Niiko x SWAE Drop Full ‘Field Trip’ EP on Armada Music [Interview]

Today marks an incredibly special day for DJ/Production duo Niiko x SWAE. These guys have been on an amazing roll with new music releases, and today release the final piece to their Field Trip EP. “Together Again” is the last single to complete the four-track EP, and follows previous releases “I Ain’t Going Home” alongside April Bender, “Glue” with Zack Martino and Kyle Reynolds, and “Better People” with Max Embers. 

For everyone who caught a taste of these three previous singles, “Together Again” will feel like the final missing puzzle piece this EP needed. Chock full of upbeat rhythms and positive vibes, “Together Again” is a brand-new original from Niiko x SWAE that perfectly defines not only their current musical genius, but the future of their everlasting creativity. It’s songs like “Together Again” that the world truly needed after a tough year. Painting a lovely picture of being together and feeling happy, this record is a slam dunk for summer playlists this year. 

Field Trip as a whole tells the wonderful chronicles of Niiko x SWAE around the first time they met. Each of these four songs mesh into a playful and nostalgic story of being care-free, and going through the years of their 20-year strong friendship. Together they’ve taken on a cherished and charismatic career in music, and Field Trip is still just the beginning for a longstanding and grandiose chapter ahead. 

We had the chance to speak with the guys about Field Trip, more music, and summer plans in our interview below – read on to see what they had to say about it all. 

Nocturnal Times: Hey guys! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us. It’s been a while since we’ve last spoken. How was the past year personally for both of you?

Niiko x SWAE: It has definitely had its ups and downs! The worst part was no shows but honestly quarantine gave us the time we needed to focus on both our music and content too. We feel like we made some of our best tunes yet and really strengthened our brand with all the time we had at home.

Nocturnal Times: Congratulations on your new Field Trip EP! There’s four singles on the EP, which one came about first and was it produced with the intention of then creating an EP? Or was it a standalone song at first?

Niiko x SWAE: All were intended originally as stand alone songs but once the four were finished and signed to Armada, we kinda realized they had tons of similarities and Armada agreed to release them under the Field Trip EP! ‘I Aint Going Home’ was produced first, followed by ‘Glue’, then ‘Better People’ and last ‘Together Again’. The funny thing is after typing that out just now I realized they were coincidentally released in the order they were produced, which is kinda cool.

Nocturnal Times: Talk to us about the whole vibe of Field Trip. Why this name and what sort of musical atmosphere are you hoping catches on to listeners?

Niiko x SWAE: A Field Trip is an excursion with a group of people to a new environment and we wanted to take our fans on that journey with us. We want you to feel like you are back in your younger years and making experiences that will impact you for the rest of your life. All the songs are heavily influenced off our elementary and high school days and the memories we made then. In terms of atmosphere, it is a very playful and fun vibe!

Nocturnal Times: Which song, if any, holds particular significance to each of you? Why?

Niiko x SWAE: We both love the message of Together Again especially after everything the world has been through the past year and half. We also are extremely proud of each song though, especially ‘I Aint Going Home’ which is having insane success on the radio!

Nocturnal Times: “Together Again” is the last track to be released from Field Trip, can you walk us through the production of this one? 

Niiko x SWAE: We produced this one in the fall of 2019, coincidentally again right before the pandemic hit the world. When we created it, we didn’t realize that thematically it was perfect for what we went through last year. Throughout quarantine we worked on Together Again to make it an absolute vibe and a perfect track for summer / to end our EP with. 

Nocturnal Times: We know this can be a silly question, but can’t help but ask it sometimes! Do you have a favorite off the EP, if so why that one??

Niiko x SWAE: So the cool thing about this EP is that all of the collaborators, writers, engineers, and co producers who helped us with these songs are friends of ours. This made each song super fun to work on and also a unique experience. It’s really hard to choose one favorite because each song is so different yet similar in it’s own way.

Nocturnal Times: What can you share with us about any other summer music plans or projects in the works?

Niiko x SWAE: The amount of unreleased music and ID’s we have should be illegal. We are beyond excited to drop some songs that we collaborated on with artists we’ve looked up to since the beginning!

Nocturnal Times: With touring picking back up, where are a few cities or venues you’d like to get to first?

Niiko x SWAE: Las Vegas (Wet Republic/ Hakkasan/ Omnia), Miami (Liv especially), Omnia San Diego, and anywhere else that wants to have a good time!