The New LoFi

Barry Can’t Swim brings jazz and soul to the dance floor on his debut album, “When Will We Land?”

So there’s this guy Barry from Scotland. He can’t swim all that well, but I can tell you with confidence: he can get a dance floor moving very efficiently. And when it really comes down to life skills, who needs to swim, when you can spin?

Barry Can’t Swim first came onto my radar in 2021 when someone passed me his track, “Jazz Club After Hours.” A couple months later he hooked me again with his track, “Blackpool Boulevard,” (which he worked on with Anish Kumar. That year he released a few more singles, at which point I was then looking out for Barry’s next release. I was hooked on his jazz-influenced flavor of dance music. His way of pulling samples and inspiration from all over the world and pour that onto the dance floor is very satisfying.

This month, the Edinburgh born, London based producer has released his long-awaited debut album entitled When Will We Land? (out on Ninja Tune). Was it nearly impossible to choose my favorite tracks off the 11-track album? Yes.

Here are 4 tracks that are on heavy rotation on my stereo at the minute, but you should really treat yourself to the full experience and buy the album on vinyl before it sells out.