BIOGRAPHY

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     John Swanke is a guitarist and home recorder who currently resides on Camano Island in Washington State. He has been working under his own name for years, producing solo instrumental guitar music for ever-expanding horizons. Creating music primarily on acoustic or electric guitar he often incorporates field recordings, harmonica, synthesizers and waves of drone into his recordings. John's style is a direct result of his "DIY to a fault" work ethic. He prefers to work alone at home  instead of in a studio and usually chooses to record on a four track cassette recorder over a computer.

     Swanke spent several years working in Southeast Alaska where he would regularly take his guitar out to local hiking trails, secret beaches or wherever he could find a quiet place to be. He taught himself to play harmonica while hiking alone as a means to alert bears in the area instead of carrying bells or repellent.  This habit of practicing and recording outside continues to have a strong influence on his recordings today as he makes an effort to keep his music as organic as possible. 

     After moving back to Washington State John continued to make obscure recordings while occasionally performing at noise shows and house parties around Bellingham, WA. In 2022 he released his first cassette tape "From the Muddy Banks of the Nooksack". The original run of 50 home dubbed copies sold out. This release features acoustic guitar compositions with a heavy use of field recordings from the Lummi Nation and surrounding area where he and his wife once lived. He then quickly followed up with "Sturgeon Moon" an album of electric guitar improvisations. A darker sound, but still one completely his own. 

     John continued to release live recordings, soundscapes and audio oddities before his first independent label release on Lighten Up Sounds. "Soundings in Fathoms" was released in 2023 and earned him a mention in music publication The Wire. His songs have also been played on KEXP's roots program "The Roadhouse" as well as the ambient and cinematic program "Pacific Notions" which proves his music refuses to fit neatly into one single category. John continues to create original music that is rooted in folk fingerstlye guitar traditions while simultaneously exploring and discovering new ambient soundscapes.