Artist Highlight: Cisco Swank

Black and white keys, a wooden stage floor, and a window overlooking the city. A day in the life of Cisco Swank, one of the most brilliant upcoming music minds, carrying knowledge that predates him by generations and a love for sonics that's rooted in his childhood. Cisco Swank approaches music like a storyteller, turning emotion into sound and memory into melodies.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Cisco Swank is a 25-year-old musician, producer, and vocalist, who was born into music as both of his parents were musicians. Growing up, he was surrounded by music “there was always just music being played or sang or like happening in the house or at church all the time, so that for sure fostered my creativity.” This shaped the musician he would become and helped him build on who he wanted to be from a young age. He learned to play multiple instruments, and this is where he discovered his love for the piano.

photo by ebar.photo

Cisco describes his relation with the piano as “a spiritual connection”. He extended this by describing how piano can express emotion when words can’t as if he is playing the keys of life, “Nothing can capture the harmonic complexities of music quite like it”. Every key he plays conveys more than just a sound but a story and a feeling; he speaks about its reverence and how many of history's greatest musicians credit the piano as the most intimate and powerful instrument. “All the greatest composers in the history of the world played piano. I feel like that says a lot.”, Piano is more than just an instrument to him, but the most essential outlet of expression.

His use of music as an outward expression is refreshing and authentic. His 2023 album, More Better, exudes this with thoughtful tracks like “Still Trying” and “Home,” which explore topics of familiarity, family, love, and resilience. His inspiration comes from his peers and his surroundings, he expressed how much “Growing up in the most important, culturally and artistically, place in the world” impacted him and inspired him to be authentic to himself. He cites 2020 and the pandemic as the most essential time when he used music as an outlet to express himself.

Beyond his solo work, Cisco makes up ⅕ of WHATMORE, a group that has taken the music world by storm in 2025 with their self-titled album WHATMORE. The group dates back all the way to high school and organically formed over the years. Ideas are passed around, and while it can be very “hectic”, it's fluid, chill, and collaborative. Looking ahead, Cisco keeps his vision simple as his goals for next year are “More music, more shows, more everything in 2026”. His focus remains on expansion without losing authenticity, continuing to tell stories through sound while staying rooted in the piano, the city, and the childhood love that started it all.