Barry Can’t Swim’s Loner: Meet the Person Behind the Dance Music
An artist can make music for a room full of people and still have private questions to work through. Barry Can’t Swim put that tension within reach on Loner.
Released in July 2025, the album follows When Will We Land? In Ninja Tune’s announcement, the Edinburgh-born producer describes the debut as a collection of musical influences and this follow-up as a more direct expression of his own life.
That gives us a useful listening idea: follow the individual behind the increasingly public project. The label connects Loner with the experience of his live shows while emphasizing his continuing relationship with his roots.
For a short introduction, choose “Different,” “Kimpton” with O’Flynn, and “Still Riding.” Then take the original twelve-track sequence from “The Person You’d Like To Be” through “Wandering Mt. Moon.” There is a person in those titles as well as an electronic-music project.
The collaboration with O’Flynn also offers an easy next discovery. Credits can help you move outward from a favorite track while keeping the connection that brought you there.
We’d make room for this alongside the weekend’s live-band records. Different ways of building music can share the same listening evening, and a producer’s account of why he made a record can give you another reason to pay attention.
Explore the official release and listening links.
Official release artwork. Source: Ninja Tune. Artwork source.