My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky
| My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky | ||||
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| Swans studio album | ||||
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Publication |
September 23, 2010 |
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| Label (s) | Young God | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
8th |
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running time |
44:21 |
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Studio (s) |
New York City |
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My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky is a studio album from the Swans . It was released on September 23, 2010 on Young God Records . It is her first studio material in 14 years. Swans founder Michael Gira financed the recordings for the album through the creation of the limited album I Am Not Insane and chose numerous collaborators from earlier Swans work and his side project Angels of Light to record and tour on this album. My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky received positive feedback from critics, both for the return of the Swans and for the deep, spiritual themes of the lyrics.
History of origin
In a 2009 interview, Gira considered resurrecting the Swans project. Later that year, many tracks that would appear on My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky in 2010 were released and sold in demo and acoustic form on I Am Not Insane to fund the recording process for this album. For this purpose, Gira produced 1,000 handmade copies of the album. In January 2010, Gira updated the band's Facebook and MySpace pages with the words "SWANS ARE NOT DEAD" - an announcement that the band was back and a play on words with the title of the live album Swans Are Dead .
Gira wrote the songs within three years and decided that they were unsuitable for an Angels of Light album and that he wanted to regain the aggressive sound and "acoustic intensity" of the Swans. He briefly considered releasing the material as a split album between Angels of Light / Swans. But then he decided against it. After Gira had financed the I Am Not Insane sales, he brought together a group of musicians to record the album with him in New York City. Every song - with the exception of "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" - was recorded within 12 hours of daily recording sessions.
In making the decision to re-shape the Swans, Gira wanted to create continuity between the band's last album, Soundtracks for the Blind from 1996, and his more recent work with Angels of Light . The song "My Birth" contains lyrics that were actually written in 1997 for Swans. The line-up of the band consists of Gira, Kristof Hahn, Phil Puleo and Norman Westberg from previous Swans albums as well as Thor Harris and Chris Pravdica, with whom Gira had already worked on solo work. This is the first Swans album without Jarboe since Greed (1986). Gira chose these musicians because he knew how they would work on tours to promote the album. and created a special sound for swans with rhythms and the interplay between atmospheric instruments such as dulcimers , tubular bells and vibraphones .
Gira contacted the Italian artist Beatrice Pediconi to create the entire artwork for the album. He had seen her work in Harper's Magazine .
subjects
The album title comes from the lyrics of an unpublished Swans song called "Oxygen" in which Gira dies and ascends to heaven. Many critics noted spiritual themes on the album. Tiny Mix Tapes justifies the review of the album with:
“For an album whose title links religion with suicide, the real bravery is ultimately to reach the other end of the spectrum:
Teach me please, to cease to resist , asks Gira. May I find my way to the reason to come home / May I find my way to the foot of your throne. "
Gira's interest in spirituality developed with this album and his goal was to create music that "lifts you up, makes you levitate as if it obliterates your body and makes you ascend to heaven".
promotion
In addition to the release of I Am Not Insane, Gira promoted the album through a free live stream of the album on the Internet . He also uploaded a demo version of the song "No Words" to the band's MySpace page and reorganized the Swans for their first tour since 1997. Concerts have taken place in the United States and Europe, including Germany. They were also headlining the "Supersonic Festival" in October 2010.
Gira also had the album remixed with the intention of selling the remixed version on tour and through the band's website.
The album was also the one billionth submission to the Gracenote music database .
reception
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky received mostly positive reviews. The album received 83 points from Metacritic and thus "universal recognition". The AV Club gave the album an A grade, calling it a "Leviathan from an album!" and commented on the similarities and differences between other Swans publications: "It is similar to all previous Swans works, and yet none." Tiny Mix Tapes awarded 4.5 out of 5 points to the album, Pitchfork Media awarded 7.7 / 10 points.
BBC Music called it a "majestic return and, let's hope, a harbinger of work to come". The Big Takeover wrote that the album encompassed "all of the many whims of the original band". In the December 2010 issue, The Wire listed My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky as the third best album in 2010.
Track list
- No Words / No Thoughts - 9:24
- Reeling the Liars In - 2:20
- Jim - 6:46
- My Birth - 3:52
- You Fucking People Make Me Sick (with Devendra Banhart ) - 5:08
- Inside Madeline - 6:36
- Eden Prison - 6:03
- Little Mouth - 4:12
- Bonus track on the special version of the album
- Look at Me Go - 46:07
The bonus track consists of various outtakes and audio finds from the time the album was recorded. They were mixed into one long track.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Michael Gira on Swans' My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky . The Quietus. July 30, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ Swans To Reform? Michael Gira Live at the Oxfam Café . Brainwashed. May 3, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ↑ Chris Bilton: Swans: resurrected by the fans . Eye Weekly . September 29, 2010. Accessed on September 29, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Grayson Currin: Michael Gira and Swans head back into the maelstrom of sound . The Washington Post . September 24, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ↑ a b Jordan Zivitz: The full conversation: Jordan Zivitz and Michael Gira . The Montreal Gazette . September 29, 2010. Accessed on September 29, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Brandon Stousy: Swans Reforming, Touring, Recording . Stereogum. January 11, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ a b Ben Ratliff: Interview: Michael Gira, musician . The Scotsman . September 16, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ^ Iann Robinson: Swan's frontman Michael Gira (Part 1) . CraveOnline. September 26, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- ↑ Ben Ratliff: Loud and Middle-Aged, But It's Not a Reunion . The New York Times . October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ Iann Robinson: Swan's frontman Michael Gira (Part 2) . CraveOnline. September 26, 2010. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- ^ Daniel Arnold: Gene F: Swans . The fader . October 13, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ A b David Morris: Music Review: Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky . Tiny mix tapes. September 20, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ Kayla Guthrie: The Undertaker: Swans' Michael Gira . Interview . October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ↑ Sam Hockley-Smith: Stream: Swans' Album My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky . The fader . September 20, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ Brandon Stousy: Swans My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky Album Info . Stereogum. July 21, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ Brandon Stousy: Swans To Play Brooklyn Masonic Temple . Stereogum . May 10, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ^ Noam Cohen, Obsessions With Minutiae Thrive as Databases . The New York Times . October 3, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- ↑ Jess Harvell: Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky . Pitchfork Media . September 22, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ Louis Pattison: BBC - Music - Review of Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky . BBC Music . September 13, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
- ↑ Michael Toland: Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky (Young God) . The big takeover . September 20, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
Web links
- My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky on Young God Records
- My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky at Allmusic (English)