Music
Watch Swing Ting orchestrate a global link-up to 'Give Thanks'
From Manchester to the world.
Swing Ting are a crew known for their global pick 'n' mix approach to club music. Founding duo Samrai & Platt's 100 Dances album, released earlier this year, is the culmination of a decade of putting on parties in their adopted hometown of Manchester.
Featuring appearances from longtime collaborators including Shanique Marie, Fox, Trigga, and HMD, the record is also a testament to the wide network of friends and artists that the Swing Ting team have collected along the way. And it's this network they've drawn on for the latest video to come from the album.
Compiled from clips sent in by fans, family (both musical and blood-related) and a few famous faces, it's a heartwarming showreel -- and entirely in keeping with the themes of love, appreciation, and togetherness that run through the track and the album too.
Check the video below and scroll on to hear from Samrai and Shanique Marie about how the virtual shoot came together -- and who to look out for
How did you go about gathering all the clips for this collage of a video? Who are some of the people featured that fans might recognise?
Shanique Marie: The preparation for this video was pretty easy and extremely special. I literally just sent the track to people I knew across the world and asked them to send me videos doing whatever felt most natural to do to the song. The support was so overwhelming that we couldn’t even include all the clips in the video. It’s really a piece to give thanks for!
Some of the people you might recognize are Gavsborg, Kemikal and Bobby Blackbird from Equiknoxx, Toddla T, Benji formerly from Heatwave, and Yaadcore.
Equiknoxx and Shanique Marie
© Fanatic/Red Bull Content Pool
Samrai: I have to credit the original idea to my partner, Antonia, who thought it would be cool to have people send in videos as we wouldn’t be able to link up together for a video in Manchester like we did for Wanna Know with Sharda and Shanique Marie, and for Manchester with Equiknoxx and Fox.
It was a pretty quick and organic process. I reached out to people I’ve been speaking to on a day to day and am close with, as well as some people who I thought would enjoy being involved. Before we knew it, we had videos piling in via WhatsApp, iMessage, Google Drive and WeTransfer
You might spot Swing Ting residents Joey B & Fox as well as Gemma Dunleavy, Tash LC, Hipsters Don’t Dance, Emily Dust, EVABEE, Lil C, Arthi, DJ Ronin, Mo City, Mal of Part 2 Style and many more!
Shanique Marie and Swing Ting's Balraj with Equinoxx in Jamaica
© Swing Ting
Any amusing outtakes that didn't make the final cut?
Samrai: There was one particular superspeed TikTok that definitely made us all laugh! We had a lot of footage! It would have been possible to make another video or two with it, but have to shout out Johan Reitan on the edit whose eye really brought the finished work together.
Hopefully it helps people to feel thankful for the good times they’ve been able to share
How does the track and video fit with the themes of your 100 Dances album?
Samrai: Shout to Shanique and Gavsborg as the track is so positive and upful, which really fit the sound and celebratory aesthetic that the project wanted to achieve. It was also the last track completed.
The video fits with the theme of the album being about the community and memories of our dances, with a lot of the collaborators being close with us personally or in location. This video feels like an extension of this, with appearances from friends, family, peers and regulars, as well as artists who featured on the project.
Hopefully it helps people to feel thankful for the good times they’ve been able to share. It definitely makes me smile every time I watch it!
