Swans
SWANS announce UK tour dates following reflective album leaving meaning., Getintothis’ Roy Bayfield gets out the diary.
Earth-moving sonic experimenters SWANS will be returning to these shores in 2020 with a tour hitting Brighton, Bristol, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester (Stoller Hall) and Liverpool (Invisible Wind Factory).
The tour will follow on from two sold-out shows in May at London’s Earth (25-27).
Here’s the line-up we’ll be seeing: Michael Gira (acoustic and electric guitar and voice); Kristof Hahn (lap steel guitar, electric guitar, loops); Phil Puleo (drums, percussion, gizmos); Dana Schechter (bass guitar, lap steel guitar, keys); Christopher Pravdica (bass guitar, loops, keys); Ben Frost (synthesizer, Mellotron, electric guitar).
Reviewing SWANS in 2016, Getintothis’ Rick Leach experienced “a quasi-religious experience…a gentle stillness that flows below the sheets of sound’.
Seeing the legendary group in the Invisible Wind Factory could well be an amazing experience for Liverpool punters.
We can expect the most recent album leaving meaning. to be a touchstone for the performances, in which case meditative repetition and emotional depth will be a feature, perhaps more than titanic walls of sound and bowel-shaking sonic assault.
leaving meaning.was written and produced by Michael Gira and features contributions from recent and former Swans, members of Angels of Light, with guest collaborator contributions from Anna and Maria von Hausswolff, Ben Frost, The Necks, Baby Dee, and a Hawk and a Hacksaw.
Michael Gira (credit: artist’s PR)
Talking about the LP Michael Gira says,
“leaving meaning. is the first Swans album to be released since I dissolved the lineup of musicians that constituted Swans from 2010 – 2017. Swans is now comprised of a revolving cast of musicians, selected for both their musical and personal character, chosen according to what I intuit best suits the atmosphere in which I’d like to see the songs I’ve written presented. In collaboration with me, the musicians, through their personality, skill and taste, contribute greatly to the arrangement of the material. They’re all people whose work I admire and whose company I personally enjoy.”
UK tour dates:
Aug 21 – Brighton, Chalk
Aug 22 – Bristol, ArcTanGent Festival
Aug 24 – Newcastle, Boiler Room
Aug 25 – Edinburgh, Summerhall Series
Aug 28 – London, Islington Assembly Hall
Aug 29 – Manchester, Stoller Hall
Aug 31 – Liverpool, Invisible Wind Factory
Sep 1 – Nottingham, Albert Hall
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