# Barry Can't Swim
**Barry Can't Swim** is the stage name of Joshua Mainnie, an Edinburgh-born, London-based Scottish electronic producer and DJ known for house music shaped by jazz piano, breakbeats, and sampled vocals. His 2023 debut album *When Will We Land?* was shortlisted for the [Mercury Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercury-prize), and his second album *Loner* followed in 2025, both on the label [Ninja Tune](https://www.edgepedia.org/ninja-tune).[1](https://www.eventworld.com/barry-cant-swim-tickets/performer/24121) • [2](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name / origin | Joshua Mainnie, born in Edinburgh and based in London[3](https://ninjatune.net/release/barry-cant-swim/like-the-old-days) |
| Stage name | Comes from a friend named Barry, who happens not to know how to swim[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/) |
| Debut album | *When Will We Land?*, released October 2023 on Ninja Tune; shortlisted for the 2024 Mercury Music Prize[2](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim) |
| Other honors | BRIT Awards 2024 Dance Act nomination; top 3 in the BBC Sound of 2025 list[2](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim) |
| Second album | *Loner*, released 11 July 2025 on Ninja Tune[2](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim) |
| Signature tracks | "How It Feels" (68.6 million Spotify streams as of May 2025), "Sunsleeper", "Kimbara", "Still Riding"[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/) • [1](https://www.eventworld.com/barry-cant-swim-tickets/performer/24121) |
| Recent move | Single "Return To Bhibo", released 2 June 2026 as the first release in a partnership with Atlantic Records[5](https://www.recordoftheday.com/news-and-press/barry-cant-swim-today-releases-new-single-return-to-bhibo-via-atlantic-records) |
## Early life and the name
Mainnie grew up in Edinburgh and did not come from a musical family; his first instrument was a harmonica given by his grandfather, a gift that recurred because the instrument kept going "missing", which he later attributed to his mother's annoyance at the noise.[6](https://mixmag.net/feature/barry-cant-swim-interview-ninja-tune-album) His grandfather later bought him his first piano when he was 9 years old, and as a teenager he played in indie and rock bands and worked in jazz clubs in Edinburgh.[3](https://ninjatune.net/release/barry-cant-swim/like-the-old-days)
He studied popular music at [Edinburgh Napier University](https://www.edgepedia.org/edinburgh-napier-university), becoming the first in his family to attend university, and discovered electronic music during his studies while frequenting the clubs of Edinburgh's Cowgate area, particularly [Sneaky Pete](https://www.edgepedia.org/sneaky-pete)'s and The Bongo Club.[6](https://mixmag.net/feature/barry-cant-swim-interview-ninja-tune-album) • [7](https://list.co.uk/news/barry-cant-swim-on-club-culture-i-think-people-are-really-there-to-experience-something-together-46797) After university he worked at a meat and fish market and tended bar before an internship at a Glasgow record label led to a move to London.[6](https://mixmag.net/feature/barry-cant-swim-interview-ninja-tune-album)
The stage name refers to a friend named Barry who cannot swim.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/)
## Career beginnings
Mainnie began releasing music as Barry Can't Swim in 2019, with a stream of singles that drew attention for their melodic, dance-driven style.[8](https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/tn-159-barry-cant-swim/id1249834293?i=1000717251404) His manager, Oran Barton of Attention Management, found him in 2019 through [SoundCloud](https://www.edgepedia.org/soundcloud), where the track "Because I Wanted You To Know" had only a few hundred plays; it became his first official single in early 2020.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/)
His first EP, *Amor Fati*, came out in 2021 and showcased the emotionally resonant, jazz-infused house style that won him a signing to Ninja Tune, first for a follow-up EP on the sub-label Technicolour and then for the main label.[6](https://mixmag.net/feature/barry-cant-swim-interview-ninja-tune-album) His touring career began when London venues reopened after the pandemic, initially with DJ sets; the live band show came later, once his team judged the demand sufficient.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/)
## When Will We Land? and the breakthrough
*When Will We Land?* was released on 20 October 2023 on Ninja Tune and reached a top 5 placing in the midweek UK albums chart, a rare result for an independent electronic artist.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/) • [6](https://mixmag.net/feature/barry-cant-swim-interview-ninja-tune-album) The album earned a shortlist place for the 2024 Mercury Music Prize alongside [English Teacher](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-teacher), Charli XCX, Beth Gibbons, Ghetts, and [The Last Dinner Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-last-dinner-party), a BRIT Awards 2024 nomination in the Dance Act category, a Scottish Album of the Year Award shortlisting, and a top 3 position in the BBC Sound of 2025 list.[2](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim) He also won [BBC Radio 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-1)'s Dance Award for Best Album and DJ Mag's "Breakthrough Producer" award.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/)
The album is built almost entirely from plugins and samples rather than recorded instruments. Mainnie has described his piano sound as an accidental signature: he often keeps the initial take because it fits, layering textures such as tape hiss and vinyl crackle to make the tracks sound more human.[9](https://musictech.com/features/interviews/barry-cant-swim-interview-when-will-we-land-album/) He is open about relying on synth presets, saying in a 2025 interview that "if it sounds good, it sounds good".[10](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/no-ones-listening-to-a-song-going-i-used-to-like-this-but-he-didnt-make-that-sound-and-if-they-do-those-arent-the-people-you-want-to-be-serving-anyway-barry-cant-swim-has-no-time-for-people-who-have-an-issue-with-artists-using-synth-presets)
## The live band and touring
Mainnie set out from the start to perform with a full live band, and by his 2025 tour the lineup was a six-piece group: a drummer (Cameron Easton), a keyboardist (Hannah Jacobs), and three violinists and a cello (Bolt Strings).[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/) He debuted the band at Coachella in 2024 and at San Francisco's Portola festival the same year, and played [Glastonbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/glastonbury) in 2024, where his set drew the biggest turnout ever recorded on the festival's Park Stage.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/) • [11](https://assets.wonderlandmagazine.com/?p=274717)
His commercial growth was rapid. His first reported box-office date, at the 150-capacity Headrow House in Leeds in May 2022, grossed $2,131; by February 2025 he was selling out 2,000-capacity rooms, grossing $45,164 at Liberty Hall in Sydney.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/) In 2025 he headlined London's All Points East in Victoria Park on 22 August, Forwards Festival in Bristol the next day, and played a Depot Mayfield show in Manchester that November; a year earlier he had played three nights at the O2 Academy Brixton.[12](https://uktour2027.com/artists/barry-can-t-swim/)
## Loner and later releases
*Loner*, his second album, was released on 11 July 2025 on Ninja Tune. Mainnie described it as a more personal record than the debut: "If my first album was a collage of all the music I loved and was inspired by growing up, then this album is the most authentic expression I could offer of myself and my life over the past year."[2](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim) Its tracks include the [Kali Uchis](https://www.edgepedia.org/kali-uchis)-sampled "Still Riding", which samples her 2015 single "Ridin Round" and had 12.4 million Spotify streams by May 2025, the opening track "The Person You'd Like To Be", and "Different", a club single with a heavy bassline that marked a darker turn from the warm tones of the debut.[4](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/) • [2](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim) • [7](https://list.co.uk/news/barry-cant-swim-on-club-culture-i-think-people-are-really-there-to-experience-something-together-46797)
In early 2026 he was nominated for Breakthrough Artist at the [Brit Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/brit-awards), and he contributed the first installment in five years to the *Late Night Tales* mix series as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations.[12](https://uktour2027.com/artists/barry-can-t-swim/) • [5](https://www.recordoftheday.com/news-and-press/barry-cant-swim-today-releases-new-single-return-to-bhibo-via-atlantic-records) On 2 June 2026 he released the single "Return To Bhibo", his first new music of that year and the first release in a new partnership with [Atlantic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-records).[5](https://www.recordoftheday.com/news-and-press/barry-cant-swim-today-releases-new-single-return-to-bhibo-via-atlantic-records)
## Curating and work beyond records
Beyond his own releases, Mainnie has built a curating profile. He runs the imprint Earth's Only Paradise, which has championed emerging artists including O'Flynn, SHEE, and Sam Alfred, and he has curated events for Manchester's Warehouse Project.[5](https://www.recordoftheday.com/news-and-press/barry-cant-swim-today-releases-new-single-return-to-bhibo-via-atlantic-records) His reach has extended into sport and fashion through a collaboration with the Scotland men's national football team and [Adidas Originals](https://www.edgepedia.org/adidas-originals), for which his track "Deadbeat Gospel" was chosen as the soundtrack of the squad's [FIFA World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-world-cup) 2026 announcement film, narrated by [Ewan McGregor](https://www.edgepedia.org/ewan-mcgregor).[5](https://www.recordoftheday.com/news-and-press/barry-cant-swim-today-releases-new-single-return-to-bhibo-via-atlantic-records)
## References
1. [Barry Can't Swim Tickets & 2026–2027 Tour Dates, Eventworld](https://www.eventworld.com/barry-cant-swim-tickets/performer/24121)
2. [Barry Can't Swim, artist page, Ninja Tune](https://ninjatune.net/artist/barry-cant-swim)
3. [Like The Old Days, release page, Ninja Tune](https://ninjatune.net/release/barry-cant-swim/like-the-old-days)
4. [A Rising Tide: Barry Can't Swim, Can Conquer Touring, Pollstar (1 May 2025)](https://news.pollstar.com/2025/05/01/a-rising-tide-barry-cant-swim-can-conquer-touring-cover/)
5. [Barry Can't Swim today releases new single 'Return To Bhibo' via Atlantic Records, Record of the Day (2 June 2026)](https://www.recordoftheday.com/news-and-press/barry-cant-swim-today-releases-new-single-return-to-bhibo-via-atlantic-records)
6. [Embracing emotional vulnerability is powering Barry Can't Swim's success, Mixmag (26 October 2023)](https://mixmag.net/feature/barry-cant-swim-interview-ninja-tune-album)
7. [Barry Can't Swim on club culture, The List (1 July 2025)](https://list.co.uk/news/barry-cant-swim-on-club-culture-i-think-people-are-really-there-to-experience-something-together-46797)
8. [TN:159 Barry Can't Swim, Tape Notes, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/tn-159-barry-cant-swim/id1249834293?i=1000717251404)
9. [Barry Can't Swim interview, MusicTech](https://musictech.com/features/interviews/barry-cant-swim-interview-when-will-we-land-album/)
10. [Barry Can't Swim on synth presets, MusicRadar (16 July 2025)](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/no-ones-listening-to-a-song-going-i-used-to-like-this-but-he-didnt-make-that-sound-and-if-they-do-those-arent-the-people-you-want-to-be-serving-anyway-barry-cant-swim-has-no-time-for-people-who-have-an-issue-with-artists-using-synth-presets)
11. [Barry Can't Swim talks the summer of 2024, Wonderland](https://assets.wonderlandmagazine.com/?p=274717)
12. [Barry Can't Swim UK Tour 2027 status page](https://uktour2027.com/artists/barry-can-t-swim/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Electronic dance music (EDM) and rave culture › Artists, groups, and people: Electronic dance music (EDM) and rave culture › House music artists › Global house scene (2010s–present) › European and North American house artists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license