Swans were always gloomy and heavy, ignoring all mainstream and alternative trends. Their last album "The Seer" might have been hard to digest in its power, the new recording "To Be Kind" follows again the more transparent sound aesthetics of albums of the early nineties like "Love Of Life". Michael Gira, who has led the swans from the very beginning, is not a man of friendliness, although everything is going well privately at the moment and the sixty-year-old is getting married this year. In return, you can always rely on his depth and sustainability. His statements are explosive across time. That's why you can take your time listening.
eclipsed: "To Be Kind", like all your albums, has an almost religious quality.
Michael Gira: Some of my songs could be gospels. Our music has a lot in common with real religious or spiritual experiences. This in turn comes from our desire to do something that is overwhelming and unfolds its own life energy. But we're not alone in this. The Stooges already did. But as soon as you think too much about it, it gets boring. It's electric rock music, with the potential to take you to a higher level.
eclipsed: Would you say you make angry music?
Gira: It doesn't feel that way to me at all. Sometimes it may reveal things that feel a little uncomfortable, but for me it is more of a source of joy. I hope the audience feels the same way. When I listen to my records for the first time after mixing on big loudspeakers in the studio, it feels like Mozart's Requiem to me. It's just overwhelming.
eclipsed: Some people also recognize a therapeutic quality in your music.
Gira: I don't like this term at all. That would mean there's something wrong with me [Gira's last solo album was called "I Am Not Insane"; note] and it's a good idea to cure it. No, it's more like the cry of a good orgasm.
