Swans is an American experimental rock band formed in 1982 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. One of the few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.
Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program Blah Blah Blah, wearing only their instruments and shoes. Mainly influenced by the Stooges and the Birthday Party, they are credited for playing a grimy, confrontational style of rock, which preceded grunge. They have issued five studio albums, Plays the Devil's Music (1987), Paddock of Love (1988), Psychedelicatessen (1990), Forces You Don't Understand (1994) and The Great Old Ones (2003).
Cows were a noise rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota who formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1998. The band’s music mixed punk rock with surreal humour and copious amounts of noise played through distorted amplifiers and trumpet bleats, codifying them as a noise rock band. Throughout their career Cows released nine studio albums, all but one on the Minneapolis-based label Amphetamine Reptile Records. A star in honor of the Cows is on the outside mural of First Avenue.
Norman Westberg is a guitarist from Detroit best known for his work with Swans. Present through almost the entirety of the band's existence, Westberg was brought on for Swans' debut album Filth (1983) and appeared on every album through 1991's White Light from the Mouth of Infinity. Westberg became a full-time Swans member once again when Michael Gira reactivated the group in 2010.
Shannon Scott Selberg is a noise/punk rock musician known for his unusual antics on stage. Formerly the frontman for the Minneapolis-based group The Cows, Selberg provided lead vocals, trumpet, bugle and hardcore guitar. After the dissolution of The Cows in 1998, Selberg, described by Pitchfork Media as "the Crispin Glover of the noise rock community", moved on to New York City noise-rock band, The Heroine Sheiks, where he has added keyboards to his repertoire.
Filth is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1983 through Neutral Records, following the release of the band's self-titled debut EP in 1982. Though it did not receive much contemporary attention, Filth has since been recognized as ahead of its time and significant to heavy genres of music.
Cop is the second studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1984, through record label K.422.
Young God is the second EP by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1984, through record label K.422. It is also referred to as "Raping a Slave" and "I Crawled", but is officially referred to as Young God by the band. As with Cop, the cover art includes a notice that the record is "designed to be played at maximum volume."
Greed is the third studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1986, through record label K.422. Greed marks the slow turning point for Swans away from the harsh, brutal noise rock of prior releases, and is also the first Swans album to contain contributions from Jarboe.
The Heroine Sheiks was a New York-based Noise Rock band until early 2006. It began in 1999, as a collaboration of Shannon Selberg, George Porfiris, Norman Westberg and John Fell. Selberg emerged as a major songwriter in the complete history of the band whose sound was darker and more sinister than his previous work in The Cows. With several references to the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline, the band explored a thematic quality of black comedy.
John Fell is an American drummer. Born in New York City in 1961 to academic parents, he came into prominence in the early 1980s playing with rock/reggae/Latin band from Miami named "Watchdog". He is the co-owner of Main Drag Music located in Williamsburg. There, he creates custom snares, and repairs and sells drums. He has been listed on a number of lists of great drummers.
The Burning World is the sixth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1989, through record label Uni Records, the band's only major-label release. Co-produced by Bill Laswell and band leader Michael Gira, the album features a major stylistic shift from their past releases, being very tuneful and accessible compared to the bleak, industrialized sound from their past records. It received a mixed reception and was a commercial disappointment; the band was dropped from the record label following its poor performance.
White Light from the Mouth of Infinity is a studio album by the American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1991, through the record label Young God. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
"Time Is Money (Bastard)" is a song by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released as a 12-inch single in 1986, through record label K.422. The single is notable for the first official appearance of vocalist Jarboe.
Real Love is the fourth live album by American experimental rock band Swans. It originally appeared as an official bootleg in 1986, then was reissued on Atavistic Records in 1996. Real Love was recorded from European shows on Swans' Greed and Holy Money tour between February and April 1986.
Siamese Pipe is the second album by The Heroine Sheiks. It was released on October 1, 2002, by Rubric Records.
Thirteen Masks is the solo debut record by Jarboe, released in 1991 through Hyperium. The album features Swans members Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Clinton Steele, and Tony Maimone of Pere Ubu.
Journey to the End of the Knife is the fourth studio album by the noise rock band The Heroine Sheiks. The title and cover art are inspired by the novel Journey to the End of the Night (1932) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline.
My California is the fifth studio album by Beth Hart, released in 2010. Hart worked with Danish producer Rune Westberg, who had already worked on Beth's previous albums 37 Days and Leave the Light On. Westberg challenged Hart not to "scream with animal savagery", not to rely on the power of her voice but rather on the power of emotions. This makes My California a unique album in Hart's discography, with a constancy throughout the tracks that the fans were not used to with the previous albums.
Leaving Meaning is the fifteenth studio album by American experimental band Swans. It was released October 25, 2019 on Young God and Mute. A double album, Leaving Meaning's songs have been mixed separately for vinyl and CD releases, with the CD version of the album containing the original mixes of the songs, as well as an additional track, "Some New Things". As with all Swans' releases of the 2010s, Leaving Meaning was financed by a fundraiser album – in this case, What Is This? in March 2019.
