My name is Chris Swales, a singer-songwriter from Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Desert Life started off as what could be described as a “bedroom solo project”! I had started writing music to some poems that a friend (Brian Mackenzie) had written. The more I worked on them, the more I thought “these are actually pretty good!”. So I booked a recording studio (Mwnci studios) and brought in some friends to play on them (Andy Williams – guitar and Steve Williams bass and backing vox). I was delighted with the results! However, I still didn’t want to release music under my own name, so I came up with the moniker, desert life – I lived in Saudi Arabia for years, where my father worked for the airline, it is also a name of a Counting Crows album (this desert life)!
As I started to play open mics and solo gigs, I started to interact with more and more musicians. That’s where I met multi-instrumentalist Tom Jordan and drummer Jason Downes who are now permanent members of the band/project.
I was a huge fan of grunge guitar bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc, and was in an alt-rock band (curler) when I was young.
I then gravitated to singer-songwriters such as Elliot Smith, Ryan Adams, Jeff Tweedy, and Jeff Buckley.
Probably Ryan Adams and Elliott Smith the most, but I could list off bands such as Radiohead, REM, and Wilco! I clearly lean into melancholy! I find that when someone can convey heartache and pain, self-pitying, and yet leave you with some sort of satisfaction/resolve, it actually cheers me up!!!
Could you tell us a bit about your writing process?I’ll often come up with melodies, and song ideas just by sitting with my acoustic guitar or piano. I also receive a constant stream of poems (from Brian Mackenzie) where I’ll create a full song or take one phrase and take it into a different direction.
I will then record the idea on my phone or music software. Funnily enough, I usually will not listen to the idea again for a few days because I find I can get overexcited by new songs! Taking a few days away from it, it allows me to see if the emotion hits me in a similar way as when I created it. If it does, I will then take it to the guys and work on it!
This was one of the first songs I wrote with Brian – when it was just a “solo” project. I took his lyrics and came up with the song. I wanted it to feel like it could transport you to the American southwest! I hadn’t written/released music for years and even though I liked what I wrote, I did not have much confidence. So I got in contact with two musician friends (who I was in music college with) and said “would you be interested in playing on this?” – and I did give them the option of saying No! They loved it and we recorded it in Mwnci studios. I then brought in a session drummer (Jack Beddis) to play on it.
We are currently recording an album with local producer Nick Swannell. I am really excited about it as it feels like REMs Automatic for the People – which is a good thing in my eyes!
We love playing throughout Wales, but absolutely love playing at the Swansea Fringe Festival.
The Atlanticans (drummer Jason’s band), The Keepers, Pearler, and Lost Tuesday Society.
We’ll be releasing some music shortly before our album drops in 2023.
