Richard Swift (born Ricardo Ochoa; March 16, 1977 – July 3, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and short-film maker.

He was the founder, owner, and recording engineer of National Freedom, a recording studio located in Oregon,[1] and worked as producer, collaborator, muse and influencer for acts including the Shins, Damien Jurado, David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion), Foxygen, Jessie Baylin, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucius, Lonnie Holley, the Mynabirds, Wake Owl, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Gardens & Villa, Cayucas, Fleet Foxes, Mango Safari and Guster.

Born in California[6] on March 16, 1977, with the name Ricardo Ochoa, into a musical Quaker family, Swift started performing and singing in churches at an early age.

[17][18][19][20] Later in the year Swift met Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy during a taping of the BBC program Later...with Jools Holland.

[7] Co-produced by Mark Ronson, the album featured special guests such as Pat Sansone, Casey Foubert (Sufjan Stevens), Sean Lennon, and Ryan Adams.

On November 1, 2024, Secretly Canadian released the career-spanning posthumous compilation 4 Hits & a Miss - The Essential Richard Swift.

[29] In addition to the music recorded under his own name and producing work, he was also briefly a keyboardist in the band Starflyer 59 in 2002 and 2003,[30] playing live shows and contributing to their 2003 album Old.

[36][37] In 2010, Swift also produced The Mynabirds' What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood and co-produced Laetitia Sadier's album The Trip.

[9][40] On June 19, 2018, Pitchfork reported that Swift had been hospitalized in Tacoma, Washington, recovering from an undisclosed "life-threatening condition" and that a GoFundMe had been set up to help cover his medical expenses.

[6][42][43] Six days later, Swift's family released a statement confirming that he had suffered from alcohol addiction throughout his life, and that his death was ultimately caused by related "complications from hepatitis, as well as liver and kidney distress.