Vocalist, composer, improviser and electronic sound artist, Laura Swankey (she/her) is known for her artistry, versatility, vocal aptitude, creative spirit, and compassionate approach to collaboration and education. As a settler, she gratefully lives and works in Tkaronto\Toronto, lands covered by Treaty 13 and Williams Treaties, on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabeg, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat peoples.

Throughout 2024, Laura has been featured on several albums including Noam Lemish’s JUNO-nominated record, Twelve (TPR Records), Parade’s debut record, Lullabies After Storms and Floods (Elastic Records), The Afton Project’s debut record, the ardent companion to your own most daring emotion, Sarah Jerrom’s, Magpie (TPR Records), and Exit Points’, You Are the Right Length (Exit Points). 

In late December 2024, a new trio featuring Tilman Lewis (cello), Nilan Perera (guitar) and Laura (voice) will be recording a live-off-the floor album. Plastic Babies - a long-standing trio made up of Christine Duncan (voice, theremin, effects) and Patrick O’Reilly (guitar, effects) alongside Swankey (voice, effects) - is working towards their inaugural album, produced by Jean Martin of Barnyard Records, to be released in mid 2025. The Afton Project, led by bassist Devin Patten, will also be releasing an EP in mid-2025, featuring beloved songs by Toronto-based songwriters that have been reimagined for the ensemble. Also in 2025, Laura will be releasing an album of improvised music with long-time collaborator and friend, guitarist Patrick O’Reilly (W/DRWN Records). This music was captured by engineer Mike Romaniak over two days in the winter of 2019 in a snowy cottage outside Meaford, ON. Finally, in the spring of 2025, Parade will be going back into the studio to record Stefan Hegerat’s newest compositions for the quartet.

Laura has been featured on over 30 studio albums, and is regularly seen performing around town as a member of several standing bands, or participating in ad hoc/one-off ensembles exploring improvised music. She has worked with artists such as Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke, Mark Feldman, Rich Brown, John Oswald, Ralph Alessi, Mike Murley, Christine Duncan, and Poet Laureate Dennis Lee. She has premiered works by John Oswald, Noam Lemish, Juliet Palmer, James Rolfe, Germaine Liu, Elio Villafranca, Lieke van der Voort, Tova Kardonne, and Mike McCormick. Along with her solo work for voice and electronics, Laura has extensively collaborated with and toured throughout North America and Scandinavia with Avataar (2022 JUNO award winner - Jazz Album of the Year), Parade, The Afton Project, Plastic Babies, Elisa Thorn’s HUE, Mike McCormick’s Proxemics, Jazz Bras Dot Com, Dr. Purgatory, and Star Triptych. Laura is an instructor in the Jazz Studies Program at the University of Toronto, and in the Jazz and Open-Improvisation programs at York University. She was previously an instructor in the Commercial Music diploma and degree programs at Humber College from 2018 - 2022.

As a devoted member of the Toronto creative music scene,, Laura is dedicated to exploring her voice, utilizing its full capacity in both live and studio settings, as a solo singer and collaborator. In addition to her teaching and creative work, Laura is CRPO Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) currently completing the final stages of her practical training as a MA candidate in counselling psychology.