What Teddy Swims is currently doing in music is much greater than the limitation of genres.
The 31-year-old powerhouse vocalist, whose real name is Jaten Dimsdale, has been breaking the notion of genres since he entered the scene in 2019. His nickname is an acronym for “Someone Who Isn't Me Sometimes” and he sees songwriting as a form of therapy.
“I thought I was just writing songs, you know, and you never know what your heart is really trying to tell you or what your subconscious is trying to communicate to you until you're like, 'Oh shit, no way,'” he says. EDM.com.
On his latest album, I've tried everything except therapy., Swims carefully transmutes the heavy melancholy of painful memories into transformative experiences for his listeners. That album, in fact, just reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time in January, with the single “Lose Control” peaking at No. 8 as its debut entry.
Known early in his career for his viral presence on YouTube, Atlanta native Swims has made a name for himself by abandoning stereotypical notions of what an artist should be.
“I am very happy for this moment because if it had happened many times before, I would not have been prepared for this mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually,” he says. “I couldn't have done it any time before.” right now. “I'm happy to be in a clear space in my life.”
Primarily a soul and R&B singer, Swims had early success uploading videos singing covers of everything from Michael Jackson's “Rock With You” to Shania Twain's “Still the One” and a soulful version of HER's “Focus.” , before attracting attention. from Warner Records.
“It's crazy how that can happen, we've been writing for like four years or something,” he reflects. “And everything just…everything aligns with one thing in particular.”
Swims speaks after a few days away from his tour schedule on the day of our interview. He spent that time at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas, where he sang alongside the famous pop-punk band All Time Low.
“So I got to go there and play a song with them, which is a full circle moment for me because I had seen them when I was growing up,” Swims says. “They were one of my favorite bands, you know, coming out and playing a song with All Time Low was cool. I was like, 'Dude, this is the kind of moment where you think, man, dreams are just coming true.' 'Stick to your guns, you know?
With a massive repertoire and an even longer resume packed with the biggest names in contemporary music, Swims is considered a master collaborator, teaming with everyone from country superstar Maren Morris to prolific singer-songwriter Megan Trainor. After moving to Los Angeles, a close friendship with famous UK dance music producer Stuart Crichton formed by chance, leading to electronic music collaborations with artists such as ILLENIUM, Burns, MK, Armin van Burren and Matoma, among others.
“So this guy is a big collaborator of mine, Stu Crichton,” Swims says of the Scottish-born producer. “He's just the best at that kind of stuff, you know? And he comes to me and has me work with some people, but we just come up with it… usually they start out as ballads, and we just write the ballad, and then it turns into sending it to whoever and they just have the touch. “EDM on top of something we’ve already written.”
Crichton, who has recorded and written for Kylie Minogue, Backstreet Boys, Pet Shop Boys, Selena Gomez, Toni Braxton and Kesha, has been nominated for numerous Grammy Awards and other prestigious awards. “Stu Crichton is one of my best friends in the whole world…we also live like three houses away from each other, so I can always stop by,” Swims gushes. “His wife gives us cooked soup and buns and we just, you know, have a shot of tequila and hang out, man. He's just good.”
This wasn't the first time Swims strove to fuse his sound, but it was one of the most challenging endeavors he faced as a recording artist. The first hurdle was standing out in a subset of the industry where female artists have driven the standard of vocal house music for decades, as well as pivoting into a facet of the music business where he was relatively unknown.
Swims' collaboration with ILLENIUM, “All That Really Matters,” begins slowly, with the former's velvety vocals layered over smooth keys that quickly lead into the melodic dubstep and future bass sounds the latter has become so known for.
“Thanks to Rable and Stu Crichton, the song with ILLENIUM came about,” Swims recalls. “I came in much later and heard the song and thought, 'Yes, it would be an honor for me to sing this song.' And they filmed it for ILLENIUM and we played it every night. It's such a beautiful song to me and I love it.”
Driven by lyrics deeply rooted in meaning, the song moves forward in undulations, with softer moments giving way to breakneck rhythms, the kind that conjure up a sea of heads nodding intensely in unison. Above all, the song remains very characteristic of Swims, because despite the change in sound, its message is intertwined with the narrative reflected in many of his other albums.
Swims took a risk with the opening track, “Some Things I'll Never Know,” on I've tried everything except therapy.for example, placing a slow, haunting ballad in a space where many other artists would have chosen to go in the complete opposite direction.
“I want it to be the first thing someone hears… that song to me is something that has really touched my life,” he says. “And even when we were going to sing it on the record, it took me a while.” while because I was just sobbing. And I still sing it every night and I can't go without crying. It's a song for me that's really special because I think it's given me closure in a lot of ways that I needed it. It's one of those songs like that.”
Additionally, a link that directly links Swims' music to the EDM genre is a penchant for emotional lyrical content that addresses various life struggles, material that both audiences find highly relatable.
“What it comes down to is that when someone leaves your life, it may be your partner or your friend, but there's no real closure as to why people leave your life,” says Swims. “Sometimes they just leave, sometimes they just cut you off and you have no idea what went wrong, what you could have done, or you feel like someone is starting to walk away from you.”
“There's a world where sometimes I feel like I love you so much and I'll do anything for you and I can do anything to make it better if I can,” he continued. “Just let me know what's going on, I can try to do it.” improve it, I can try to do anything for you. I love you so much and I think I will always be your best friend and I can do anything for you.”
Regardless of any type of genre restriction, Swims has effortlessly tapped into the collective energy that surrounds the spirit of dance music, an energy that is filled with passion, longing, and an unwavering sense of desire.
The dance floor, in a sense, is a safe space for commiseration, a place where people gather to escape their problems and vent about whatever challenges that particular week, month, or life has thrown at them. “Sometimes people think their lives would be better without you,” says Swims. “That's a hard thing for me to understand. If you can't close that, you won't be able to talk to them again, you won't be able to understand why they do those things.”
“It's not about you either, no one hurts you because they are only here to hurt you and they want you to hurt. They are doing something that is probably better for their lives. You have to reconcile that with them yourself and give yourself some kind of closure that you will never get.”
His chance friendship with Crichton, however, has broken new ground in Swims' career, but also in his own personal healing journey, reflecting capabilities within himself as an artist and as a man that he previously didn't know he had in him.
“It's hard work. I don't even know how I tried,” he explains. “Yeah, I don't listen to a lot of EDM. I didn't listen to a lot of that. I'm a fan, of course, but I've never been an EDM listener. But I'm a priority in the world.”
Now Swims sees the genre with completely new eyes. The more he immerses himself in it, the more he finds himself in a home away from home that he never knew was available to him, one that welcomes him with open arms. “It's such a loving, family atmosphere… everyone at a festival, when you go to an EDM festival, everyone is in this… moment.”
“They all love each other and share love, drugs and all kinds of other things. He's just beautiful, man. Everyone is there getting along and it doesn't seem like a troublesome place. It never is. I had the opportunity to go to Counterpoint as a freshman in Atlanta. It was a lot of fun doing it, man. I just forgot about it a lot, three days in a row. It was incredible. It was a great vibe that we were able to take advantage of.”
Swims was even more surprised when told of his large following in the LGBTQ+ community, and many of his EDM collaborations are a staple on the plates of the queer club world, making him a beloved figure both within like off the dance floor. “I like to think that even though this part of my life is happening now and I feel really ready for the roller coaster that I'm on and I've always been very impatient about what this was and what I wanted from this and I'm very happy that everything is happening and the time is right, you know?”
Featuring a live album version of I've tried everything except therapy. Just released in January and with a full European tour scheduled for early 2024, Swims has barely been able to catch her breath. He also had 2,023 appearances in the The voicewhere he duetted “Lose Control” with Kelly Clarkson in the season finale, and the Today is the showwhere he was paired with another guest superstar.
“I also met Elmo, that was fucking sick. It's Elmo. It was fucking Elmo!
And speaking of Jim Henson's creations, Swims is also a career of a lifetime. Star Wars fan who, in high school, co-wrote and starred in a musical theater interpretation of the iconic film, replacing the music of the Miserables. At this point in his career, Swims can very much relate to Yoda's words: “What you seek also seeks you.”
“That's what you want from music, you know, something you can celebrate,” he says. “Something that you can turn trauma into positive things, it's like most of my job, I think, is turning all my horrible shit into good feelings and positive emotions for people. And it becomes an access to their memories, their specific relationships and their circumstances. And that's how it is. So it's not about me anymore.”
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