Daniel Robert Epstein: Michael Gira

What a detailed and informative interview. Thanks.

Thanks. It can be so hard to track the less popular artists through life.

I love this man's music.

I saw them on the latest tour in Alb. NM. at a bar - probably 70 people or so up by the stage - and it was one of the best shows Ive ever seen - it was really intense and personal - they were all drinking whiskey from little glasses - it was hypnotic -I was mesmerized -

Wow...M. Gira is one of the few I will fan-boy over. When I saw the AoL play in Denver at this small punk-rock dive, I was freaked out being in the same room with him...

The Swans covered so much ground, and the AoL are pretty unique also. But I think that M. Gira's work with his record label will be even more influential and long-lasting. He has a fabulous ear for interesting and talented acts that deserve a listen. I hope this is an introduction to some fun stuff for y'all.

A nice interview to come back to! (been out of it for a while)
Always looking forward to his next project. Recently, I find myself listening to Angels of Light much more than my old Swans discs.

His CD with Dan Matz, What We Did, is also worth picking up, but it is not as layered as some of the AoL material. Very nice though.

awesome, great insight to a fine artist's process.

Ironically, I just finished about a 3 hour Swans session (which I hadn't taken on for a while), Body to Body/Filth dbl cd w/extras. This was a great interview to cap it off. He's really continually progressed as an artist.

Having seen Angels Of Light twice, and being a fan of Swans/ Jarboe/ Gira for ten years, the stage presence really can be overwhelming.
Both Michael and Jarboe are very personable and approachable despite a worshipful fan base of geeks like me. Everything I've ordered off the Youg God site has arrived to me signed in silvery marker in an envelope clearly stuffed and mailed by them. They are totally self-produced and independent, undertaking a rather demanding task.
What's interesting to observe with these people's work is the difference in sound from one recording to the next. You'll get an album like Filth and compare it to something like the Burning World, and you'll swear this can't be the same band. Towards the end of Swans, with the Great Anhihlilator and Soundtracks For the Blind, the styles from the earlier years and later fused together in a style of art music both challenging and dangerous. A more mellowed out style was certainly welcome.
Angels is a project entirely different from anything Swans ever did. You can find similarities to stuff on White Light and Love of Life, but it's far more blues rock oriented... in many places even country-sounding. The performances are everything you'd want from a Swans show without going deaf for a week from blugeoning bass and brutal noise samples...

Why not, It's that time of the year.