American-born Ward Swingle first assembled a group of Parisian session singers to sing through Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier as a vocal exercise in 1962. The resulting album ‘Jazz Sebastian Bach’ (recorded initially for friends and family), became a huge hit, breaking new musical ground and launching The Swingles to fame. The Swingles of today employ a similar technique in their current shows – an immersive layering up of vocals using live-looping technology to record themselves in the moment and have it play back later, producing mesmeric (and potentially massive) musical textures.

The group has released more than 50 albums encompassing a huge range of music in many different styles, fueled by Ward Swingle’s pioneering spirit and varied musical tastes. Their arrangements tend either to give a little twist to the original or turn it completely on its head. They co-wrote and performed a song for the end credits of Alexander Payne’s film ‘Downsizing’ and have appeared on many film and TV soundtracks, including ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Sex and the City’, ‘Wedding Crashers’, ‘The Holdovers’, ‘The Two Popes’, and ‘Glee’. The group’s latest album ‘Theatreland’ (a spectacular celebration of some of the greatest musical theatre songs as you’ve never heard them before) was released in 2024.

The Swingles are:

Mallika Bhagwat (India/UK), Sarah Alison (USA/UK), Laura Moisey-Gray (UK), James Botcher (UK), Owen Butcher (UK), Jamie Wright (UK), and Tom Hartley (UK). Sound Engineer: Jacques Golding (UK)

“The vocal and choral world has changed considerably in the last 50 years… But The Swingles have managed to hold onto their distinctive niche and continue to thrive.” – CHICAGO SUN-TIMES