SWANS TOURING AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND FOR THE FIRST TIME
The Frontier Touring Co. is pleased to announce that the hugely influential and much lauded Swans will tour Australia & New Zealand for the first time in March 2011.
Emerging from the early ‘80s New York No Wave scene alongside such artists as Sonic Youth, 8-Eyed Spy and James Chance, Swans’ seminal and confronting sound has had a profound impact on the music world. The various styles they explored often cited as an influence for a number of artists; such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Napalm Death and Neurosis.
First touring Europe in 1982 with The Birthday Party and Butthole Surfers, the following 15 years saw Swans’ live shows develop infamous reputations throughout Europe and the US. Then in 1997, with 11 studio albums to their name, the band’s founder; singer / writer and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira announced his decision to dissolve the group in order to pursue other projects.
Michael Gira went on to form Angels of Light and dedicated time to recording and producing a wide variety of music on his own label; Young God Records (originally started to facilitate the release of Swans music). In 2009 he played the Australian ATP festival as curated by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
In 2010, and to the great excitement of Swans fans worldwide, Michael Gira decided to reconvene his legendary group Swans. In reference to this, Michael has said “THIS IS NOT A REUNION. It’s not some dumb-ass nostalgia act. It is not repeating the past. After 5 Angels Of Light albums, I needed a way to move FORWARD, in a new direction, and it just so happens that revivifying the idea of Swans is allowing me to do that.”
Swans have now recorded and released their first album in 13 years. The highly anticipated “My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky” was released on September 27 and is available via the www.younggodrecords.com website. Their current series of shows through the US & Europe, announced earlier this year, have already received exceptional reviews;
“Swans do more than play music on a stage. There's an extra dimension to their performances …. They dig down deep, into the chest and heart and gut (maybe even the soul), and bring something recognizable back with them, like that's always been their mission.” (brainwashed.com)
The core group constituting Swans for this phase includes original members Michael Gira (guitar / voice / mendicant friar act) and Norman Westberg (guitar); Angels of Light members Christoph Hahn (guitar), Phil Puleo (drums), Thor Harris (percussion); and Chris Pravdica (bass).
Sydney experimental jazz trio The Necks, with their trademark extended improvised performances will join Swans as special guests to their Australian tour dates.
“[The Necks] defy conventions about making and listening to music” (theguardian.co.uk)
“Swanton and Abrahams play cat and mouse with bass riffs and piano vamps, and the pitch of Buck's high-tuned tom somehow becomes part of the harmony: the sound is everything. Two-thirds through the number, the entire room is throbbing to an ecstatic pulse.” (theguardian.co.uk)
Hugely popular in their own right both in Australia and overseas, and described by the eminent British music commentator Richard Willams as “the new music I would find it hardest to do without”.
The inclusion of The Necks to Swans’ March Australian tour dates is sure to provide an unforgettable evening of music.
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