BEDFORD MALL
July 24, 2020

Written over the course of the Spring 2020 lockdowns and released in July, Swofford’s debut album *Bedford Mall* is an inspired work of experimental synthpop, blending an 80s sonic palate with a conceptual mall theme, daringly blending vaporwave and pop.

STREAM THE ALBUM

“Through the fall of 2019 I began work on a lo-fi EP of Walking-Tempo chillwave tracks. I made two tracks, and then shelved the idea. In November, I discovered a love for Pop Music listening to the likes of Taylor Swift and Kim Petras. In January, I began a similar descent into vaporwave music, synthesized music wearing a corporate jacket, drenched in 1980s nostalgia.”

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

On February 7, I wrote the first song, "Going Up." It was still not apparent to me that I would be making an album, but I had a song that was a musical portmanteau of pop and vaporwave. I explored this grey area of genre and produced more songs, until the Album Concept came to me.

MARCH 22, 2020

As the world as I knew it began to fall apart around me due to the lockdowns, I kept my health by taking regular walks. I walked through the empty shopping center of my town, remembering how full of people it had been just weeks before. Cooped up in my room, I wrote more and more songs. On May 13, 2020, I finished the Demo album. It was 12 tracks long. Only one song, “Mall Cop,“ was cut from the final track list.

JUNE 5, 2020

Now working on recording and producing the album to the best of my ability, I began to turn my eye toward visuals. Shown here is an early version of the Bedford Mall cover. This idea was refined closely until the final version was Finalized on June 12, 2020.

an early version of the cover, with me looking to the left, in the old environment.

the first cover with the new mall build, but with black paper and the old photoshoot.

an alternate, unused version of the cover from July 10, featuring Memphis designs.

BUILDING THE MALL

The Bedford Mall itself is based off of a central spot on the upper level of the Houston Galleria Mall. This photo was a recreation of the album cover done on September 5, 2020.