Our Story
Music rooted in lived experience
SWSD Music Production is an independent, family-driven music and creative project founded by Shaun Williams, combining emotionally driven songwriting with a wider commitment to mental health awareness, recovery, human connection and charitable support.
Born and raised in Wallasey, Merseyside, Shaun writes the lyrics and leads the creative direction of the project, working closely with family members and musicians including S.D. and Richie Atkinson, among others.
What began as a creative collaboration between Shaun and his cousin S.D. has gradually grown into something much bigger — a collective family project built around music, lived experience and a cause that is deeply meaningful to everyone involved.
At the heart of SWSD is a simple idea:
Music can tell difficult stories in ways that bring people closer together.
Drawing from alternative rock, blues and ambient influences, SWSD combines reflective songwriting with cinematic production, atmospheric textures and live instrumentation. The music explores mental health, relationships, family, resilience, identity, struggle, hope and human connection through honest lyrical expression.
These themes aren't chosen simply because they make compelling songs. Much of SWSD has grown from lived experience and from seeing first-hand how mental health difficulties can affect individuals, families and the communities around them.
That is why SWSD was never intended to remain simply a collection of songs.
A family collaboration
Family has been part of SWSD from the beginning.
We are fortunate to have extraordinarily talented musicians within our family working behind the scenes, particularly S.D. and Richie Atkinson, alongside a wider family whose advice, encouragement, ideas and belief continue to shape the project.
S.D. and Richie bring multi-instrumental talent across guitar, piano, bass, drums, synths and production, while Shaun focuses primarily on songwriting, lyrical concepts, creative direction and collaborative production.
Everyone contributes differently, but that is precisely what makes SWSD what it is.
It is a collective effort built around a shared belief in the music, the stories behind it and what the project can become.
More than music
Our ambition is to use music, storytelling and lived experience to encourage more open conversations around mental health, reduce stigma and strengthen human connection.
Music has an extraordinary ability to express what can otherwise be difficult to put into words. A song can make an intensely personal experience feel universal — and sometimes help someone recognise that they aren't alone in what they're feeling.
We want SWSD to create those connections: between artists and listeners, between individual experiences and wider conversations, and between creativity and organisations already working to support people.
As the project develops, we hope to build meaningful relationships with musicians, charities, mental health organisations and community initiatives that share those values.
We want SWSD to grow with purpose while remaining independent, personal and true to the experiences that inspired it.
Our Mental Health Pledge
Our commitment to mental health is reflected not only in the subjects we write about, but in how the project operates.
50% of all net donations received through the SWSD website are donated to mental health support, currently divided equally between:
- Mind — United Kingdom
- UNAFAM — France
You can read our full commitment on the Mental Health Pledge page.
Transparency is fundamental to that commitment. We publish details and evidence of the donations made through our Pledge Transparency page.
For us, supporting mental health should be more than a message attached to the music. It should be reflected in the way the project grows and in the contribution it makes.
Our roots, across borders
Although Shaun is now based in France, Merseyside remains an important part of SWSD's story.
Born and raised in Wallasey, he lived there for the first 21 years of his life. His UK family remains in Merseyside, and he returns regularly, maintaining a strong connection with the people and community that shaped him.
Having seen the impact that mental health difficulties can have within families and across wider communities in both the UK and France, SWSD has a natural desire to contribute to the communities around us while allowing that message to reach beyond borders.
Our Mental Health Pledge already supports organisations on both sides of the Channel. As the project grows, we hope to build further connections between communities, artists and organisations in the UK, France and beyond.
Music doesn't need a border or a shared language to make somebody feel something.Neither should the conversations surrounding mental health.
Where we're going
SWSD is still evolving, and that's an important part of its story.
We want to continue making honest music, collaborating with people who share our values and finding new ways for creativity to make a meaningful contribution.
That could mean working alongside charities and mental health organisations, collaborating with other artists, supporting awareness initiatives, sharing lived experiences through music and storytelling — or simply creating a song that makes someone feel understood and less alone.
The project may continue to evolve, but the principles behind it remain straightforward:
- 01Create honest music.
- 02Encourage meaningful conversations.
- 03Strengthen human connection.
- 04Use creativity to make a positive contribution.
From Shaun
SWSD started very simply — as a creative collaboration between me and my cousin, S.D.
I'd been writing songs on and off for several years and eventually decided to choose four of them and put them together as an EP. S.D., and later Richie Atkinson, gave me the confidence to take lyrics that were deeply personal and actually put them out into the world.
From there, the idea took hold.
What began between two cousins gradually became a family venture, with S.D. and Richie having a huge influence on the music through their musicianship, production, instrumentation, creativity and ideas. The wider family has become part of that journey too, through their encouragement, honest feedback and belief in what we're trying to build.
Technology has also been part of the creative process. Some of our vocals use AI-assisted technology, but the stories behind the songs remain deeply human. The lyrics, concepts, creative decisions and experiences that inspire the music come from us.
For me, technology is a tool — the human story is the reason for using it.
What started with four songs has become something I care about far more deeply than I originally expected.
It's still personal. It's still creative. It's still evolving.
But now there's a wider purpose behind it too.
To everyone who listens, shares a song, gives us constructive feedback, supports the Mental Health Pledge or simply takes the time to understand what we're trying to do — thank you.
It genuinely means a great deal to all of us.
“You have my word, this is not the end.”