Michael Gira announces he is bringing back SWANS - UPDATE

[timcoalman]

On Young God Records website and his MySpace page.

http://younggodrecords.com/News/Detail/?C=2323

In my youth I?d thought I knew music and had some tastes ? but in 1997 heard the Soundtracks for the Blind album. Combined with a collapse of the person I had built myself to be up to that time period, the effect was liquefaction - I took Swans for devotional music of living a mythical life and listened to it for two years nearly everyday, three or four times a day. 2 CDs, over 70 minutes on each CD. All the little moments, hints and possibilities that had grabbed me in all the music I?d heard before were here fully realized. It tuned my ear such that heavy metal sounded like McDonalds food packaging, punk was the up-tempo ambient soundtrack at Disney, rock and roll was quaint and narrow, and suddenly hip-hop and new country shared an overwhelmingly similar esthetic (Nearly indistinguishable from each other, like seemingly different hues made identical by changing the wavelength of the light that shines on them). Since then only a few CDs/artists have resonated like Swans with me: Miles Davis, Shankar (not Ravi, but Shankar of Pancha Nadai Pallavi, M.R.C.S.), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Tom Waits? Bone Machine, Kohachiro Miyata?s ? Shakuhachi, The Japanese Flute, Peter Gabriel?s Passion Movie Soundtrack, The Last Temptation of Christ, etc. Bought everything else Gira had done and his music since. Best described as a spade shovel interruption of rutted synaptic patterns. I found the same thing in books with Robert Pirsig and Burroughs.

I?m sure such sentiments will enrage some but we all have treasures we covet. I appreciate even echo efforts of what Michael Gira has done.

[timcoalman]

Updates on how to support new Swans album at the following link:

http://younggodrecords.com/Releases/Detail.asp?C=2326

From the site:
"This handmade CD/DVD package is being sold specifically to help raise funds for/help defray the considerable costs of recording and promoting the upcoming new Swans album (more on the reactivation of Swans below). There?s a number of ways you can help support this effort, above. Thanks very much, and I hope you enjoy."

When I told my wife about the "executive producer" credit option with $100 donation she wanted to know if I would get royalities...

[ott0bot]

thats pretty neat. as a whole I really like the Angels of Light stuff more than the Swans material, but color me interested.

[timcoalman]

As of several days ago all CDs/DVDs sold out:

http://younggodrecords.com/Releases/Detail.asp?C=2326

Curious as to how much money he was able to raise for recording. Heard on one of the Angels of Light cds he morgaged his house to pay for studio time.

[timcoalman]

Tour dates -

http://younggodrecords.com/News/Detail/?C=2338

SWANS 2010 TOUR(S)

Sept 28 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater
Sept 29 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Sept 30 Boston, MA @ Middle East downstairs
Oct 01 Montreal, QC @ Le National ? Pop Montreal fest
Oct 02 Toronto, ON at Lee?s Palace
oct 03 off
Oct 04 Detroit, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
Oct 05 Chicago, IL at Bottom Lounge
Oct 06, Columbus, OH Outland Live
Oct 07 off
Oct 08 Brooklyn, NY, Masonic Temple
Oct 09 New York, NY, Bowery Ballroom
Sept 28 thru Oct 9 support= Baby Dee

Oct 21- Cork, Ireland Cyprus Avenue
Oct 22 Dublin, Ireland Button Factory
Oct 23 tba
Oct 24- Birmingham, UK - Supersonic Festival
Oct 25 Glasgow, Scotland, Arches
Oct 26 off
Oct 27 Brighton, UK , Concorde 2
Oct 28 London, UK , Koko Theatre
Oct 29 Leeds, UK a, Uni Stylus
Oct 30 Manchester UK , Academy
Oct 21 thru Oct 30 support= James Blackshaw

Nov 23 Gronignen, Netherlands, VERA
Nov 24 Utrecht, Netherlands-, Le Guess Who Fest at Tivoli de Helling
Nov 25 Brussels, Belgium AB
Nov 26 Lille, France, Le Grande Mix
Nov 27, Rouen, France, 106 Club
Nov 28 Paris, France, BBMIX festival
Nov 29, off
Nov 30 Toulouse, France, Le Phare
Dec 01 Lyon, France, Epicerie Modern
Dec 02 Geneva, Switzerland L?Usine
Dec 03 Turin, Italy, Musica90 c/o Sala Espace
Dec 04, Bologna, Italy, Locomotive Club
Dec 05 Roma, Italy, Piper Club
Dec 06, off
Dec 07 Vienna, Austria, at Arena
Dec 08 Prague, Czech Akropolis
Dec 09, Wroclaw, Poland, Firlej
Dec 10, Warsaw, Poland, Palladium
Dec 11 off
Dec 12, Hamburg, Germany Kampnagel
Dec 13 Berlin, Germany, Volksbuehne
Nov 23 thru Dec 13 support= James Blackshaw

[timcoalman]

http://younggodrecords.com/Releases/Detail.asp?C=2343

New album out in September - some samples to listen to. Especially excited to see so many outstanding musicians from earlier Swans work -

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)