DNIT: Swayzak presents 'Snowdubbing in Argentina' AV Show
By Kit Macdonald
The English duo Swayzak, aka David Nicholas Brown and James S. Taylor, formed in 1993 but took until 1998 to pull together their debut album. When they did, though, it was a classic. Snowboarding in Argentina was a perfect distillation of the big chords and thumping gravitas of Detroit techno and the staccato drums and clipped textures that were then beginning to bubble out of Berlin and Cologne. The record helped to define the new tech-house sound, and in the time since has gained a level of renown that demands significant anniversaries of its release are marked, significantly.
It's lucky, then, that Brown and Taylor reformed in 2023 after a 12-year hiatus, just in time to develop a sumptuous live/AV show to mark the album's 25th anniversary. The LP was, endearingly, named for the duo's ideal holiday if the album was a success - you'd have to assume they've managed to fulfil their dream several times over by now on the back of a canonical work in electronic music history.