THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The material contained in this album was largely developed over the course a year-long Swans tour, during 2023 / 2024,” says founder and frontman Michael Gira, explaining the genesis of their 17th album Birthing. “Then (it was) recorded and further orchestrated and rearranged in the studio. Two pieces were created and performed in the studio.
“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, 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.”
In addition to Gira (acoustic guitar, voice, producer), Birthing features contributions by 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), and guest artists 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 Gira. It was recorded at Soundfabrik Berlin with recording engineer Ingo Krauss, assisted by Kiron Gaudi, and mixed at Candy Bomber Studio, Berlin by Krauss. It was mastered by Doug Henderson at Micro-Moose, Berlin.”
