SWAPMEET
We haven’t grown up yet
Venus O'Broin of Swapmeet performing in Austin, TX. Photo by Pablo Herrera / TMN.
Swapmeet is an Australian band currently building its path through live performance, touring, and a collaborative creative process shaped by years of friendship. We spoke with the group during SXSW 2026 about starting the band in high school, learning through live shows, and growing together while navigating music professionally for the first time.
AUSTIN | Interview and photography by Pablo Herrera
Swapmeet formed in Adelaide, Australia, after the members met through school, local shows, and mutual friends. What began as casual jam sessions eventually developed into a serious project, although the band still speaks about the experience with the same sense of humor and spontaneity that appears throughout the conversation itself.
By the time we met in Austin during SXSW 2026, the group had already spent several years playing together across Australia before becoming the first international artist signed to Los Angeles based label Winspear. Their debut extended play Oxalis arrived in 2024, and their first studio album, Mount Zero, is scheduled for release in July 2026.
Before the interview, I had the chance to watch Swapmeet perform live in Texas. The atmosphere around the set reflected many of the same dynamics that later appeared during the conversation itself. There is movement, looseness, and chemistry between the members, but also a clear sense that the project has been built through constant repetition and time spent together on stage.
“We met in high school, started playing, mucking around a little bit, and now we’re doing the band thing.”
Maxwell Elphick. Photo: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
That long term familiarity appears central to how the group functions creatively and personally. Throughout the conversation, the members repeatedly return to the idea that the band still feels grounded in friendship rather than industry structure or external expectations.
“We haven’t grown up yet,” lead singer Venus O'Broin jokes during the interview. “We act like siblings now because we’ve known each other for so long, which works super well for the band.” adds Maxwell Elphick.
At the same time, Swapmeet openly acknowledges the transition from simply playing together as teenagers to approaching the project professionally over the past two years. Even while discussing labels, touring, and international opportunities, the tone remains direct and surprisingly relaxed.
“It feels like it’s been a week,” they say while reflecting on becoming a professional band.
“We’ve always wanted to take it seriously from the get go.”
That balance between seriousness and informality also shapes the group’s creative process. During the interview, the band explained that the music develops collaboratively through rehearsals and live performance rather than through rigid structures or predefined roles. Joshua Doherty, who plays bass in the band, writes many of the lyrics, while the songs themselves come together organically as the group jams and builds ideas collectively.
“I got to write most of the lyrics that we’re doing... but I can’t sing, unfortunately, so they end up taking up the melodies.”
Joshua Doherty. Photo: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
Live performance itself appears equally important in defining the identity of the band. Rather than rehearsing stage presence intentionally, Swapmeet describes learning naturally through years of constantly playing shows together.
“We don’t really rehearse how we’re going to be on stage,” they explain. “We’re always at live gigs, so I guess that just comes naturally.”
Looking back at older footage of themselves, the band laughs about how chaotic and energetic those earlier performances used to be. Even now, however, there is still a visible sense of spontaneity surrounding the project that feels connected to the way the band originally formed.
“I’ve seen some videos of us younger. We were doing some crazy shit.”
Toward the end of the conversation, swapmeet also spoke about traveling through the United States after SXSW and their hopes of returning again soon. Despite the increasing scale of the project, the dynamic between the members still feels rooted in the same friendships that started the band years earlier in Adelaide.
Our interview with swapmeet is now live, and you can watch it below.
