crazymad, For Me

Corinne Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows

Corto.alto – Bad With Names

English Teacher – This Could Be Texas

Ghetts – On Purpose, With Purpose

Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud

The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy

The mercury Prize is undoubtedly a great opportunity for up-and-coming artists. So, it therefore makes sense that the list of nominees this year has been dominated by debuts with 8 of the 12 albums nominated being debuts which is double what it was last year.

One of the debut albums on the list being The Last Dinner Party’s ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ and this is the biggest selling album so far on the list, however, Charli XCX’ ‘Brat’ has momentum at the moment and is likely to overtake ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ this week.

Among the eight debut albums that made the list this year is Beth Gibbon’s ‘Lives Outgrown. Although Gibbons has released numerous albums as a member of Portishead this record is her debut as a solo artist. According to Music Week Gibbons said: “Really great surprise to be part of the 12 Mercury albums of the year, something I never expected. Big thanks to all who have supported the album, it means so much.”

Nominees Charli XCX, Corinne Bailey Rae and Ghetts have all been nominated for the Mercury Prize before but none of them have won the award.

The list of nominees, as well as the winner, has been chosen by an independent Judging panel and has been taken from a wide range of genres. Albums released by British and Irish artists between July 15, 2023, and July 12, 2024, were eligible for the award.

Earlier in the week it was revealed that the traditional award ceremony with live performances has been dropped this year. More details of what this entails are set to be revealed closer to when the winner is announced but Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the BPI, home to the Mercury Prize, said: “For the 2024 Mercury Prize we will work imaginatively with the BBC to deliver a premium programme of music content and digital engagement that will, as ever, benefit all 12 artists in reaching a wider audience, providing an important platform for their evolving career and musical journey.”

In an Instagram post, Barry Can’t Swim stated, “It’s a huge personal milestone for me, after 10 months of solid writing plus a 20+ years dreaming about it before then. I’ve poured everything I have into it and really hope you you like.”

Opening with the title track, “When Will We Land?”, Barry Can’t Swim surprises listeners with an ambient, almost cinematic track, seeming to disappear at times only to give room for breakbeat percussion and heavenly choirs to slingshot listeners into what this artist does best – bouncing basslines that dance around pulsing kick drums.

“You only get to make your debut album once,” he stated, “So I want to showcase all the elements of the things I enjoy and love in music up to this point.”

This London-based producer (real name Joshua Mannie), made himself known with his EP, Amor Fati, an inspiring blend of jazzy piano licks and house drum beats. After joining with the label, Ninja Tune, Barry Can’t Swim collaborated with Anish Kumar with “Blackpool Boulevard”,  which lead to him being named in Billboard’s ’10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022′.

Now in 2023, When Will We Land?, often sprinkled with personal voice-notes and ambient recordings, has made this Barry Can’t Swim’s most personal and introspective work to date. In the track, “Deadbeat Gospel”, recorded live on his phone on the banks of the River Liffey in Dublin, Barry’s university friend and poet, somedeadbeat, recites themes of UK club culture in articulate religious metaphors.

“For me, I want it to have musicality to it,” he adds. “I wanted it to have the energy of electronic music but also with a more organic live element. I feel like I’m more of a musician than anything else. I’m a producer but I like writing music on instruments.”

For the track, “Woman”, Barry Can’t Swim stated, “Lapsley came back immediately with this unreal vocal. I chopped it up, re-arranged it… it’s one of those things that fell into place.”

This producer, instrumentalist, and DJ has made a name for himself across the country, playing brilliant sets in clubs, warehouses and even in the forest. Just last week, Barry Can’t Swim played at Warehouse Project in Manchester for his second live Boiler Room set – a popular online broadcaster of electronic music.

Speaking about the set, Barry stated, “Anytime I’ve thought about it [Warehouse Project] since I just start laughing to myself stepping into that bear pit of a booth. It was mad! Hard to explain without actually being in there but you could proper feel nothing but pure joy in that room. It’s a show that I’ll never ever forget, I loved every single second of it.”

What is clear to see is that Barry Can’t Swim is here to stay. Making rumblings in the music industry and creating an impressive debut album is just the first on his list of upcoming plans – continuing to tour is his next focus.

10/11/2023 – Button Factory – Dublin, Ireland
11/11 – Bitterzoet – Amsterdam, Netherlands
15/11 – Berghain –  Berlin, Germany
16/11 – Le Pop Up Du Label – Paris, France
17/11 –  Canvas – Manchester, UK
18/11 –  24 Kitchen Street – Liverpool, UK
19/11 – 24 Kitchen Street – Liverpool, UK
22/11 – Strange Brew – Bristol, UK
23/11 – St John at Hackney – London, UK
24/11 – SWG3 Studio Warehouse – Glasgow, UK
25/11 – The Bongo Club – Edinburgh, UK