Swans (Michael Gira + Young God Records)

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Swans is a band from New York City, New York, United States, active from 1982 to 1997, reformed in 2010, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira.

Marginally associated with the no wave scene at first, their original sound was slow and heavy, with live performances that were often so brutal and physical that in a number of instances certain audience members were made ill, police were called and venues were shut down. This early physical sound is possibly best heard on the live album Public Castration Is a Good Idea.

Their initial style shifted a little by the time Swans released seminal twin albums Greed and Holy Money. The music had sped up, at times being even more punishing than their earlier output. Drum machines and samples were slightly more prominent. Michael Gira was joined vocally by Jarboe which gave the band a broader sonic range. Tracks featuring Jarboe were often quieter, even pretty, acting as counterpoint to the more harrowing themes on the albums. Over time, this style would come to dominate the Swans’ output, although they somehow seem to have been able to make a strummed acoustic guitar seem as brutal as their earlier amped-up assaults. The lush instrumentation of their albums from the late 1980s and the 1990’s anticipated the birth of post-rock.

Swans eventually broke up in 1997; Gira went on to release some solo work, later forming the band The Angels of Light, who continue many of the themes and styles found in (later) Swans. Jarboe releases solo work and frequently works with other bands and artists; recently she released an album with Neurosis, a group clearly heavily influenced by Swans.

The influence of Swans upon the music world is profound. Across their 15 years of existence, the various styles they explored gave birth to grindcore (Napalm Death, Nasum) modern “cinematic” post-rock (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono), and atmospheric sludge metal (Isis, Neurosis).

In January 2010, Michael Gira reactivated Swans and released a new album, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky on September 2010, and the band simultaneously embarked on a world tour scheduled to last eighteen months. The band have been chosen by Portishead to perform at the ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror festivals that they curated in July 2011 at London’s Alexandra Palace and in September 2011 in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Swans - A Long Slow Screw (1986)

Swans - Love will tear us apart (cover)

SWANS - CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME

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The noise pioneers Swans will return this summer with a double-album featuring Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, members of Low and Akron/Family. The Seer is "the complete synthesis of everything I've done and Swans has done", according to frontman Michael Gira.

Swans' last album was released in 2010, after a 14-year hiatus. Since then, the re-formed band have toured the world, playing festivals such as All Tomorrow's Parties. Now, Gira told Spin magazine, the New York group have almost completed a two-hour epic, which features songs as long as 30 minutes.

"I'm a completely wrung-out washcloth of a human being," Gira said, after spending six months in the studio. "It's a really varied record. There are some pretty intense moments, sonically, but there are also some very pastoral and beautiful moments … This is the best lineup Swans has ever had in terms of getting along and really working for the same goal."

Swans' opus will be released on Gira's Young God Records, which introduced the world to Devendra Banhart and Akron/Family. Meanwhile, Gira will undertake a short solo tour in support of an anthology of home recordings. "Playing solo is the challenge of my life," he said, "to learn how to create some kind of undeniable moment with a piece of wood and strings and my voice".

According to rock legend, Swans gigs in the early 80s were so loud they would cause audience members to vomit. "That's a bunch of shit," Gira told the Boston Phoenix in 2010.

Swans - "the seer" || live @ Roadburn / 013 Tilburg || 16-04-2011 (3/3)

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Op woensdag 14 maart 2012 14:05 schreef Darkestrah het volgende:
Swans.

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Op dinsdag 17 april 2012 00:13 schreef Trashcanman het volgende:
The Great Anihilator

Michael Gira - Blind || live @ Roadburn / Patronaat Tilburg || 12-04-2012 (3/3)

Michael Gira - Eden Prison || live @ Roadburn / Patronaat Tilburg || 12-04-2012 (1/3)

Michael Gira - She Lives || live @ Roadburn / Patronaat Tilburg || 12-04-2012 (2/3)

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Op maandag 23 april 2012 10:39 schreef bartrid het volgende:
Ah tof, geweldige plaat, jammer dat ik de ltd edition niet kon krijgen, maar dit is goed genoeg

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Op donderdag 10 mei 2012 20:15 schreef bartrid het volgende:

[..]

Je kan die studiefinanciering nu stukslaan dan:
http://younggodrecords.co(...)r-head-2xdigipack-cd