Barry Can't Swim Is Set To Curate His Own 'Late Night Tales' Mix Kicking Off The Series' 25th Anniversary

Barry Can’t Swim marks the return of one of music’s most trusted listening series, as Late Night Tales comes back after five years to launch its 25th anniversary. For the first mix of this new chapter, the series hands the keys to Barry Can’t Swim, an artist whose rise has been loud, fast and public, but whose listening habits tell a quieter story.

Out on 27th February 2026, the compilation isn’t built for peak moments. It’s designed for the hours after. The ones where movement slows, conversations thin out and music stops trying to impress. That makes Barry a fitting curator, not because of where he is right now, but because of how carefully he handles mood.

Across 20 tracks, Barry Can’t Swim's 'Late Night Tales' moves patiently through house, ambient, leftfield pop and experimental corners. Nothing is rushed. Tracks are allowed to stretch, drift and settle. The sequencing does the heavy lifting, turning a wide range of sounds into something that feels coherent without smoothing out the edges.

True to Late Night Tales tradition, the mix includes exclusive material. Barry reworks Felt’s 1986 track “Ferdinand Magellan” and delivers an edit of Superpitcher’s “Yves”, nodding to the series’ long-standing focus on reinterpretation. His own unreleased music appears too, including “Sometimes I Feel So Alone”, written during sessions for his debut album but held back until now. The new single, “Chala (My Soul Is On A Loop)”, sits naturally within the flow rather than pulling focus.

The closing moment belongs to spoken word from Seamus, a longtime collaborator whose voice also appears on 'Loner.' It’s a soft landing, reflective and personal, reinforcing what Late Night Tales has always done best, giving artists space to show how they listen, not just how they perform.

This mix lands at an interesting moment for Barry. Over the past two years, he’s released two albums, seen his debut shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize, taken Loner into the UK Top 10 and moved from clubs to headline festival stages at pace. Barry Can’t Swim's 'Late Night Tales' feels like a pause inside that momentum, a reminder that taste and patience still matter.

For Late Night Tales, the mix signals a return built on trust rather than nostalgia. For Barry, it’s a chance to step sideways and share the music that exists beyond the spotlight. Together, they open the series’ next chapter with intention, control and a clear sense of why this format still works.