Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
$9AUD or more
T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital Album
ltd run of 20 one-off, not to be repeated, album-specific shirts featuring swanbird logo and cartoon figure art by billie larsen on breast and 'swanbird III: cygnus atratus' design on back
lovingly hand-printed on AS Colour tees by SICKNASTY
while much has been done to accurately portray the colour(s) of the items as closely as possible to real life, the attached photos may not be perfectly representative of the exact tones you receive.
some minor printing 'ghosts' may also be present. these are a natural bi-product of hand screen-printing apparel on mass. every item was produced manually, without a single perfectly automated machine transfer in sight.
currently available only within Australia because of egregious international postage costs, although if you're across an ocean and desperately want one flick me an email at swanbird.the.rapper@gmail.com and we'll sort something out
Includes unlimited streaming of swanbird III: cygnus atratus
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
ships out within 14 days
edition of 20
$35AUDor more
Sweater/Hoodie
mid-weight crewneck featuring swanbird logo and cartoon figure art by billie larsen filling the front and tasteless "honk honk bitch" slogan down the back
lovingly hand-printed on AS Colour sweaters by SICKNASTY
while much has been done to accurately portray the colour(s) of the items as closely as possible to real life, the attached photos may not be perfectly representative of the exact tones you receive.
some minor printing 'ghosts' may also be present. these are a natural bi-product of hand screen-printing apparel on mass. every item was produced manually, without a single perfectly automated machine transfer in sight.
currently available only within Australia because of egregious international postage costs, although if you're across an ocean and desperately want one flick me an email at swanbird.the.rapper@gmail.com and we'll sort something out
...more
ships out within 14 days
$50AUDor more
T-Shirt/Shirt
baby pink shirts featuring swanbird logo on breast and cartoon figure art by billie larsen on back
lovingly hand-printed on AS Colour tees by SICKNASTY
while much has been done to accurately portray the colour(s) of the items as closely as possible to real life, the attached photos may not be perfectly representative of the exact tones you receive.
some minor printing 'ghosts' may also be present. these are a natural bi-product of hand screen-printing apparel on mass. every item was produced manually, without a single perfectly automated machine transfer in sight.
currently available only within Australia because of egregious international postage costs, although if you're across an ocean and desperately want one flick me an email at swanbird.the.rapper@gmail.com and we'll sort something out
...more
cygnus atratus, a taxonomic species within the family anatidae, more commonly known as the black swan, is a variety of bird native to australia, found predominantly in the southern regions of the country
~~~
the tale of the ugly duckling has become important to me
this lil baby creature grows up amongst all the ducklings, not knowing why or how it's different, except that it's constantly harassed for looking, acting and sounding wrong and is a certified misfit
the ugly duckling becomes a pariah amongst it's only social groups, outcasted, bullied and thrown away like trash
one day though, when all the lil ducklings are growing into their own, it becomes apparent that the ugly one is much bigger than them all and comes to flourish into a swan, a thing of beauty in it's own right
it wasn't that the ugly duckling was actually broken, it's everyone else that had the ugly duckling fucked up that was the problem
the swan that came of it all was perfectly gorgeous by its own merit when not levelled against a horde of antagonistic peers and, when it came to outgrow its awkward youth and entered adulthood, became a beast of sublime magnificence in the face of all the ducks
~~~
in the 16th century, a common phrase used to describe the impossible was to characterise something as "a rare bird in the lands and very much like a black swan" (from the latin - "rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno")
at that point in time, all known historical records of swans indicated they had white feathers and, thus, a black swan was impossible or, at the very least, non-existent
in 1697, however, dutch explorers found themselves in australia and were the first europeans to lay witness to black swans
and so, the perceived impossibility became disproven, with rather dramatic ramifications for science at the time
~~~
nassim nicholas taleb, coined the 'black swan theory' in 2007, which describes an event that functions as follows, in his own words:
"first, it is an outlier, as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility
second, it carries an extreme 'impact'
third, in spite of its outlier status, human nature makes us concoct explanations for its occurrence after the fact, making it explainable and predictable
i stop and summarize the triplet: rarity, extreme 'impact', and retrospective (though not prospective) predictability
a small number of black swans explains almost everything in our world, from the success of ideas and religions, to the dynamics of historical events, to elements of our own personal lives"
~~~
how's the impossibility of growing up a lil duckling, only to find you grow into a swan?
that kinda upheaval has a huge impact on everything you thought you knew and how others knew you too
but in retrospect, maybe it was all too obvious, for you were never really one of the ducks at all and they made sure of it
all the signs were there in an impossible circumstance
now look at the beautiful black swan you've become
xx
credits
released April 7, 2023
lyrics and their performance, beats and production by swanbird
additional lyrics and their performance on 'laid bare the wack flow masters' by Lil Meatus
additional lyrics and their performance on 'terminally swanline' by CRIIMES
additional lyrics and their performance on 'headcan(n)on' by Realname
shouts out Lil Meatus, CRIIMES and Realname who killed their verses on swanbird III, thanks for your words and being a part of the album
shouts out my mum for always giving my tunes a spin even when they're confronting or she don't fucks with the genre and style
biggest shouts out to louie for being the most special and supportive person to ever enter my life and who always remembers my lyrics better than i do, much to my joy and, at times, frustration
i love you forever
look, i'm gonna fangirl here a little. too birds are the best rap group in melbourne, and australia at large. don't stop at 'melbourne 2' - listen to everything they drop. ever.
groundbreaking shit. swanbird
for those of you with eclectic tastes, this is my other personal solo project. funeral noise - ie. droning black metal and organ motifs interspersed with harsh noise wall and brutal industrial feels. swanbird