Swell Foop on their upcoming EP, “Dead Weight”
Swell Foop is a rising indie trio turning emotion into cathartic, honest music. Made up of Sophia Shen, Miranda Loyer, and Tiena Elias, the band blends friendship, vulnerability, and diverse influences into a sound that feels both intimate and powerful. We sat down with Sophia and Miranda to talk about their new EP deadweight, the inspiration behind their single “Closest Friend,” and how collaboration fuels their creative process.
SOUND STAGE: Who is Swell Foop?
MIRANDA: First and foremost we are friends! We like to make music that reflects who we are and the things we are going through/believe in/are scared of. Honesty and vulnerability are things we look for and try to capture in our work, creating music that people enjoy while staying true to who we are.
SOPHIA: The band is made up of three core members, which is myself, Miranda, and then our drummer, Tiena, who couldn't make it today. We're all really close friends. We've recently been stepping more into this identity of being an AFAB, fem fronted band.I think that's something that's super important and super rare. Absolutely. It’s important to us that we are around people who make us feel comfortable, seen, and respected.
SOUND STAGE: That's what immediately drew me to your music too. How did you guys come together to start this group?
SOPHIA: Beginning of freshman year of college, I had met somebody who was in an organization that was hosting a festival that spotlighted local bands. She invited me to play, and I needed to find a band immediately. Miranda and I met through a friend of a friend, and both of us studied art history. That was something that drew us to each other, having this common interest and passion for art history. We were walking home one night from a group hang out and I turned to Miranda and I randomly asked if she happened to know anyone who was a bassist, and Miranda said “I'm a bassist!” The rest is history!
SOUND STAGE: Who inspired you guys to start making music?
MIRANDA: One artist we bonded over was beabadoobee. We both loved her early stuff like Loveworm. Loveworm was a really important EP for both of us. Some of the first songs I learned on guitar were from that EP.
SOPHIA: The first songs I learned to play on guitar were ‘Pristine’ by Snail Mail, ‘Night Shift’ by Lucy Dacus, ‘The Agency Group’ by Alvvays, and ‘Linger by the Cranberryries’. I wanted to write music for a long time, but didn't know how to start. Everything came together in my junior year of high school and I started writing a little bit and playing guitar. Name any 2010s female indie rock artist and probably I'm inspired by her.
SOUND STAGE: Your newest song ‘Closest Friend’ just came out, Sophia can you tell me a little bit about the writing process on this one?
SOPHIA: The EP that we're promoting right now is my breakup EP from a relationship I was in almost two years ago now. That's coming out as kind of like a collaborative EP between Swell Foop and my solo project. Swell Foop at its core is a collaboration between me and Miranda. Since this was its own project with a clear beginning and end, we wanted to treat it as something separate and distinct. I wrote all of the songs, I think within a month of this relationship ending. ‘Closest Friend’ was the last one that I wrote. I actually wasn't too sure about it when I wrote it because it felt kind of formulaic to me. I often struggled to write choruses, and this is a song of four verses. In a way it was kind of a cop-out, but at the same time, the simplicity is what makes it resonate with people. I've been joking that if you like an ABC rhymes scheme then you are going to love this song. [laughs] It's so simple, but also really powerful.
SOUND STAGE: On ‘Closest Friend’, you guys do such a good job of carrying the lyrics’ theme through the instrumental parts. How do you guys know what you want the instrumentals to sound like after writing a song?
SOPHIA: I knew that I wanted to have that downbeat strum that’s in ‘Linger’ by the Cranberries. I also grew up doing choir, so I'm very harmony focused, and I knew I wanted there to be some harmonies in the outro. We used an EBow that our producer had in the studio and we spent probably three hours recording that last guitar part because we were just fooling around, experimenting with this thing that we'd never used before. That’s where that lush, interweaving guitar part came from at the end.
MIRANDA: I honestly listen to my own songs a lot, and that’s how many of my ideas come to me. I also tend to beatbox drumming parts that I randomly think of into my voice memos on my phone. [laughs]
SOUND STAGE I love this song because the lyrics are angry but the tone is really sad and melancholy which perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being hurt by someone you love. Your new EP deadweight comes out on September 19th. What can fans expect?
SOPHIA: One song that I continually come back to that inspires my writing is Jay Som’s cover of ‘White Flag’. That entire song basically owes itself to that cover. There's this one moment of an instrumental break and all of the instruments drop out, except for the electric guitar, I just loved that. I think you can expect a lot of dynamics and a diverse array of genres that we explore and interweave. It's different and emotional. It's hopefully something that people will really resonate with because when you go through a breakup like that, it’s such a specific and visceral feeling. I’ve already gotten responses from people saying how much they resonate with the lyrics.
SOUND STAGE: Has that felt therapeutic for you getting those kinds of responses from people?
SOPHIA: It does feel validating. It feels good to share those emotions and not feel isolated in them. But, it's kind of a funny time break because so much has happened since that relationship. I have really grown to become a different person and I'm not as bothered by everything that happened anymore. There's some level of dredging up old feelings and emotions in order to finally get this EP out into the world. But, there's a part of me that feels like this is the final stage of processing that I needed to go through to end this for be and get my closure. to really end and for me to get my closure.
MIRANDA: This stretch of time was our most productive period of songwriting. I think all the music that came out of it changed the way we both write. Some of those songs on the EP are some of the most powerful music that I've ever ever heard. I'm just so happy to have the world enjoy them and appreciate them as much as I do.
SOPHIA: Also before we move on, I want to say, this EP would not have seen the light of day without Miranda. She has been so incredibly supportive. There have been many moments where I've doubted myself. I didn't see the vision and I thought it would never happen. She absolutely refused to let me give up and was the most wonderful and loving collaborator, bandmate, and friend through the whole process. If there's anyone I'm doing this for, it's her.
MIRANDA: Oh my gosh I feel the exact same way.
SOUND STAGE: This is why I love collaboration so much. I know you said you're coming out with a new album after the EP, but what else can fans expect from you guys in the future? Are you going to do some more live shows, what else is coming up?
MIRANDA: We have a couple concerts coming up! We're also just focusing on recording and our producer, Ivan, is off touring in Europe right now, but the day he gets back we are going into the studio.
SOUND STAGE: We are so excited to hear the EP and album! Thank you for sitting down with us today!
