Danielle Howle - Swamp Sessions (2020)

In a magical wilderness, The Francis Marion National Forest, sits the solar powered Swamp House, where Danielle Howle made the EP “Swamp Sessions”. This was the first of many albums (from various acts) to be recorded in the Swamp House.

Recording engineer Mitch Webb, of Mantis Records Studios, packed up his studio gear and followed Howle into the wilderness down a long, bumpy road to the house. Webb set up his gear and recorded the first known album on solar power in South Carolina. The sessions were meant to be demos, but once Howle and Webb listened back to the tracks, they decided to release them on CD “as is”.

“Swamp Sessions” is the raw and real of a singer songwriter sitting down with herself, and her guitar. Recorded in late 2007, the hard copy album remained in CD format only, and was never released to streaming platforms until Feb 24, 2020.

Little did Howle know, “Swamp Sessions” would be the beginning of a small, “digital lo-fi” movement centered around The Swamp House gatherings . Howle handpicked groups of artists from many genres, places, and various bands to record with one another in this peacefully energetic setting. Some of the artists had never met until the recording sessions. None of these community recordings have been released.

In 2007, Howle left her hometown of Columbia, SC to live at Awendaw Green and was granted the title of “Artist in Residence” by proprietor and music mogul Eddie White. Awendaw Green hosts a Wednesday night Barn Jam (12 years running under the direction of Eddie white) who also owns The Swamp House. Eddie's vision for the cultivation of a music community extends now beyond Charleston and Awendaw, SC. His work is a testament to his dedication of bringing quality music to South Carolina and the growing arts communities of Charleston and Awendaw. Without Eddie White, there would be no “Swamp Sessions”.