We recently had the chance to connect with Swiss and have shared our conversation below.
Swiss, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I feel like right now I’m wandering a path. There’s so much linearity and structure in my life while also having everything seem so… three dimensional. I never like to sit on one thing or project for too long hence the wandering. However, there are times where I do walk a specific path to follow through a certain goal. Recently those goals have been graduating college (which I did) and furthering my artistic expertise (which I’m doing).
Both of these goals require (in my eyes) walking and wandering a path if that makes sense. I feel like you shouldn’t limit yourself to anything whether it be a goal, path, food, anything. This applies to your journey. Treat it as that; a journey. You never know what things you’re going to find or the people you are going to meet, but that’s the point. This falls more in line with wandering a path. You should wander as curiosity breeds inspiration.
There were some moments in life where I walked a path for sure, but my nature is one rooted in curiosity. So I’m always wandering around and trying to find something new to get into.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
First and foremost I would like to thank y’all (VoyageHouston) for giving me this opportunity again. My name is Daniel, but I go by Swiss. When I was 15 I started making beats which then blossomed into a plethora of different artistic endeavors, many of which I never pictured for myself but I love none the less. Y’all covered me in 2019 when I just started making music as an artist and not a producer & I have to say time flies. I’ve advanced to graphic design during that time and acquired a college degree! Also since then I have been on numerous radio stations most recent being in LA. A lot has changed since then and I’m more than excited to share this with y’all. I’ve been working on a lot of things. A ‘Renaissance Man’ if you will. I’ve kinda grown into this jack of all trades type of guy, I think a lot bigger these days and my goals reach past the stars. “If you can think it you can do it” has been my motto for the past couple years now, it’s something I live by at this point. Life has been fun a very fulfilling the past couple of years. God has been good.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I used to think that life only had one path. I can’t really explain it but I have a stubborn nature that needs things to be done a certain type of way. But that’s just not how life works. There’s no easy answer or simple solution to the things we experience. When I was younger I used to think ‘problem = solution” when in reality you simply just have to slow everything down around you and make sense of it all. My pops used to tell me when I was a kid “Work the problem don’t let it work you.” whenever I would get stressed or something of that nature and now I also live by this. Nothing in life is linear, we are always changing and evolving as humans as the world evolves around us at the same time. That concept alone means that things are forever changing and so should you. I don’t mean it in the literal sense. Just in the sense of flowing with life, knowing when you have to walk a straight line or when it’s time to explore. Be adaptable.
Some advice I would give to my younger self is would be to start even earlier when it comes to what you love. My only regret thus far is that I didn’t start earlier (and I started creating pretty early on). The earlier you start your journey the higher your ceiling will be when it’s all said and done.
A lot of the things that influenced me as a kid involved music, movies and gaming. I was always listening to Missy Elliot on the way to school while playing my GameBoy or watching the first Spiderman film for the tenth time. All while waiting to go home just to play Super Mario Sunshine on my Gamecube. These early influences without a doubt have molded a lot of things that I am artistically enhanced at today. It’s akin to how Stephen Curry had a ball in his hands right when he learned how to walk. His ceiling is almost infinite due to how early of a start he got (and the face that his dad was a great NBA player). I am extremely grateful for the childhood my parents gave me.
My pops made sure I knew what good music sounded like and who the cool super heroes were. Fantastic Four, Xmen and the Justice League were huge parts of my childhood that I’m glad I grew up with. Stan Lee is one of my biggest inspirations. Rest in peace to a legendary person.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes. In fact I did at one point briefly involving college and music at the time. It was when covid first started to affect the world. That time period really stifled my ability to go to college and do other things so I took a break. During this time I learned to engineer music and song write. Understanding song structure was instrumental in my progression with being a full scope artist. This new found inspiration earned me a spot on a radio station in Paris (Rince FM) & Los Angeles (Power106LA) as mentioned earlier. In retrospect, that isolation was a blessing in disguise because it also helped me adopt a new mind set. One that allowed me to think bigger than I ever had at the time. This mindset is was what led me to dip my feet in other forms of artistry completely. Other forms of art that I would have never considered which is where graphic design comes into play. I love how far my journey with 3D has come because it started out as plain curiosity, not this grandiose ambition be the best at something. Now it’s blossomed into a lucrative skill that has sparked more “curiosity”.
Sounds cliche but don’t give up, seriously. The more you keep chipping away at a goal the closer you will get to achieving said goal. I’m really glad I didn’t give up especially when it came to college. The thing is it’s so easy to give up & that’s where people fall. If you give up you’re admitting defeat to yourself, at least let it be at the hands of something that earned your defeat you know? You should never just sit down and admit defeat. In that very same breathe everybody does fight different battles; any battle can be overcome though.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I really like this question because I’ve been diving into new artistry in recent time. The biggest of such being graphic design and sound design. To answer the question more narrowly, the project(s) I’m committed to are a culmination of everything I’ve learned over the years. The first being an indie game developed by me and a few close friends. This project is far from being realized but the ground work has definitely been laid. The second project being a full length studio album mostly produced by me. A lot 0f ground work has also begun for this too, in fact I have an EP ready for rollout. I recently just got a degree in marketing so I’ve been trying to find ways to string together everything I’ve learned in regards to being an artist/creator. Graphic design for me started with simple model making of very easy object to make. Things like buildings and donuts. Soon after I started making fully rendered cutscenes of low poly spaceships movie in space like terrain which then triggered the idea of an indie game. This project is a life project as I still have to learn a bit of coding but that’s what it’s all about.
One of the first few seeds that sparked and grew into the musical savant that is today was ‘The Class of 3000’. Andre 3000 had a show and more importantly a game on CNs website at the time that allowed you to make beats on the website. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was one of the most influential things to ever happen to me. I spent hours at the tiny age of 5 just making beats and messing with the sounds on that game I’ll never forget it. When I first started making beats I remember how easy it felt; I would have to attribute that to ‘The Class of 3000’. Thanks 3 Stacks!
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Yes plenty of times. Most times when it comes to creation but also very recently involving school. Both instances involved the same feeling which is probably why I was able to succeed in both areas. Simply put, when I accomplish something I immediately want to do it again and bigger. I always want to learn, I always want to progress, and I always want to keep moving forward. This mind frame has gotten me extremely far in life. After I graduated college I found myself still wanting more, wanting to continue to learn. So now I’m seeking that in a masters degree. To be honest I will probably always be this way, but that’s okay with me. You should never be satisfied even if whatever you finished in your eyes is perfect because a harsh truth is that there is always somebody better than you out there. To be satisfied is to be complacent and lazy.
The shift from producer to full time artist was also a direct result of me “not being satisfied”. I knew when I started making beats that I would want to some day become an artist, I just never knew how to go about making that jump. The urge to do more grew and eventually it just started doing. My method of learning things creatively has always been very straight forward. I throw myself in the ocean and force myself to learn. The beginning phases of this type of learning is usually really difficult but after you get over that hump its game over. That same hump translated over from music to graphic design and it’s something I’ll always continue to implement within my process.
They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well this may sound crazy but that is essentially what I do in regards to the process. When I step into a new field I keep doing something over and over and over again until it makes sense. Eventually it always makes sense, but that’s my way of learning. We all have a way to learn something, it’s just up to you to figure out what that specific way is.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: yungbabyswiss
- Twitter: yungbabyswiss
- Soundcloud: ybabyswissxxx
Image Credits
@selfdemise (across all platforms)
