SWAG was started in 1993, initially as a project they played around with in their spare time. Junior Boy's Own’s Terry Farley called them upon hearing the fruits of their studio endeavours and offered to release the first wave of SWAG material. In the meantime Chris Duckenfield’s DJ schedule was busy as ever, touring commitments with WARP acts as well as his numerous residencies meant his day job in the record store was becoming increasingly part-time. When the store finally closed in ‘96, Chris Duckenfield decided it was time to establish his own outlet for the music he was recording.

His labels ‘Primitive’ and ‘Odori’ were started and immediately began releasing music from themselves and a host of other like-minded artists who threw out the House rulebook, a policy which helped their releases find their way into the record boxes of the world’s best DJ’s. The SWAG project had begun to lose momentum, as their relationship with Junior Boy's Own grew more strained. Two years of running his own labels had given Chris Duckenfield the confidence to start out fresh with SWAG, this time on another new, self owned label ‘Version’.

Over the last ten years the SWAG partnership has been behind over fifty original tracks, and many more remixes for international artists like Björk, Matthew Herbert and Moloko, as well as definitive work and collaborations for dozen’s of underground labels. Their own imprints have built up an international following, making Chris Duckenfield’s DJ schedule as hectic as ever, and ensuring their ‘Decks And Gadgets’ shows have rocked clubs from Tokyo to Madrid and Sydney, not to mention classic UK parties like the Sub Club, Back to Basics and Fabric.

With two acclaimed LP’s under their belts and each new project presenting fresh challenges and room for the duo to push their music even further, the SWAG sound has become an integral part of the underground global music scene, and Chris Duckenfield celebrated as one of the world’s most valued DJ talents.

Chris Duckenfield, Richard Brown

SWAG