Doomed Confessionary: Panu Willman & Hilja Vedenpää (Swarm)
Photo credits: Hilja Vedenpää
Swarming from under the watching eyes of two gentle giants, Swarm is a fuzz rock/doomgaze band based in Lahti and Helsinki, Finland.
Swarm was formed in 2020 and features current and former members of Dark Filth Fraternity, The Duster, Before The Dawn, Entwine and Musta Risti. The band’s sound world is a fresh mix of fuzz rock, shoegaze, grunge and classic rock with a touch of doom.
The band’s debut EP (2022) was followed by a two-track single »Sun Is The One / Weight« (2023) and the first full-length album »Air«, which was released on January 16th, 2026 via 918 Records.
Swarm are Hilja Vedenpää (vocals), Panu Willman (guitar, vocals), Dani Paajanen (drums), Einari Toiviainen (guitar, vocals), and Leo Lehtonen (bass, synth).
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Swarm is a five-piece band which sounds beautifully heavy, soulful, airy, gritty and true to it’s grounds. Which are many.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Like all bands, the work to make it work. But it hasn’t felt like work. It is all pure fun and enjoyment of the music and each others presence.
What can you be most proud of so far?
That we sound like us, no other. And also proud of the music that has been created.
What was your biggest regret?
No regrets basically.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Panu: Hard to say, we always seem to reach the right kind of mood that we throw at the audience with.
Hilja: I’m with Panu in this. Maybe I’m a bit dull to say this but I also like to think that the next show is always the best one.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Panu: No surprises, veeery hard work. Maybe the networking, not always so easy.
Hilja: No surprises really. Best thing is to get to know new wonderful people.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Panu: Deftones – »Diamond Eyes«, Jon Hassell – »Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street«, BBC Radio 6 music.
Hilja: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – »Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus«, Tom Petty – »Full Moon Feaver«, Fleetwood Mac – »Rumours«.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Panu: Balance. In general.
Hilja: Do my own thing and trust what I’m doing. No one else sounds just like me.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Panu: I feel guilty about enjoying potato chips more than occasionally so that’s it. A bit boring confession.
Hilja: Not a guilty pleasure really, but a cup of good coffee takes me a long way.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Lahti / Helsinki?
Panu: I live in Helsinki which is the capital and the biggest city in Finland so there’s always quite a lot of things going on. I think.
Hilja: I live in Lahti and the underground music scene here is doing live and well. New bands are forming all the time and what makes me very happy is to notice that the young people are back into real musical instruments and forming fresh new bands.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Swarm is going on a mini-tour to Sweden next week, we play in Encore, Stockholm on 3rd of September, Kafe De Luxe, Växjö on 4th of September and in Bomber Bar, Motala on 5th of September. Then we have a couple of shows in Finland. On September 18th we play in Finlandiaklubi, Lahti and on 15th of October in Semifinal, Helsinki. That’s it for this year. Which has been good to us gig-wise.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Take the band to the next level, musically and in general.
How can people best support your band?
We’ve had such a wonderful trip so far, people have showed up to our gigs and taken a liking of what we do. We hope people come to our shows, experience us live, listen to our music and spread the word to friends. Buy our vinyl.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you for lending lending your ear, it does mean so so much to us.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well