Listen to ‘The Healers’ HERE

Listen to / buy Birthing HERE

“The material contained in this album was largely developed over the course of a yearlong Swans tour, during 2023 – 2024 (‘The Healers’, ‘I Am a Tower’, ‘Birthing’, ‘Guardian Spirit’, ‘Rope’, and ‘Away’), then recorded and further orchestrated and rearranged in the studio. Two pieces were created and performed in the studio (‘Red Yellow’, ‘The Merge’).

In all cases the material began with me sitting in my office with an acoustic guitar, singing and dreaming about what would become of these skeletal songs. I’m blessed to have such a stellar group of musicians to work with live (listed below), and through improvisation, endless revisions and an intensity of focus in performance (not to mention endurance), over the course of time the music morphed into what you generally hear on this collection.

This album, coupled with the recent live release, Live Rope, constitutes my final foray (as producer / impresario) into the all-consuming sound worlds that have been my obsession for years. We’ll do a final tour in this mode towards the end of 2025, then that’s it. 

After that, Swans will continue, so long as I’m able, but in a significantly pared down form. Hints of that direction can be found in a few moments on the current album. In the meantime, my hope is that the music provides a positive and fertile atmosphere in which to dream.” – Michael Gira / Swans 

The album release will be followed by a UK / European tour, with a confirmed line-up of: Michael Gira, Kristof Hahn, Dana Schechter, Larry Mullins, Phil Puleo, Christopher Pravdica, and Norman Westberg. The dates, which continue into November includes two shows at London’s Electric Brixton on 9, 10 and 11 November, and two dates at Berlin’s Festsaal Kreuzberg on 27 and 28 November, full details below. Support comes from Jessica Moss.

SWANS BIRTHING ALBUM CONTRIBUTORS: Michael Gira – acoustic guitar, voice, producer; Phil Puleo – drums, hammer dulcimer, flute, melodica, percussion; Kristof Hahn – lap steel guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, loops, backing vocals; Dana Schechter – lap steel guitar, bass guitar, loops; Christopher Pravdica – bass guitar, Taishogoto, loops, sounds, keyboards; Larry Mullins – Mellotron, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, drums, vibraphone, percussion, backing vocals; Norman Westberg – electric guitar, loops... Guest Musicians: Jennifer Gira – backing vocals, cameo vocals; Laura Carbone and Lucy Kruger – backing vocals; Andreas Dormann – soprano saxophone; Timothy Wyskida – drums on The Merge; Little Mikey – cameo vocals. 

Birthing was produced by Michael Gira. Recorded at Soundfabrik Berlin, recording engineer Ingo Krauss, assisted by Kiron Gaudi, and mixed at Candy Bomber Studio, Berlin by Ingo Krauss. Mastered by Doug Henderson at Micro-Moose, Berlin.

The tour, which starts in Leipzig on 23 October will be the last “big sound” Swans tour, with a line-up of: Michael Gira, Kristof Hahn, Dana Schechter, Larry Mullins, Phil Puleo, Christopher Pravdica, and Norman Westberg. The dates, which continue into November includes two shows at London’s Electric Brixton on 9 and 10 November, and two dates at Berlin’s Festsaal Kreuzberg on 27 and 28 November, full details below. Support comes from Jessica Moss.

SWANS UK / EUROPEAN TOUR

23 Oct – Leipzig (DE), Haus Leipzig

24 Oct – Neunkirchen (DE), Neue Geblassehalle

26 Oct – Munich (DE), Technikum

28 Oct – Prague (CZ), Archa+

29 Oct – Graz (AT), Halle Detroit

31 Oct – Ljubljiana (SI), Kino Siska

1 Nov – Zagreb (HR), Boogaloo

3 Nov – Ferrara (IT), Teatro Comunale

4 Nov – Milan (IT), Auditorium di Milano

6 Nov – Paris (FR), Trabendo

7 Nov – Leeds (UK), Project House

9 Nov – London (UK), Electric Brixton

10 Nov – London (UK), Electric Brixton

14 Nov – Leiden (NL), Nobel

15 Nov – Nijmegen (NL), Doomroosje

17 Nov – Copenhagen (DK), VEGA Store

19 Nov – Oslo (NO), Vulkan Arena

20 Nov – Stockholm (SE), Slaktkyrkan

22 Nov – Tallin (EE), Paavli Kultuurivabrik

24 Nov – Vilnius (LT), Kablys

25 Nov – Warsaw (PL), Stodoła

27 Nov – Berlin (DE), Festaal Kreuzberg

28 Nov – Berlin (DE), Festaal Kreuzberg

The European / UK tour is preceded by a North American tour in September / October, with Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch confirmed to support. 

Tickets are on-sale this Friday, March 21, at 10 a.m. local time. Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch open. Tickets available via the Young God Records website. 

Swans North American tour dates:

September 4  Philadelphia, PA  Union Transfer

September 5  Washington, DC  The Howard Theatre

September 6  Norfolk, VA  The NorVa

September 9  Dallas, TX  Granada Theater

September 10  Austin, TX  Mohawk Austin

September 12  Albuquerque, NM  Sunshine Theater

September 13  Tucson, AZ  The Rialto Theatre

September 15  Los Angeles, CA  Lodge Room

September 16  Los Angeles, CA  Lodge Room

September 17  Los Angeles, CA  Lodge Room

September 20  San Francisco, CA  Great American Music Hall

September 21  San Francisco, CA  Great American Music Hall

September 23  Seattle, WA  The Neptune Theatre

September 24  Portland, OR  Revolution Hall

September 27  Denver, CO  Bluebird Theater

September 28  Omaha, NE  Waiting Room Showroom

September 30  Chicago, IL  Cabaret Metro

October 1  Detroit, MI  The Magic Bag

October 3  Toronto, ON  Phoenix Concert Theatre

October 4  Montreal, QC  Théâtre National

October 6  Boston, MA  Paradise Rock Club

October 7  Brooklyn, NY  Brooklyn Steel

Listen/Preorder the new album HERE.

“The material contained in this album was largely developed over the course a yearlong Swans tour, during 2023 – 2024 (‘The Healers’, ‘I Am a Tower’, ‘Birthing’, ‘Guardian Spirit’, ‘Rope’, and ‘Away’), then recorded and further orchestrated and rearranged in the studio. Two pieces were created and performed in the studio (‘Red Yellow’, ‘The Merge’). 

In all cases the material began with me sitting in my office with an acoustic guitar, singing and dreaming about what would become of these skeletal songs. I’m blessed to have such a stellar group of musicians to work with live (listed below), and through improvisation, endless revisions and an intensity of focus in performance (not to mention endurance), over the course of time the music morphed into what you generally hear on this collection.

This album, coupled with the recent live release, Live Rope, constitutes my final foray (as producer / impresario) into the all-consuming sound worlds that have been my obsession for years. We’ll do a final tour in this mode towards the end of 2025, then that’s it. 

After that, Swans will continue, so long as I’m able, but in a significantly pared down form. Hints of that direction can be found in a few moments on the current album. In the meantime, my hope is that the music provides a positive and fertile atmosphere in which to dream.” – Michael Gira / Swans 

SWANS BIRTHING ALBUM CONTRIBUTORS: Michael Gira – acoustic guitar, voice, producer; Phil Puleo – drums, hammer dulcimer, flute, melodica, percussion; Kristof Hahn – lap steel guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, loops, backing vocals; Dana Schechter – lap steel guitar, bass guitar, loops; Christopher Pravdica – bass guitar, Taishogoto, loops, sounds, keyboards; Larry Mullins – Mellotron, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, drums, vibraphone, percussion, backing vocals; Norman Westberg – electric guitar, loops... Guest Musicians: Jennifer Gira – backing vocals, cameo vocals; Laura Carbone and Lucy Kruger – backing vocals; Andreas Dormann – soprano saxophone; Timothy Wyskida – drums on The Merge; Little Mikey – cameo vocals. 

Birthing was produced by Michael Gira. Recorded at Soundfabrik Berlin, recording engineer Ingo Krauss, assisted by Kiron Gaudi, and mixed at Candy Bomber Studio, Berlin by Ingo Krauss. Mastered by Doug Henderson at Micro-Moose, Berlin.

The Gira/Hahn tour follows the recent epic Swans 4xLP release, Live Rope, and anticipates the final “big sound” 3xLP Swans album, Birthing, due out this Spring. Swans are set to tour in Fall 2025.

Purchase tickets here.

09/04/2025 CZ Prague Meet Factory

10/04/2025 AT Linz Grüner Anker

12/04/2025 IT Trieste Teatro Miela

13/04/2025 IT Milano Spazio Teatro 89

15/04/2025 BE Bruxelles Ancienne Belgique

17/04/2025 UK London EartH

18/04/2025 FR Paris Cafe De La Danse

20/04/2025 NL Tilburg Roadburn Festival

21/04/2025 DE Köln Helios 37

23/04/2025 DE Leipzig Heilandskirche

25/04/2025 PL Warsaw Palladium

27/04/2025 DE Berlin Heimathafen

Hello there friends and supporters. The SWANS live album Live Rope is now available at younggodrecords.com. Funds generated from the sale of this album go toward the recording of the new SWANS studio album, in progress. Live Rope is quite a beast. It is available as a 2XDeluxe CD, a 4XLP Box Set, and also as a USB Credit Card. After listening through it multiple times while working on the mixing and mastering, I was increasingly dumbfounded and astonished that we managed to pull these sounds out of our collective bodies and psyches night after night, especially considering the duration of some of the pieces (and the ever-expanding set length). I'm somewhat biased, I admit, but I think it makes for a rewarding, if challenging listening experience. In my view, amidst all of our myriad live albums, it's right there at the top, along with perhaps Swans Are Dead (from '97)... Most of the album is comprised of the entire set from our final performance of a year-long tour, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2024. There's also a few more pieces from Den Haag, Netherlands in 2023... Thanks again for your interest in the music, and especially your ongoing support. - Michael Gira / Swans

SWANS – UNITED STATES TOUR 2024

4/12/2024      Washington   DC      Howard Theatre
4/13/2024      Philadelphia  PA       Union Transfer
4/14/2024      Richmond      VA       The Broadberry                   
4/16/2024      Nashville        TN       Blue Room at Third Man
4/18/2024      Atlanta            GA      Variety Playhouse
4/20/2024      Birmingham    AL      The Saturn

4/21/2024      New Orleans LA      The Civic Theatre   
4/23/2024      Houston         TX       White Oak Music Hall
4/24/2024      San Antonio  TX       Paper Tiger
4/25/2024      Albuquerque NM      Sunshine Theater   
4/27/2024      Las Vegas     NV      Sick New World Festival

4/28/2024      Los Angeles  CA      Lodge Room
4/29/2024      Los Angeles  CA      Lodge Room
5/2/2024        San Francisco CA    Great American Music Hall
5/5/2024        Salt Lake City UT     Soundwell     
5/7/2024        Denver           CO      Gothic Theatre        
5/9/2024        Kansas City   MO      Record Bar
5/10/2024      St. Louis        MO      Delmar Hall
5/11/2024      Chicago,        IL         Cabaret  Metro        
5/14/2024      Boston            MA      Paradise                   
5/16/2024      New York       NY      Racket 
5/17/2024      Brooklyn        NY      Music Hall of Williamsburg

5/18/2024      Brooklyn        NY      Music Hall of Williamsburg

SWANS – EUROPEAN TOUR 2024

7 Feb - Groningen (NL) Vera

8 Feb - Frankfurt (DE) Zoom

10 Feb - Leuven (BE) Artefact Sound Festival

11 Feb - Leuven (BE) Artefact Sound Festival

13 Feb - Lille (FR) L’Aeronef

14 Feb - La Rochelle (FR) La Sirene

16 Feb - Biarritz (FR) L’Atabal

18 Feb - Madrid (ES) Teatro Barcelo

19 Feb - A’ Coruna (ES) ColonTheatre

20 Feb - Braga (PT) Theatro Circo

22 Feb - Barcelona (ES) Sala Razzmatazz 2

24 Feb - Geneva (CH) Antigel Festival

26 Feb - Trento (IT) Auditorium Santa Chiara

27 Feb - Munich (DE) Feierwerk / Hansa 39

29 Feb - Wroclaw (PL) Zaklete Rewiry

1 March - Gdańsk (PL) Stary Maneż

3 March - Malmo (SE) Plan B

4 March - Gothenburg (SE) Trägâr’n

5 March - Aalborg (DK) Vor Frelser Church

8 March - Maastricht (NL) Muziekgieterjil

9 March - Köln (DE) Die Kantine

11 March - Dresden (DE) Beatpol

12 March - Berlin (DE) Betonhalle

Ticket links HERE

The Beggar was recorded and mixed at Candy Bomber Studio, Berlin, engineered by Ingo Krauss and mastered by Doug Henderson at Micro-Moose, Berlin. The album was written and produced by Michael Gira and features contributions from recent and former Swans, members of Angels of Light, as well as Guest Swan Ben Frost.

“After numerous pandemic-induced cancellations of tours for the previous Swans album leaving meaning, and an apparent bottomless pit of waiting, waiting, waiting, and the strange disorientation that came with this sudden but interminable forced isolation I decided it was time to write songs for a new Swans album and forget about everything else. They came relatively easily, always informed by the suspicion that these could be my last. When I finally was able to travel, songs in hand, to Berlin to work with my friends recording this record, the feeling was akin to the moment in The Wizard of Oz when the film changes from Black and White to Color. Now I’m feeling quite optimistic. My favourite color is pink. I hope you enjoy the album.” – Michael Gira

Primary contributors to The Beggar:

Michael Gira – Vocals, words, acoustic guitar, production. Gira started Swans in NYC in 1982 and has been the primary songwriter, singer and producer throughout the years. During the Swans hiatus (1999 – 2010), he released several albums by and toured with a group called Angels of Light. Gira recently published a book of his short stories, journals, and words for music, called The Knot. He lives in New Mexico.

Kristof Hahn – Lap steel, various guitars, vocals. Kristof first joined Swans in 1989 and was a principal contributor to Angels of Light, and a core Swans member 2010 – 2017. Kristof’s other musical ventures have included the Rock ‘n’ Roll Noir band Les Hommes Sauvages and Kool Kings (with Alex Chilton). When not making music Kristof translates books. He lives in Berlin, Germany.

Larry Mullins - Drums, vibes, orchestral percussion, Mellotron, various keyboards, backing vocals. Larry is a trained symphonic percussionist. He played through the ‘90s with Iggy Pop and later with The Stooges. He played with Swans in the late ‘90s and was a main contributor to Angels of Light. His current main job is playing drums with The Bad Seeds. Larry lives in Berlin, Germany.

Dana Schechter – Bass guitar, lap steel, keyboards, vocals, piano. Dana played bass in and was a core member of Angels of Light. She subsequently released music and toured as Bee and Flower. Her current band is the power-duo, Insect Ark. Dana is an animator and designer in the film industry and currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

Christopher Pravdica - Bass guitar, sounds, keyboards, vocals. Chris played bass as a core Swans member in 2010 – 2017. Chris has played with the bands, The Gunga Din, Flux Information Sciences, Xiu Xiu, Yonatan Gat’s Medicine Singers and has a project of his own called We Owe. Chris is a sound designer and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Phil Puleo – Drums, percussion, vocals, piano, exotic wind instruments. Phil played drums with Swans in the late ‘90s and was a core member in Swans 2010 – 2017 and contributed to Angels of Light. Phil’s early NYC musical venture was Cop Shoot Cop and has since played with Human Impact, among others. Phil is an extremely talented illustrator and lives in Chicago, IL.  

Ben Frost - Guitar, synthesizers, sound manipulations. In his own work, Ben’s adventurous sound-craftings are sometimes harrowing and sometimes delicate and quite musical. His numerous albums and his powerful live shows have afforded him much recognition. He is also an accomplished composer and arranger of music for film and television. Ben lives in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Backing vocals are provided by Jennifer Gira, Lucy Kruger and Laura Carbone

YGR newsletter from Michael Gira:

Here’s a few things going on related to Swans:

I have written the songs for the next Swans album (to commence recording hopefully in March of 2019) and I’ll be performing many of them acoustically, along with some previously existing songs, on a brief solo tour of the West Coast USA, as well as a show in Brooklyn, commencing September 27. Long time Swans guitarist Norman Westberg will open the shows. Carla Bozulich will also play the LA show. Here’s the dates:

9/27/2018 Los Angeles, CA Regent Theatre (Fully Seated)
https://www.spacelandpresents.com/event/1677891

10/02/2018 San Francisco, CA The Chapel (Partially Seated)
 https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1763563

10/4/2018 Portland, OR The Old Church Concert Hall (Fully Seated)
https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1674575

10/5/2018 Seattle, WA Columbia City Theater (Partially Seated)
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0F0054AEDBE8A5CC

10/25/2018 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw (Fully Seated)
https://www.ticketweb.com/event/michael-gira-swans-with-very-warsaw-tickets/8403725?pl=warsaw&edpPlParam=%3Fpl%3Dwarsaw

Here’s what I said recently about performing solo:

“Sitting there alone on stage with a dead piece of wood and some wires and just my voice is a challenge I set for myself a number of years ago, trying to fully inhabit the same thread that's run through the music all along, with the simplest of means. I think I've gotten pretty good at it over time. I play the guitar my own way. I've never really learned how to play it conventionally and I don't care to do so. I could just as easily be hitting two rocks together. It provides a context for the voice and words, and just as in the music of Swans, when all the elements (known and unknowable) combine, it can lead to something beyond itself, which is always the place I'd like to go: somewhere else. I hope to see you there."

- Michael Gira / Swans

Young God Records is seeking volunteers to distribute flyers for the show in the cities mentioned above. If you live in one of these cities and would like to become involved, please contact YGR here: brandon@virtuallabel.net. In exchange for your service we’ll provide you with a free ticket plus-two to the show in your city as well as a copy of the last Swans album, The Glowing Man, in the format of your choosing. Thanks in advance for getting involved!

As mentioned previously, I’ll continue to release and perform music using the Swans name. I’ll gather a wide variety of musicians to make the new album and I’ll put together a live performing group culled from these participants. The new songs are lyrically driven – in some cases multiple pages of words per song – and this will necessarily change the approach to the sound and arrangements when compared to the last 3 albums, for instance. It was time to move on, in any event. We’ll see where this leads. I’m not entirely certain where it will go myself.

As usual (and necessary) we’ll be doing a fundraiser package to help fund the new Swans album (something I started doing in the year 2000). Keep an eye out for that, if you’re interested. As always, your glorious support is highly appreciated!

There are still a few copies available of my book of new short stories, The Egg. It’s illustrated wonderfully by my long-term collaborator Nicole Boitos. It can be had at this link, as well as at the solo shows: https://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/michael-gira-the-egg

Also available at the solo shows will be a limited edition (500) 2xLP of my more narrative based songs, many of which I perform live. It’s called I Am Not This. Remaining copies post this upcoming solo tour will be available at younggodrecords.com. In the meantime you can read about it here: https://younggodrecords.com/products/i-am-not-this-2lp

There’s still a few 4xLP box set of Swans Soundtracks for the Blind available. It’s also available as a 3 CD set (CD 3 contains the contemporaneous German language release Die Tür Ist Zu). When vinyl box set is gone we’ll be issuing it as a 4xLP gatefold. Read about it here:  https://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/soundtracks-2018

Marco Porisa is still at work on his Swans documentary. He has set a goal for late Fall release, I believe. Here’s a clip he put together to commemorate the final (most recent version) Swans shows at Warsaw in Brooklyn in November of 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxICmkwNOrw

The Nick Soulsby oral history of Swans book, Swans: Sacrifice and Transcendence, came out recently. You can read about it here. It’s available at Amazon etc too…

http://jawbonepress.com/swans-sacrifice-and-transcendence/

Thank you for signing up to this newsletter. If you’d like to be removed please let us know and we’ll take you off the list immediately.

Much Love!

Michael Gira / Swans / Young God Records

9/27/2018 Los Angeles, CA Regent Theatre (Fully Seated) (with very special guest Carla Bozulich)

9/29/2018 Berkeley, CA The UC Theatre (Partially Seated)

10/4/2018 Portland, OR The Old Church Concert Hall (Fully Seated)

10/5/2018 Seattle, WA Columbia City Theater (Partially Seated)

10/25/2018 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw (Fully Seated) 

After 8 years, 4 critically acclaimed ground breaking albums and incessant touring, the most recent version of Swans came to a close with 3 sold-out (1000 capacity) shows at Brooklyn’s Warsaw venue In November of 2017. Michael Gira immediately began writing new material for the next version of Swans. He has now completed writing the songs for a new Swans album (to commence recording in March of 2019 – personnel as yet to be determined) and he’ll be performing most of this material as well as previously existing songs on the upcoming tour.

“Sitting there alone on stage with a dead piece of wood and some wires and just my voice is a challenge I set for myself a number of years ago, trying to fully inhabit the same thread that's run through the music all along, with the simplest of means. I think I've gotten pretty good at it over time. I play the guitar my own way. I've never really learned how to play it conventionally and I don't care to do so. I could just as easily be hitting two rocks together. It provides a context for the voice and words, and just as in the music of Swans, when all the elements (known and unknowable) combine, it can lead to something beyond itself, which is always the place I'd like to go: somewhere else. I hope to see you there."

- Michael Gira / Swans  

Gira recently released a limited edition (2500) book of 17 new cryptic short stories, The Egg, illustrated by long-term collaborator Nicole Boitos. There’s a few remaining copies and they’ll be available at the shows…

https://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/michael-gira-the-egg

Read a sample story from The Egg:

https://younggodrecords.com/blogs/sample-story-from-m-giras-the-egg/the-condemned-man

A limited edition (of 500) double vinyl collection, I Am Not This, comprised of Gira’s more intimate moments as a songwriter will also be available. The recordings are culled from a variety of sources, including Swans, Angels of Light, unreleased demos, and handmade fundraiser CDs.

https://younggodrecords.com/products/i-am-not-this-2lp

As part of its ongoing Swans re-issue series, Young God Records recently released (for the first time ever on vinyl) a 4 LP, sumptuously packaged, box set of Soundtracks for the Blind (1997). It’s also available as a 3xCD package, which includes the contemporaneous German language version, Die Tur Ist Zu.

https://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/soundtracks-2018

Commemorative Swans final Brooklyn shows video by Marco Porsia (Marco is working on a Swans documentary, set for release late Fall/Winter of 2018):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxICmkwNOrw

6 Feb – Zürich CH, Rote Fabrik

7 Feb – Geneva CH, Théâtre Casino

9 Feb – Brussels BE, Oranjerie at Botanique

10 Feb – Den Haag NL, Grauzone Festival at Den Paard (with Cabaret Voltaire)

12 Feb – Prague CZ, Divaldo ARCHA Theatre

14 Feb – Copenhagen DK, Bremen Teater

15 Feb – Stockholm SE, Slaktkyrkan

17 Feb – Hamburg DE, Kampnagel

18 Feb – Berlin DE, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz

20 Feb – Newcastle UK, Boiler Shop (with Okkyung Lee)

21 Feb – London UK, KOKO (with Okkyung Lee)

This newsletter is going out exclusively to people that have signed up to our mailing list. As you know, these newsletters are infrequent. We certainly don’t want to intrude, so if you no longer wish to receive news from us please take steps to remove yourself from our list.

Here’s what’s going on in the world of Swans:

• The Live2XCD Deliquescence is finally finished and out and is available now at younggodrecords.com and at live shows. This album documents (rather expertly, if I may say so) the final Swans tour for this configuration of the band. It includes a few new pieces that have not, and never will be, recorded elsewhere. They were written especially for this tour. It was recorded and mixed during the current tour and serves as an excellent archival document of this enterprise, now 7 years running (and soon to cease). It is, I believe, quite fetchingly packaged, and each copy is signed by me. You can read more about it here. (https://younggodrecords.com/products/deliquescence)
•  The 1995 Swans album The Great Annihilator has been lovingly re-mastered and is now available on vinyl for the first time in decades. It is also available as a 2XCD and digitally. It includes my 1995 solo album, Drainland (also re-mastered, and much improved). I have long been less than sanguine about the sound of GA, and was recently delighted to discover that my esteemed and dear friend Bill Rieflin had the original mixes in his possession. After much digging, he found them buried in a trunk somewhere. We were thus able to master this release from the original, unadulterated mixes, rather than attempt to unwind the sonic knots embedded in the initial commercial release. In my view, the improvement in the overall audio experience is quite significant. I’m personally relieved to be able to listen to the thing without a creeping sense of disappointment and frustration. Again, each copy that goes out is signed by me. If you’re interested, you can read more about it here. (https://younggodrecords.com/products/great-annihilator-2017)
• The final Swans tour (for this exuberant and heroic iteration of the band) is in its final stages. The remaining dates are listed below. Of particular interest to me personally are the FINAL 3 SHOWS (AT WARSAW, IN BROOKLYN), since they take place in NYC, the womb wherein Swans was initially gestated. There will be no other East Coast shows surrounding this last stand, and this is it. Finished. I’m pleased here to announce the august and daunting artists that will accompany us on each of these three nights.  They are:

CARLA BOZULICH, ON NOVEMBER 2^ND:
Carla is a wrenching and emotionally devastating singer and performer. She’s a survivor, is fierce and fearsome and alluring, and she is a Phoenix.  Some time ago we were privileged to tour with Carla and it was great seeing her work it out each night - an absolute dynamo. She’s had a restless and courageous career, having done everything from a beautiful rendition of Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger album to many exquisitely tortured expressionist noise-scapes, and beyond. She is a Class A singer. If you don’t know her work, avail yourself to its mysteries now.
(Tickets on sale here Friday 5/19 at 10am EST:  http://bit.ly/2qOQvcZ)

ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF ON NOVEMBER 3^RD:
Anna is a Swedish singer and organist of immense talent and she is a true artist. What a voice. She’s unapologetic and uncompromising, and at quite a young age (from my vantage point, anyway!), she is already forging her own distinct path. With the natural gift of her voice she could easily venture into more commercial terrain, but instead she’s stubbornly constructing a distinct and individual sonic world, fearlessly following the dictates of her imagination, and I applaud her for that. We toured Europe with Anna quite recently and I left the experience wanting more. I look forward to seeing her perform again. Total respect here for her integrity and talent.
(Tickets on sale here Friday 5/19 at 10am EST: http://bit.ly/2qP9WSK)

ADULT. ON NOVEMBER 4^TH:
ADULT. are a problem. A real problem, and I hope they are your problem soon, too. Nicola and Adam are a longstanding Detroit duo wielding considerable caustic wit and skewed and often furious beat onslaughts, all with the laudable goal of putting an eggbeater to your brain. I met them randomly on tour a lifetime ago and soon thereafter devoured their deep catalog of fun. They are also visual artists of considerable perspicuity and I suggest you check out that aspect of them too.  I was recently proud to collaborate with them on a few songs for their new album, “Detroit House Guests.” I have no idea what the show here in question will bring. It could be they will perform to the accompaniment of vacuum cleaners (as they’ve recently done), or perhaps something more “musical” will ensue. Either way, Fun, Fun, Fun!…
(Tickets on sale here Friday 5/19 at 10am EST: http://bit.ly/2rokHZi) http://bit.ly/2rokHZi

…IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT A FEW DISCOUNTED 3-DAY PASSES WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE FOR THESE WARSAW SHOWS. I WILL BE DESIGNING A SPECIAL, (VERY) LIMITED EDITION ARCHIVAL POSTER FOR THE SHOWS THAT POSSESSORS OF THE 3-DAY PASS WILL ALSO RECEIVE. 
(3 day passes on sale here Thursday 5/17 at 11am EST : http://bit.ly/2rog7Kw)

HERE ARE THE REMAINING SWANS SHOWS. THERE ARE NO MORE SHOWS FOR THIS LINEUP AFTER THIS :

5/16/2017 Istanbul TR Zorlu Performing Arts Center
5/18/2017 Glasgow UK Oran Mor
5/19/2017 Aberdeen UK The Lemon Tree
5/20/2017 Leeds UK Stylus - Leeds University Union
5/21/2017 Sheffield UK The Plug
5/24/2017 Birmingham UK The Asylum
5/25/2017 Zottegem BE Dunk!Festival
5/26/2017 Bristol UK Trinity Community Arts
5/27/2017 London UK Roundhouse (w Thurston Moore Band)
5/28/2017 Manchester UK Victoria Warehouse
5/30/2017 Dublin, IRE Button Factory 
6/2/2017 Barcelona ES Primavera Sound Festival
6/3/2017 Moers DE Moers Festival
6/5/2017 Biarritz FR Atabal
6/6/2017 Angouleme FR La Nef
6/7/2017 Rouen FR 106 Club
6/9/2017 Porto PT NOS Primavera Sound Festival
(all above dates feature Little Annie, with the exception of Istanbul)

8/2/2017 Milan IT Magnolia Club Outside  Concert
8/6/2017 Katowice PL Off! Festival
8/10/2017 Jaromer CZ Brutal Assault Festival
8/20/2017  Las Vegas NV Psycho Las Vegas Festival
8/22/2017  San Francisco CA Independent
8/25/2017  Seattle WA The Neptune
8/26/2017  Vancouver BC Venue
8/27/2017  Portland OR Revolution Hall
(above shows feature Okkyung Lee)

10/4/2017  Lorient FR Le Manège
10/5/2017  Bordeaux FR Rock School Barbey
10/19/2017 Winterthur CH Salzhaus
10/21/2017      Fribourg CH Fri-SON
10/22/2017 Heidelberg DE Halle 02
10/24/2017 Dresden DE Beatpol
10/25/2017 Leipzig DE Conne Island
10/26/2017 Berlin DE Berghain
10/28/2017 Bremen DE Lagerhouse
(above shows feature Baby Dee)

11/2/2017   Brooklyn NY Warsaw (w Carla Bozulich)
11/3/2017   Brooklyn NY Warsaw (w Anna von Hausswolff)
11/4/2017   Brooklyn NY Warsaw (w Adult.)

• FINAL THOUGHTS FOR THIS LENGTHY NEWSLETTER:
The past 7 years of my life have been the most productive and fulfilling of my career. It’s not my place to draw qualitative distinctions between the previous and current periods, and I wouldn’t presume any expertise in doing so, but from a personal perspective, this time period has been the most consistently engaging and even enthralling in my recollection. I thank here Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Thor Harris, Phil Puleo, Christopher Pravdica and our most recent convert, Paul Wallfisch, for their commitment to ecstasy and their sheer stamina in this marathon adventure.  Much love to these intrepid explorers of sonic truth! May God snatch us all by his teeth and fling us out over his shoulder into the great black beyond, where we will spin slowly and infinitely through space with an ever-nascent smile emerging on our face.

… and what’s next? Musically, I have no clear idea, and don’t really want one at this juncture. I seem to have the sound of a sustained chord in my mind – not the striking of the chord, but what hangs in the air after as it dissipates, and what surrounds it, and I look forward to filling that out, traveling there. Certainly, there will be some singing involved, though not necessarily all by me, and words, words, I’m always looking for words, irreducible and implacable – an impossible goal. We’ll see how that goes…I will continue to use the name Swans, but will revert to a cast of revolving contributors, drawing on a pool of men and women I’ve worked with along the way (and new ones too), including of course, with their permission, the gentlemen listed above. But the idea of having a fixed band and the responsibilities it entails is exhausting and impossible to even contemplate, and I suspect those listed above would concur. So, things will be different, much different, out of necessity and hope. I used to say I’m always happiest when I’m leaving, but that’s no longer the case. Stasis is not attractive to me, however, and is probably unhealthy, so I’ll look for new ways to… dissolve. Some of those ways will be in public, I presume, in the form of occasional short tours and one-off special shows…

…In addition to new music, I’ll be working on making sure the Swans catalog is all reissued properly and stays in print in the best possible form and packaging (which is just as important to me as the music itself), and there’s talk of a Swans oversized art book, containing all the art to date and its related aspects and offshoots… I’m working slowly on building a new collection of short fiction too. God knows when that will come to fruition, if ever… There’s an oral history of Swans book in the works… The Swans documentary by Marco Porsia, “Where Does a Body End?” is ever-burgeoning and progressing, from what I hear. I’m very thankful to Marco that he’s taken such an interest and has dedicated such a large portion of his time and energy to this and is persisting. Here’s a link to that if you don’t know about it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1000942931/where-does-a-body-end-a-documentary-on-the-band-sw

As new projects appear we’ll of course send out a newsletter, so if you are interested please stay signed up. Again, if you want off the list, please let us know.

I can think of nothing else that needs saying at the moment. I love you. Bye! – Michael Gira / Swans / May 2017

"…a mighty devotional racket" - The Scotsman

"...two and half hours of shamanic magic that uplifted and cleansed the audience" – Trebuchet 

SWANS have announced a remastered reissue of their ninth studio album, The Great Annihilator, out on 28 April 2017 on Mute / Young God Records (N America) plus further dates for their spring UK tour which now begins in Glasgow on 18 May and finishes with a show at London’s historic Roundhouse on 27 May and an appearance at Transformer festival in Manchester on 28 May.

The Great Annihilator, originally released in 1995 and described at the time as “…a majestic symphony of haunting melodies and shifting moods” [SF Bay Guardian], will be released on double vinyl – the album’s first release on vinyl for decades - and as a 2CD set. Both the vinyl (in the form of a download code) and CD will feature Drainland, Michael Gira’s debut solo album recorded at the same time as The Great Annihilator.

The album was entirely remastered by Doug Henderson, but only after Bill Rieflin (“honorary Swan forever”) recently tracked down DATs and cassettes containing unmastered mixes from the sessions. Michael Gira describes the discovery as “a revelation of great sonic effect”. Talking about the recording, Gira said “I lived in a tent in a mosquito infested studio right next to Cabrini Green in Chicago for what (?) something like 3 months, rarely leaving. Band members and Jarboe and Bill Rieflin etc came and went, and somehow we crafted this thing into what it became.”

Pre order here

The Great Annihilator line up features: Michael Gira, Jarboe, Bill Rieflin, Algis Kizys, Norman Westberg, Clinton Steele and Ted Parsons.

Swans return to Europe next month with dates starting in Greece before returning to the UK on 18 May with a show at Glasgow’s Oran Mor. The tour continues through the UK ending with their final London performance in the band’s current incarnation, at London’s Roundhouse with very special guest Thurston Moore on 27 May, and in Manchester the following evening for Transformer festival on a bill that includes The Fall, Royal Trux’s first UK show in over 15 years, This Is Not This Heat, Sex Swing, Little Annie and Loop.

SWANS EUROPEAN TOUR DATES – 2017

March

3 March - GR Athens, Gagarin 205

4 March - GR Thessaloniki, Block 33

6 March - FI Helsinki, Tavastia

8 March - NO Oslo, Rockefeller *

9 March - SE Stockholm, Kraken Sthlm*

10 March - NO Trondheim, Byscenen*

11 March - DK Copenhagen, Grey Hall*

12 March - DK Aarhus, VoxHall*

14 March - CZ Brno, Fleda Club*

15 March - SK Kosice, Taba Ka Kulturfabrik*

17 March - LT Vilnius, Legendos Klubas*

19 March - UA Kiev, Sentrum*

22 March - RO Cluj-Napoca, FORM Space Club*

23 March - RO Bucharest, Control Club*

24 March - MK Skopje, MKC*

25 March - RS Belgrade, Dom Omladine*

27 March - HR Rijeka, Pogon Kulture*

28 March - CH Zürich, Rote Fabrik Ziegel oh Lac*

29 March - DE Dortmund, FZW*

30 March - BE Ghent, Kompass Klub*

31 March - NL Amsterdam, Paradiso Music Hall*

April

1 April - NL The Hague Rewire Festival

May

16 May – TR Istanbul, Zorlu Performing Arts Center

18 May - UK Glasgow, Oran Mor*

19 May - UK Aberdeen, The Lemon Tree*

20 May - UK Leeds, Stylus - Leeds University Union*

21 May - UK Sheffield – The Plug*

24 May - UK Birmingham – The Asylum*

26 May - UK Bristol – Trinity Community Arts*

27 May - UK London, Roundhouse* - http://bit.ly/2enJyG1

28 May - UK Manchester, Victoria Warehouse* – http://bit.ly/2dSv18R

30 May – RU St Petersburg – Kosmonavt*

June

1 June - RU Moscow – Red Club*

2 June - ES Barcelona – Primavera Sound Festival

4 June - FR Biarritz, Atabal*

6 June - FR Angoulême, La Nef*

7 June - FR Rouen, Le 106*

9 June - PT Porto – NOS Primavera Sound Festival

Aug

18 Aug - US Las Vegas, Psycho Festival

20 Aug - US Las Vegas, Psycho Festival

*with Little Annie

Toby Cook gets "sucked down the gloriously uncomfortable rabbit hole once again" as he witnesses two and a half hours of both intensity and restraint at the Roundhouse in London

It starts with no more than a murmur. A low, soft hiss, an almost imperceptible resonance that, whilst muted and hushed, seems to charge the very air around you – the first few, almost unnoticed drops of rain and the soft bristle of static that mutes the breeze and gently prickles your skin; the kind of deceptive change in atmosphere and infinitely building, barely tangible sense of complete physical unease that tells you that somewhere, miles and miles out to sea, it's starting to change course, the storm is rolling in – it's coming straight at you and there's nothing you can do about it. You think, you fear, that you know what's about to arrive; you brace, you steady yourself, and you wait for the full, righteous power of the tempest to come crashing into you and to consume you totally.

That's how it starts: Not with a bang but with a drone, barely audible at first, but deeply unsettling nonetheless, as Swans' perpetually shirt-adverse percussionist Thor Harris takes to the Roundhouse stage to instigate a creeping whirr of tape loops and gently juddering gong-hits that signals the beginning of the group's largest UK headline show to date. It seems as if hours creep past before drummer Phil Puleo emerges to settle in behind his kit and joins the increasingly loud and urgent ritual. As the pair's pulsating, hypnotic throb amps up it seems to hold the air, and time itself in a state of suspension before the rest of the band emerge to quietly pick-up their instruments, followed lastly by leader and de facto conductor Michael Gira. But this is only the start, and as the dynamic shifts, as the warm guitar tones and bass hum of opener 'Frankie M' give way to clangourous tubular bells and the monotonous, icy stabs of Gira's guitar, the tension and the volume slowly rise. Very slowly.

At some point around the 30 minute mark the true sonorous physically of Swans' oeuvre is reached. The almost tangible vibrations rattle the 168 year old iron framework that supports the former train shed that is tonight's venue, to the point where you start to worry about it reaching that near-mythical resonance that will literally shake the building apart, bolt by bolt, rivet by rivet. Or at least you would be wondering this if you weren't hypnotised by the painfully unfurling body of sound created by the six men on stage in front of you. And just like that, it's over, you're back in the room. Briefly. With nary a whisper, bassist Christopher Pravdica, at Gira's command, oozes into the almost alt. funk bassline of 'A Little God In My Hands' and the odyssey of dynamics, tone and timbre begins once again, the volume ratchets up and up and up, and you're sucked down the gloriously uncomfortable rabbit hole once again.

There are few experiences in life quite like witnessing Swans live. It's not just the volume, it's not just the searing, uninhibited and seemingly cathartic energy that is expelled by Gira over the course of their two-and-a-half hour sets. And it's not even their nearly peerless ability to take elements of the familiar and warp them into something wholly disturbing and occasionally abject, the way they harness some of the most basic elements of music – volume, repetition, etc. – and use them to shape something that exists as much as a symphony as it does as white noise. What makes the Swans experience is the, you might say, paradoxical nature of their being, that they're so utterly non-conformist and individual, and yet at the same time all about the creation of something communal, like a suicide cult of guitars, drums, dulcimers and gongs, willing you along with them into the deafening abyss. Tonight, however, underneath the controlled cacophony, leaching through the atonal undulations of 'The Cloud Of Unknowing' and the languid and anguished strains of 'I Forget' there is the even more unnerving sense of performance, rather than catharsis and, almost, conformity.

There is no argument that Swans deserve to be playing venues of the Roundhouses size and status; there's something about the heavy industry that necessitated the construction of the venue in the first place and the history that still seems to linger in its iron bones. The power, the noise, the sense of scale and single-mindedness that characterises the early days of heavy industry seems an appropriate metaphor for the raw, single-minded power that Swans possess. And, that their popularity has swelled to a point where they can nearly fill a 3000-ish capacity venue is just reward for their perniciousness – they are, without question, perhaps the most forceful guitar-based band in existence. And yet something about tonight seems wrong. With the stage area arranged to almost give the impression of a concert hall, with Gira – as he often does – acting as conductor to his band of unarguably superb musicians, there is a distance, a predictability almost – the sense that those in attendance are merely watching Swans play Swans songs, that somehow an element of restraint has crept into both band an audience.

Let's be clear, the days of Swans bashing pieces of sheet metal bought from hardware stores as Gira licks the floor of the venue and several members of the audience vomit up their stomach linings due to the sheer unhinged and nauseating physicality of the groups music are long, long gone. This is, in a sense, not the same band anyway – and anybody wishing for their return is missing the point of Swans entirely. But when the band returned to the UK in 2011, after their lengthy hiatus, to play Birmingham's Supersonic festival, the experience was not so much life-affirming as simply life-changing. For a few present tonight who have not previously seen the sextet live the experience, from the quite drone of Thor's opening gong to the pulverising, almost kraut-rock crescendo that closed 'Bring The Sun/Black Hole Man' and brought the curtain down, there's little doubt they went home stupefied. Yet for other the feeling that whilst their songs may benefit from occasionally standing still, their creative arc of the last five years has perhaps suffered somewhat from having the same 'variations on a theme' ethos.

Or perhaps this is just the relatively calming eye of a much greater, immeasurable storm, and when the next side of it hits us pathetic sacks of flesh and barely intact ear drums we simply aren't going to be able to comprehend what's hit us.

http://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/filth-remastered-2014

‘Filth’ was released in 1983, the album was recently described by Clash magazine as “a brutally exhaustive work swimming in a thematic pool of audacious abjection” and by The Village Voice as “no wave with five years of practice, too messy for mysticism and too funny for suicide.” The vinyl edition of ‘Filth’ will come with two reproduction live posters and is the first in a series of remastered catalogue reissues.

Tickets and more info here: leguesswho.nl

A NOTE FROM MICHAEL GIRA:

Hello There,

We (Swans) have recently completed our new album. It is called To Be Kind. The release date is set for May 13, 2014. It will be available as a triple vinyl album, a double CD, and a 2XCD Deluxe Edition that will include a live DVD. It will also be available digitally. 

The album was produced by me, and it was recorded by the venerable John Congleton at Sonic Ranch, outside El Paso Texas, and further recordings and mixing were accomplished at John’s studio in Dallas, Texas. We commenced rehearsals as Sonic Ranch in early October 2013, began recording soon thereafter, then completed the process of mixing with John in Dallas by mid December 2013.

A good portion of the material for this album was developed live during the Swans tours of 2012/13. Much of the music was otherwise conjured in the studio environment.

The recordings and entire process of this album were generously and perhaps vaingloriously funded by Swans supporters through our auspices at younggodrecords.com via the release of a special, handmade 2xCD live album entitled Not Here / Not Now.

The Swans are: Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, Thor Harris, Christopher Pravdica.

Special Guests for this record include: Little Annie (Annie sang a duet with me on the song Some Things We Do, the strings for which were ecstatically arranged and played by Julia Kent); St. Vincent  (Annie Clark sang numerous, multi-tracked vocals throughout the record); Cold Specks (Al contributed numerous multi-tracked vocals to the song “Bring the Sun”); Bill Rieflin (honorary Swan Bill played instruments ranging from additional drums, to synthesizers, to piano, to electric guitar and so on. He has been a frequent contributor to Swans and Angels of Light and is currently playing with King Crimson)...

FULL MUSICIAN CREDITS: Swans: Michael Gira - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar; Norman Westberg - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals; Phil Puleo - drums, percussion, dulcimer, piano, keys, vocals; Christoph Hahn - lap steel guitars, electric guitar, vocals; Thor Harris - drums / percussion, vibes and bells, wind instruments, handmade viola, vocals; Christopher Pravdica - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals. Honorary Swan Forever: Bill Rieflin - (on multiple songs throughout the record) drums / percussion, piano, bass, guitar, synths, keyboards. Guest Musicians: Duet with MG on Some Things We Do - Little Annie. Strings and String Arrangement on Some Things We Do - Julia Kent. Background Vocals on Nathalie Neal, Bring the Sun, Screen Shot, Kirsten Supine - St. Vincent (appears courtesy of Loma Vista Recordings). Background vocals on Bring the Sun - Cold Specks (appears courtesy of Mute Artists LTD). Background Vocals on She Loves Us, A Little God in My Hands - Jennifer Church. More Musicians (Dallas): Violin - Daniel Hart; Mandolin - Rex Emerson; Trombone - David Pierce; Trumpet - Evan Weiss; Piano, Harpsichord, Synth - Sean Kirkpatrick; Piano – John Congleton.

I love you! Michael Gira

Pre order your copy here