Written by A colleague mentioned this record to me almost in passing a few weeks ago, and I’m glad I went looking for it, because The Swamp Fox is one of the stranger and more interesting posthumous projects I’ve come across in some time. This isn’t a remix album in the disposable sense. It’s an archival collaboration, and on the whole it works. Now, this one isn’t directly up our normal lane of business — but Tony Joe White was one of those country “swamp blues” enigmas I always had a soft spot for. Being what I’d call “country-curious”, but not quite out of that closet, that’s something I’d never openly admit in polite company.
Tony Joe White died in 2018, but he left behind decades of tape demos and masters in his Louisiana vaults, and it’s from that material — unearthed with the involvement of his son and archivist Jody White — that this record is built. White was always a groove-first writer. Best known for “Polk Salad Annie” and for penning “Rainy Night in Georgia,” his real signature was space: a stripped, humid style that leaned in on blues phrasing, drawl and repetition rather than harmonic density. Now if your looking for repertoire to sample that matters a great deal.
Flying Mojito Bros, the London duo of Ben Chetwood and Jack Sellen, work in what they and their audience call “desert disco” — Balearic pacing, electronic low-end, cosmic country references, built for late-night and festival sets. On paper, setting that against White’s bayou blues sounds like a mismatch. In practice, across nine tracks and around 38 minutes (the deluxe edition adds “Polk Salad Annie” itself), the fit is closer than expected. “Alligator Stomp” and “Swamp Rap” are the clearest evidence: White’s vocal cadence sits over the rebuilt rhythm section as though it always belonged there, rather than being spliced on top of it. “Grounded” is the track where the tension between roots and club culture is most audible, and most rewarding — the bass movement and low-slung pulse Flying Mojito Bros bring don’t erase White’s phrasing, they extend the feel that was already there in his original.
Overall, this is very well done — although, in my opinion, not everything lands with the same conviction. The real risk here isn’t quality, it’s audience: longtime Tony Joe White listeners and purists may simply not be into hearing his voice recontextualized this way, however tastefully it’s done.
But make no mistake, this isn’t some cynical exercise in trading on a dead man’s name for streams. Flying Mojito Bros arrive with real standing in the dance world of their own. Their edits and DJ sets have taken them to Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and Stagecoach, and in 2025 their debut album of original material, Just Passing Through, passed a million streams and picked up praise from KEXP, among others. It respects White’s voice while genuinely repositioning it, and the friction between the bayou and the dancefloor is exactly what makes it worth your time. Recommended, particularly for listeners with one foot in roots music and the other in leftfield dance.
Track Listing:
WOMAN | 2. Sign of the Lion | 3. Alligator Stomp | 4. Makin’ Love Is Good for You | 5. Jake?Leg Kid | 6. Swamp Rap | 7. Grounded | 8. Underdog | 9. ’Bout to Dance (In My Pants)
Personnel:
Tony Joe White, vocals, guitar, songwriting | Flying Mojito Bros (Ben Chetwood & Jack Sellen), production, additional instruments, mixing, remixing
Release Date: 13 March 2026
Format: LP | CD | Digital Streaming & Download
Label: Swamp Records
Last modified: July 21, 2026
