SWAI is a fresh, eclectic techno project created by two veterans of the Slovenian electronic music scene and respected members of Clockwork Voltage: Shekuza (Miha Šajina) and BeatMyth (Igor Vuk). They bring decades of experience in music production, songwriting, and live performance—both as DJs, solo live acts, and members of bands. Shekuza is a respected figure in the techno scene, known for his work with modular synthesisers and his role in the alternative band Moveknowledgement. BeatMyth has had a long-standing career as a DJ and producer, releasing acclaimed breakbeat albums with MC N’toko, performing live modular synth sets, and working extensively in studio environments—recording, mixing, and mastering records for a wide range of bands and artists.
You both have long-standing careers in various fields of the music scene—from audio engineering and instrument restoration to studio work, DJing and more. Can you talk about your respective paths into music and how you joined forces?
Igor: I come from a completely non-musical family, yet I vividly remember being a child, fascinated by an old double-cassette deck—recording music off the radio, re-recording it, and making my own compilations. Years later, around ’98, I got swept up in drum & bass and became intrigued by DJing. I bought a pair of turntables and started mixing vinyl. It was a long shot, because no one in my town was a drum & bass DJ. It was just me in a basement, trying to figure it out in a pre-YouTube tutorial era, when none of my friends were into DJing. After two years of practice, I played my first gig, and from there a surprisingly solid DJ career took off.
A few years later, my flatmate and I began producing our own music as BeatMyth—at first fat, energetic breakbeat, and later, with MC N’toko on vocals, the project grew into something bigger, eventually giving birth to three full albums. In parallel, I started doing studio work for other bands and producers. I completed SAE, gained a proper technical foundation, and began working both as a studio engineer and live-sound technician.
That’s when Miha and I first crossed paths—I was recording an album for his band Moveknowledgement. Our paths kept intersecting, and by coincidence I got a flat right across the street from where he lived, so we were also neighbours for some time.
Since I’ve always been a technical person with a background in electronics, another hobby naturally became a profession: repairing vintage synths and studio gear. Later I even designed and built a few custom instruments—like an infrared harp and some weird looking MIDI controllers—and a few years ago I was a part of the team that designed and built a Eurorack module called Octosens.
My journey with Miha converged again when he bought a small modular system. I began visiting him from time to time just to jam. About a year later, I assembled a small modular case myself, and we kept playing together without any plan or expectations. After a few years, we realised that our twice-monthly sessions had become more meaningful than many of the “official” projects we were in. So we started recording the sessions, and after a while, we decided to select the strongest moments and shape them into an album.
That’s how our first release as SWAI—V Drevo—came into being.
Miha: When I was just a little boy, I heard my mother playing the piano in her bedroom and was mesmerised by the sound a piece of wood and some mechanics can produce. I was hooked immediately. Soon after, she enrolled me in a local music school, and the journey began. After 12 years of classical piano training, I grew a bit bored with reproducing music written by long-gone composers and wanted to find my own way around making music. In Ljubljana, I met the bass player from the legendary local band Moveknowledgement and finally got the opportunity to create my first pieces of music. The band is still going strong after 20 years and 6 albums, though we lost some members along the way. One band wasn’t enough for my creative appetite, so I formed an electronic trio with live drums and vocals called Evok and explored electronic music in a live band context for a few years. At the same time, I met local stop-motion animation enthusiast Kolja Saksida, who invited me to compose music for his colourful animation creations, and I never stopped working on sound for pictures after that. We’ve come a long way with our production, and this year our animation Tales from the Magic Garden was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, which makes me really proud of the results. After many years of working with sound on a computer, I felt a bit bored again, so around 2018 I bought some Eurorack modules, quit my day job and spent a year recording strange sounds. This material was later released under my Shekuza alias as my first solo album, De Sica. Soon invitations for live performances started pouring in, and my live electronic journey began. In this frenzy of modules and cables, I managed to coax Igor into buying some modules, and soon after he was hooked. That’s how SWAI was born.
Photo: Izak Kermc
Is there anything that surprised you along the way—being on the music scene? What advice would you give yourself if you were starting with music now?
Miha: It surprised me how much dedication and time you have to invest in your musical and sonic skills just to be able to start playing on the local scene. In my case, it took 18 years of learning instruments and working with computers before I got my first non-classical gig. I don’t miss those uptight classical gatherings one bit, I was always so nervous, and people don’t move an inch for the entire hour. My advice to my younger self would be: don’t listen to other people, just follow your instincts and never stop being curious.
Igor: We’ve been part of the music scene for so long that we’ve seen a lot of things change. Many new genres have appeared and disappeared over the years. The party scene has also shifted a lot—from a time when people were deeply into the music and danced all night, to today’s more easy-going atmosphere where people prefer to hang out and have a good time, with the music often taking second place.
If I were starting with music now, the best advice I could give myself would be to find something that truly drives you and just follow that path, without worrying about whether it will be successful. In many cases, with that approach, you eventually end up exactly where you always wanted to be.
In what way is the studio work for other people different from studio work for your own projects? How do you produce your work?
Igor: I’ve always been very selective about the people I work with, and because of that I’ve consistently collaborated with great musicians and worked on music that I genuinely liked and found inspiring. It was always an enjoyable process, even when I had to figure out their way of thinking and create something that would impress them. Most of the time, that work came with clear deadlines, which is quite different from my own productions, where a single track can take years to finish while I try not to overthink it.
Miha: Producing for other people is always a challenge. You have to immerse yourself in their fantasy world and try to understand how to translate their abstract words into sound and emotion. I recently made music for a modern dance production, and in one part of the show, the choreographer envisioned music with no rhythm or melody. I accepted the challenge and, in the end, enjoyed the process, which had seemed daunting at first. I think working with other people makes you think differently, and it’s a great way to break old habits and try something new.
With Igor, it’s very spontaneous and intuitive: we hook up our machines, press record, and play for a few hours, then forget about it for a few months. After that, a more cerebral part of the process kicks in. We listen back, select the good bits, and start shaping the raw material into something bigger and bolder.
Your SWAI album V Drevo features spoken word by Ana Pepelnik. Can you talk about how this collaboration came to life—and what the lyrics are about?
Miha: Ana is my old friend from our student days. We studied comparative literature in the same class and later worked together on the legendary Radio Študent, which is one of Europe’s oldest and strongest non-commercial, alternative radio stations. I worked as a sound technician, and she was a radio announcer. After that, we didn’t see each other for 15 years, but she kept writing poetry and I kept producing sounds. Our paths crossed again in 2024, when we worked together with visual artist Lina Rica for the audio-visual show “Odkruški vedute”, which premiered at Kino Šiška. During the process of working with her, I noticed a smooth synergy between us, we were very quick and decisive, and the tone of her voice provided a beautiful contrast with our abrasive sound palette. Ana wrote the poems in her V drevo collection almost without punctuation and entirely in lowercase, so you have to be especially focused when reading them. I see Ana Pepelnik’s poetry as subtle and deeply expressive. She dedicates her tender feelings to either a woman or a man; she is sick and lonely, yet she wishes for the light to shine.
The Slovenian music scene seems to be thriving—with clubs and festivals focusing on different sides of electronic music. SHAPE+ also has a longstanding member festival, SONICA, in Ljubljana. Can you talk about the scene and your position in it?
Igor: The scene in Ljubljana is quite good, and we have many strong events—great parties, concerts, and festivals. It’s not as big as it was years ago, but we certainly can’t complain. Over the years, Miha ran his own monthly event series where he invited different DJs or producers to perform duet sets with him, and some truly wild collaborations came out of that. I also organised a monthly night called Safari, where the guests were a mix of eclectic bands and DJs.
These days we’re no longer organising our own events, but we get invited to play as SWAI, as well as under our solo projects, Shekuza and BeatMyth. We’re also a part of a large modular synth crew in Ljubljana, called Clockwork Voltage, where we share ideas, play together with other members as Clockwork Voltage orchestra, and slowly but firmly keep pushing the idea that a modular synthesiser is the perfect instrument to fulfil any desire—from atmospheric landscapes to rumbling techno and everything in between.
The Sonica Festival has become a highly respected event—it’s grown steadily over the years, and people have really come to appreciate its musical direction. It may be a bit early to say, but we’re currently in talks about performing there next year.
What has the future in store for you?
Miha: We’re looking forward to playing one of the most forward-thinking festivals in the region, MENT 2026, and releasing new music next year.
Interview Lucia Udvardyova