The Other Side of Life is proud to present:
(New York, NY; on Young God Records)
with
XIU XIU (on Polyvinyl Records)
Wednesday, July 2nd
at THE NEW VINTAGE
2126 S. Preston
8 PM DOORS, ALL AGES!
21-and-over drinks with valid photo ID.
SOLD OUT!
A NOTE FROM MICHAEL GIRA:
January 13, 2014
Hello There,
We (SWANS) have recently completed our new album. It is currently being mastered at the time of this writing. 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. In addition, I am thinking of releasing it as a USB “stick” / flashdrive (with special packaging), so that this ultimate, high quality version can be listened to from beginning to end, without interruption (the album is a little over 2 hours long).
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. See details here: http://bit.ly/1igMi70
The SWANS are: Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, Thor Harris, Christopher Pravdica.
Special Guests for this record include (among many others): 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 too many instruments to list here, 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)…
I love you! Michael Gira
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More from Michael Gira on SWANS:
I started SWANS in 1982 in NYC. At the time, I had no musical skills whatsoever, just instinct and a need to make something happen. The music changed constantly over the years, and I’m gratified it reached, and continues to reach, a fair number of people. After 15 years, I decided to end SWANS, as the name had become a burden and the associations no longer fit with what I wanted to do into the future.
Dozens of people came and went through the 15 years of SWANS existence. These are the people that spring immediately to mind: Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Roli Mossiman, Harry Crosby, Sue Hanel, Jonathan Kane, Algis Kizys, Jarboe, Ted Parsons, Steve Mcallister, Larry Mullins, Virgil Moorefield, Vudi, Joe Goldring, Ronaldo Gonzales, Vinnie Signorelli, Christoph Hahn, Ivan Nahem, Bill Rieflin, Bill Bronson, Phil Puleo, Anton Fier, Jenny Wade, Clinton Steele…and more…
PS – Jarboe was the longest-lasting SWANS contributor of those listed above and contributed more than can be mentioned here. To learn more about her, go here: thelivingjarboe.com
Here’s some of the music that I enjoyed during the time of SWANS: Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, The Stooges, Brian Eno, Teenage Jesus And The Jerks, DNA, The Contortions, Glenn Branca, Black Flag, early Pink Floyd, This Heat, Kraftwerk, Herman Nitsch, Cabaret Voltaire, Can, Public Image LTD., SPK, Ennio Morricone, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, and always, always Bob Dylan and The Beatles…ha ha! I’m sure there’s 100s more, but who cares and I can’t remember anyway…
SWANS formed in 1982 and, after disbanding in 1997, returned with the critically acclaimed albums My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (2010) and 2012’s The Seer.
Over the course of 15 7″s, five EPs, six collaboration albums and eight full lengths XIU XIU has never shied away from any topic that is honest and meaningful to them. Their songs are about gender dysphoria, suicide, loneliness, going insane, child soldiers, the tsunami in Indonesia, hideous sex, the Sanrio character Pandapple, abortion politics, incest, cats, queer life, being raped by the police and the individual responsibility of U.S. military personnel for the families they murder. Somehow within all of this, cuteness attempts to find a way to embrace death and horrible emotion. The music is drawn from British post-punk and synth pop, modern Western classical, noise and experimental musics, Asian percussion musics, American folk, torch singers, house, techno, 1950s rock n roll and this second’s top 40. Starting in isolation in San Jose, California in 2002, XIU XIU has relentlessly toured all over the world since. San Jose is a rotten place to be, so relentless touring was a way to get AWAY! There have been a total of seven line-ups, all led by Jamie Stewart. XIU XIU have been called “self flagellating”, “harsh”, “brutal”, “shocking” and “perverse” but also “genius”, “brilliant”, “unique”, “imaginative” and “luminous.”
Check out the Facebook invitation here: https://www.facebook.com/events/721640174536970/.
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The Other Side of Life 