Influenced by the disparate likes of T. Rex and the Germankrautrock outfit Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era. Despite existing in various forms since 1972, Swell Maps only really came together as a musical entity after the birth of British punk. A collective consisting ofSolihull based teenagers Epic Soundtracks, his brother Nikki Sudden, Jowe Head, Biggles Books, Phones Sportsman and John "Golden" Cockrill, the band cut the single "Read About Seymour" as their debut in 1977. It is widely considered one of the classic punk era singles, and is name-checked in the song "Part Time Punks" by Television Personalities. After recording their first John Peel session Swell Maps went into WMRS studio to record their first album A Trip to Marineville, which was released in 1979. In 2007, The Guardian wrote of the album that it "combined furious punk noise-outs such as HS Art with ambient instrumentals and other experimental interludes such as Gunboats." The band recorded one more album, The Swell Maps in 'Jane From Occupied Europe, in 1980: it featured a variety of genres, from collage-style experimental pieces like the opener "Robot Factory", fierce rockers like "Whatever Happens Next", the poppy "Cake Shop Girl", to the surf-type instrumental "Collision With A Frogman". The band performed abroad for the first time in Belgium and the Netherlands, then toured Italy before splitting up in April 1980. An album of archive recordings, Whatever Happens Next..., was released shortly afterwards.
Side projects
The band backed Steve Treatment on an EP, released on their own Rather Records label in 1978. They also backed The Cult Figures on a single "Zip Nolan", released on the Rough Trade label in 1979. An EP of experimental tracks of the band backing Phones Sportsman was released under the name of the Phones Sportsman Band in 1980.
Post split
Epic and Jowe released a single, "Rain, Rain, Rain", with Rough Trade Records under the name Soundtracks and Head, but the album recorded at the same sessions remains unreleased so far. Individual members of the band went on to solo careers. The band's catalogue has been remastered and reissued, and several compilations of archive recordings released. Epic Soundtracks died of unknown causes at the age of 38 in 1997, and Nikki Sudden died at the age of 49 in March 2006, in a hotel room in New York City.
Influence
Swell Maps have been cited as an influence by bands including Dinosaur Jr., R.E.M., Nirvana and Pavement. Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth acknowledged the influence of the Swell Maps in 1981, writing "As soon as that Nikki Sudden guitar comes slicing slabbing and all out fuzzifying off that crackling vinyl groove you know you’re gonna rock. It’s the best of both whirls: fist-in-the-heart guitar burnin’ rock and ahead-of-its-time songsmith awareness... The Swell Maps had a lot to do with my upbringing". Scott Kannberg of Pavement acknowledged "Swell Maps was a big influence on our early records... they had these songs they fucked up somehow to make sound really dirty and low frequency, but they had these great songs underneath all this mess". Tim Gane of Stereolab recalled "When I first bought A Trip to Marineville I must have played it a hundred times or more, just to listen to every single second of it".
