Swans...Are No Longer Dead

Somewhere in the last few years, Swans became a major obsession of mine with their visceral and uncompromising early material straight through to the eerie beauty of the latter part of their discography. As those close to me can attest, I enter long periods where I obsessively and dangerously listen to Swans alone; exclusively listening to any artist for an extended period of time can be hazardous but with the breadth of their oeuvre, I find it happening often with Swans.

So, as of yesterday Michael Gira, principle of Swans, announced that Swans will not only be touring but will be releasing a new album.

The song “Jim” recently added to the playlist is an acoustic demo (solo at home)

recording by michael gira. this, and many other new songs recorded in the same way comprise many of the new (rough versions) of songs under consideration,

to be fleshed out on the coming new swans album. a cd of these acoustic versions, as well as a live (2 shows) dvd of m.gira will be for sale very soon as a hand made (by gira) package called I Am Not Insane (CD/DVD). this package – in a limited edition of 1000 - will be sold in order to raise money for the swans recordings/offset the huge costs involved... check back here or at http://younggodrecords.com for ordering details and more information...coming soon...coming soon...

principal players on the swans album are (and there will be many special guests):

Michael Gira / gtr / voice / mendicant friar act (original swans)

Norman Westberg – Guitar (original swans)

Christophj Hahn – Guitar (mid period swans and most angels)

Phil Puleo – Drums, percussion, dulcimer etc etc (final swans tour and most angels)

Chris Pravdica – Bass and gadgets (flux information sciences / services/ gunga din)

Thor Harris, Drums, percussion, vibes, dulcimer, curios, etc etc... (angels, now also with shearwater)

Angels Of Light is temporarily on hold while gira pursues his “new” project...