From Mi Sabor Cafe to Times Square might be a quick - well not that quick - train ride on the MTA but beyond that, it also represents musician, producer, and DJ Swami Sound pretty nicely in that he can bring the noise and the crowd whether it's a small room or the biggest venue in the world.

New York through and through, Swami grew up absorbed in music and determined to make a career of it. Amongst his growing notoriety, The Fader recently called his track Back in the Day (Soulecta Dub) one of the songs of the year. And now he has a song on Fortnite?

Check out our latest Pirate Radio to hear the mix Swami created for us, and learn about his early influences, what NY Garage is all about, and plenty more.

How did growing up in The Bronx influence your taste in music and what other early catalysts were you experiencing at the time?
I listened to whatever my older brother would blast early on. We always had channel 188 playing on the Cablebox too, which was MTV hits that looped whatever was hot at the time all day and night. We’re hearing Drake, Wiz, The Fray, you name it. Very pop-centric. Anything remotely different we’d hear through TV sections like Toonami. It was all very internet-heavy too - so anything I heard on Youtube or on FGC livestreams I’d personally bump.

You have a Social Work background, right? How did you balance this with your career as a musician, DJ, and producer?
Social Work was my chosen major in college... but in my heart, I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career so I did it all at the same time until I graduated.

You coined the phrase "NY Garage" as a response to UK Garage. How would you define this sound versus the established UKG? We can’t not mention that SoundCloud shout-out as well.
It was all very coincidental, originally it was my TikTok pitch. 'The Thing That Gets the People Going' if you will. Sonically though I was just drawing connections between what was popping now and where it originally was coming from - I felt I was on the advent of drawing the connection between NY Drill and the sound of the UK. Whether or not I was, the music stood up for itself.

You just played a set in Times Square over the summer right? What was that like?
My most vivid take on that day was feeling naked and afraid because I just did a crazy DJ set in the middle of the most famous location on the planet.

How was the energy when you came to Boston for your Boiler Room set?
I love Boston, they brought the energy. Conducta’s set was amazing. I heard a lot of Badger edits!

The Back in the Day Soulecta Dub got put into The Fader’s list of 100 best tracks of 2022. The official music video just dropped and captures the energy perfectly. What was it like working on this dub and how does it compare to the original?
Soulecta’s Dub of Back In The Day happened pretty quickly compared to a lot of the tracks I worked on for the debut album. It was a fairly simple task - and the sonic differences were clear as day. I mentioned on CKUT that the intention of those two drops was to delineate the whole NYC Garage sound from the UKG sound. I wish I could hear Soulecta’s version for the first time again.

Speaking of which, how was it making Back in the Day (the album) compared to your earlier projects?
The album [Back in the Day] took years and had many faces, looks, and so forth. I was actually on the verge of cutting my musical career short before I released the first single of the album: Hope It Stays. But once I started rolling out the album everything fell into place. It was originally supposed to be a self-titled project too.

Switching gears to clothing real quick, what are you wearing these days? We see the Arc'teryx flourishes here and there! And of course the nod to Kangol.
I’m retiring the Kangol this winter! I’m just sticking to stuff that works from now on, I love Beams - just got a pair from their Clarks collab. Big fan of their Bodega collection too. Enjoying brands like Nanamica, Needles, and Engineered Garments as well.

How has your sense of style changed over the years?
I always tried to stick to whatever activity I was mostly accustomed to doing. Take skateboarding for example: I was very into Nike and Adidas technical clothing that would help with my sweating. Now that DJing has me traveling, I aim for packable clothes that work in most conditions. I’m also into bouldering, hiking, and snowboarding now so the GORE-TEX is a must.

What role does clothing play in the music you make and perform - or is it purely a functional afterthought?
Functional afterthought! Why on earth did I wear my GORE-TEX during most of these DJ sets?!

Can you talk about your video game connection? You had some music in Bomb Rush Cyberfunk earlier in the year and now Fortnite? Wild.
I think it’s a dream come true - and these games are the only reason why I own a Switch. The funniest thing about it is that my friends early on always equated my music to video game music so it’s all full circle.

Before we close out, anything coming up that you want to shout out?
I did this entire mix with my CD collection!