Stephen Releases Experimental New Track, “Tracer”

LA indie-electronic artist Stephen (aka Stephen Swartz) has released his new single “TRACER,” today. The track is the second revealed from his forthcoming album Akrasia, following on the heels of “I Never Stay in Love.” The song documents Stephen’s gaming addiction and its residual effects – something he developed to the game Overwatch when he was home sick with Lyme disease in 2016.

“I discovered Overwatch while I was sick with Lyme. At the time there was so much out of my control, and this game was my means of escaping into a world I could control. No matter how bad my symptoms got, I could always flick the game on and lose myself in this competitive fantasy. It became a problem when I started getting better. A year had gone by, I was physically able to get back to my life, but I didn’t want to address how uninspired I was. The game became a compulsive escape from my situation and a means of procrastination.”

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Stephen is a multi instrumentalist producer, singer, and songwriter living in LA. He’s been in the scene for over 5 years now, and it has been quite the ride. In 2015, Stephen released his hit single “Crossfire,” which amassed over 100 million streams. The success of his unique approach is undeniable, and has received praise from TIME, Billboard, Complex, VICE, FADER, KCRW, Independent, and many other notable outlets. Stephen has also had the privilege of sharing the same stage with BØRNS, Torey Lanez, Griz, and other globally acclaimed artists.

Akrasia will be Stephen’s sophomore album – his first album release since he went on a year-long hiatus due to a Lyme disease diagnosis in 2016 after his debut album Sincerely. Sincerely, featuring his hit single ‘Crossfire,’ really put Stephen on the map. This high was followed by his diagnosis. The diagnosis was massive crisis filled with life changing experiences. While living back home in Vienna, Virginia, his sickness put things in perspective and provided him clarity on the path he was headed down. In removing himself from the fast lane of life as an artist in LA, Stephen went through a series of self-reflected moments. He soon attempted to figure out the best way to approach being a creative after success came about early on.

“‘TRACER’ describes my conflict between two parts of myself, the gamer, who enjoys so much being dominant, competitive and escaping into this fantasy world — and my centered, intuitive self who is unfulfilled and handicapped by gaming and wants more out of life.”