PRESS
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Angels of Light: show preview Albuquerque, May 7, 2005
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The Weekly Alibi, May 2005 | by Brian Paul Ortiz"The most important thing for me is that I make sure I am always in an uncomfortable place musically."For anyone familiar with Michael Gira, the man and his music, this statement holds very little irony or surprise. When searching for a descriptive word for the near quarter-century of recorded material bearing his authorship - hundreds of songs from the now legendary Swans, Skin, The Body Lovers, as well as our current century's Angels of Light - "comfort" doesn't come to mind. Innovative? Yes. Challenging? Certainly. Frightening, angry, beautiful, stark? Definitely, yes. Comfortable? Not by a sight. Angels of Light is less a band than one man's songwriting project. Since 1999 an ever-shifting cast of musicians and friends have written, recorded and toured with Gira under the Angels moniker. None of their four albums sound terribly alike, none quite so different as this year's Sing 'Other People.' At once intimate and shimmering, claustrophobic and tedious, Gira, in his own words, has come "as close as I'll ever get to making "pop" songs, though I of course realize my definition is probably a little different than yours!" But try selling "Michael's White Hands"......
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Angels of Light: show preview Albuquerque, May 7, 2005
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The Weekly Alibi, May 2005 | by Brian Paul Ortiz"The most important thing for me is that I make sure I am always in an uncomfortable place musically."For anyone familiar with Michael Gira, the man and his music, this statement holds very little irony or surprise. When searching for a descriptive word for the near quarter-century of recorded material bearing his authorship - hundreds of songs from the now legendary Swans, Skin, The Body Lovers, as well as our current century's Angels of Light - "comfort" doesn't come to mind. Innovative? Yes. Challenging? Certainly. Frightening, angry, beautiful, stark? Definitely, yes. Comfortable? Not by a sight. Angels of Light is less a band than one man's songwriting project. Since 1999 an ever-shifting cast of musicians and friends have written, recorded and toured with Gira under the Angels moniker. None of their four albums sound terribly alike, none quite so different as this year's Sing 'Other People.' At once intimate and shimmering, claustrophobic and tedious, Gira, in his own words, has come "as close as I'll ever get to making "pop" songs, though I of course realize my definition is probably a little different than yours!" But try selling "Michael's White Hands"......
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Michael Gira took charge of his music and became an established, not establishment, businessman
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Houston Chronicle | by ANDREW DANSBYFor such a simple music, punk rock had plenty of baggage regarding how music should be conceived, performed and sold. Its art rock successors lugged around even more opinions and snobbery. But Michael Gira chose to pack light. If Gira's name doesn't ring a bell, perhaps you weren't scared senseless bythe Swans, his noise-rock ensemble that channeled punk energy into a droning, menacing, gothic nightmare of a sound in the '80s. The group released numerous über-dark albums and EPs between 1982 and 1996. Before the band collapsed, Gira established his own label, Young God Records. Young God is operational and successful today, and it affords Gira the opportunity to release music at a pace he finds comfortable — swift. He's also become something of a tastemaker, signing some startlingly original acts (particularly the ethereal-voiced Texan Devendra Banhart) to Young God. While the major labels continue pursuing flawed business models built around massive overhead and overt gambling, Giras is quite comfortable with his own bag: a moderate-risk, moderate-reward operation with music at its center. Skepticism that the guy who hatched album titles like Anonymous Bodies in an Empty Room and Public Castration Is a Good Idea......
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Michael Gira
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Houston Chronicle | ANDREW DANSBYtook charge of his music and became an established, not establishment, businessmanFor such a simple music, punk rock had plenty of baggage regarding how music should be conceived, performed and sold. Its art rock successors lugged around even more opinions and snobbery. But Michael Gira chose to pack light. If Gira's name doesn't ring a bell, perhaps you weren't scared senseless by the Swans, his noise-rock ensemble that channeled punk energy into a droning, menacing, gothic nightmare of a sound in the '80s. The group released numerous über-dark albums and EPs between 1982 and 1996. Before the band collapsed, Gira established his own label, Young God Records. Young God is operational and successful today, and it affords Gira the opportunity to release music at a pace he finds comfortable — swift. He's also become something of a tastemaker, signing some startlingly original acts (particularly the ethereal-voiced Texan Devendra Banhart) to Young God. While the major labels continue pursuing flawed business models built around massive overhead and overt gambling, Giras is quite comfortable with his own bag: a moderate-risk, moderate-reward operation with music at its center. Skepticism that the guy who hatched album titles like Anonymous Bodies......
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Michael Gira
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Houston Chronicle | ANDREW DANSBYtook charge of his music and became an established, not establishment, businessmanFor such a simple music, punk rock had plenty of baggage regarding how music should be conceived, performed and sold. Its art rock successors lugged around even more opinions and snobbery. But Michael Gira chose to pack light. If Gira's name doesn't ring a bell, perhaps you weren't scared senseless by the Swans, his noise-rock ensemble that channeled punk energy into a droning, menacing, gothic nightmare of a sound in the '80s. The group released numerous über-dark albums and EPs between 1982 and 1996. Before the band collapsed, Gira established his own label, Young God Records. Young God is operational and successful today, and it affords Gira the opportunity to release music at a pace he finds comfortable — swift. He's also become something of a tastemaker, signing some startlingly original acts (particularly the ethereal-voiced Texan Devendra Banhart) to Young God. While the major labels continue pursuing flawed business models built around massive overhead and overt gambling, Giras is quite comfortable with his own bag: a moderate-risk, moderate-reward operation with music at its center. Skepticism that the guy who hatched album titles like Anonymous Bodies......