That the jungle producer SWAP MEET! is from Birmingham wouldn’t be a major detail—if the Birmingham in question was in England and not Alabama. No matter how you chop or slice it, that American state is not the first place anyone is going to associate with rugged jungle music, but thanks to a series of masterful, hardware-driven records, SWAP MEET! has slowly been putting Alabama on the jungle map. We sent some questions over; give the article a read and listen to the producer’s great 2023 record, ULTRA, below. 

You primarily make music on hardware, often using tape. What do you like about that process versus computer-based production? 

SWAP MEET!: Personally, I prefer using hardware because of how hands on it is, and for the extra character that it adds to the tracks. One of my closest friends introduced me to four-track cassette recorders about eight years ago and I was immediately obsessed with the old-school sound. I started out playing guitar, saxophone, bass, drums, etc. so banging on pads and turning pots brings me more enjoyment than when I'm clicking around in a DAW. I still love DAW's though, the possibilities are endless.

Did you grow up in Alabama? What kind of music were you listening to when you were a kid?

Yep, I was born and raised in Birmingham, AL. As a little kid I listened to whatever stuff my parents were playing, which was mostly gospel, R ‘n’ B, and some hip-hop. In middle school, my friend put me onto Guitar Hero and I became fascinated with all rock music, especially anything punk/metal adjacent. 

Can you remember the first track you made? What were your earlier releases like? When did you start to get interested in jungle music?

The first track I ever made was done in the computer lab at my high school when I was 14, and it probably sounded like those beats from the Lebron memes. All throughout high school I would make really cursed beats in FL and my friend and I did ridiculous freestyles on them. At that time I was more focused on bands so my oldest releases are punk/hardcore stuff. My first dancefloor thing is called self titled 001, it was all techno and house. I got into jungle through BBC Radio One mixes. Like many others in the states, I'd heard jungle/d ‘n’ b music in video games or TV shows, but the Radio One mixes gave me a good entry point to truly understand it.

Do you think that your Southern roots inform the way you make jungle and techno music? 

It's mostly subconscious, but I can definitely see a link between the sounds of Southern rap (from all eras) and my dancefloor stuff. Most notably the heavy 808s and subs, dark synths, and straightforward approach. I don't often find myself specifically using Southern music as inspiration for jungle or techno, but if I do, it's often from old-school Memphis tapes. There's of course James Brown or Issac Hayes, but their music is so universal that I don’t often think about it being from down South.

How did that Janet Jackson flip come about?

One of my friends used to play that song all the time and I think my parents had that CD when I was a little kid. I had the idea to flip it before, but kept forgetting to do it. At some point last year I heard it out in public again and immediately sampled it when I got home. I'm pretty sure it was at a Best Buy LOL. The rest of the track came together as usual, just jamming on the MPC mutes and scrolling through sequences. 

What’s the scene like in Birmingham right now?

Birmingham has a very active DIY scene, especially for punk and hardcore. We had a party back in December that was really fun so I think people would be receptive to even more raw jungle, house, techno, or whatever else. 

What’s your secret weapon piece of gear?

Akai S900. Depending on what sample bandwidth you choose and how hot the input is, you can make it sound a lot of different ways. I love the 12-bit sound, it can be subtle sometimes but it has a very specific quality. It’s also cool that you can load S900 samples onto a newer akai (S3000XL for me), and they take up a fraction of the space that the 16-bit samples need. 

You are in the middle of a DJ set. The dancefloor is lagging. What's one tune you put on to get them back? 

There are a lot that come to mind but this time I'll say Cloud Nine “Mr. Logic.”