One question we always get, specially when we play for younger crowds is, “Why on earth do you call yourselves SVIN? And why do you play so loud and weird?” Honestly, it’s pretty funny during our concerts to hear everyone shout “SVIN!” together—especially since in Danish, “svin” means pig and is also used as a swear word.

But there’s actually a story behind the name. It all started as a silly game between us: we’d stare each other down, saying “svin” with the straightest face we could manage, and the first one who laughed would lose. Simple as that.

On a slightly more serious note, we also chose SVIN because it’s totally unpretentious in a music scene—especially jazz—that can sometimes feel pretty uptight and inaccessible. Instead of calling ourselves something fancy like the Henrik Thomas Lars Trio (no offence to trios with these kind of names), picking a deliberately ridiculous name like SVIN makes things feel lighter. People instantly let their guard down.

We strongly believe that a bit of humor and self-irony can open doors. Maybe, just maybe, being called something as silly as SVIN helps make our weird, loud, avant-garde music just a bit more approachable.

So, now you know. Next time we see you live, shout it loud: SVIN! 🐷