Dark Sparkler’s Kyle Swisher, on the first and last albums he bought and the one he turns to in an emergency
FIRST
Janet Jackson
‘Rhythm Nation 1814’
(A&M, 1989)
“I was five and we’d just got cable when this album came out. Janet Jackson’s videos were on MTV all the time so my mom bought us the cassette. With a single coming out every few months, it felt like I lived with this album for two years straight. I’ve recently started to really appreciate the production. I love how tracks are a minute or two longer than they should be. Dance breaks were so important then.”
LAST
Figueroa
‘The World As We Know It’
(Nomark, 2020)
“This became the album of the summer for me, even though summer 2020 was basically non-existent. I was intrigued by it being an acoustic-folk-psych-rock album that was made entirely of programmed MIDI tracks. I was blown away with how authentic it sounded, the song writing is incredible! I think Amon made the best guitar album of the year, and he should be on the cover of Guitar Magazine.”
ALWAYS
My Bloody Valentine
‘Loveless’
(Creation, 1991)
“I was in my late teens when I was introduced to ‘Loveless’. It broke apart and subverted key structures of pop music songwriting, and became very important to me. It initially influenced me as a guitar player, but its repetition, sweet melodies, and dense timbres that push past the point of harsh into bliss also made an impact on the electronic music I make today.”
