Ember Swift

Who is Ember Swift?

Ember Swift is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been writing songs since she was nine years old and performing since she was ten. In 1996, she released her first self-titled album.

After graduation from the University of Toronto with a degree in East Asian Studies in 1998, Swift and regular band member Lyndell Montgomery began touring North America, Australia and later, New Caledonia. These live shows featured the additional talents of Toronto-based percussionist and drummer Cheryl Reid as of 1998. Later, the duo began working with Michelle Josef and finally, Adam Bowman on drums and percussion. Cheryl Reid continued to work with Ember and Lyndell until 2008, but as a more part-time player. She has continued to work with Ember directly since 2008 until the present.

In 2008, Ember Swift and Lyndell Montgomery, went their separate ways and ceased their working relationship. Ember Swift had always dreamed of going to China. She had visited in 2007 and had fallen in love with the country and culture there. In 2008, she moved to Beijing and continues to live and work part-time in Beijing, China and Toronto, Canada. In Beijing, she assembled a new band consisting of Zac Courtney of Australia on drums, Paplus Ntahombaye of Burundi on bass, and China's Wang Ya Qi 王雅琪 on the traditional Chinese instrument: the erhu. All of the members are long-time residents of Beijing. Tours now include many stops throughout in Asia.