Angels of Light

This article is about the American band. For other uses, see Angel of Light.

Angels of Light was an American neofolk band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira since he left Swans, most noticeably being musically more melodic and less brutal than his previous efforts and with emphasis on acoustic instruments and folk and country influences.

Angels of Light
Angels of Light (Michael Gira with Akron/Family) during a concert in Warsaw, Poland, October 8, 2005
Background information
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Americana[1][2] alternative country[3][4] folk[5] neofolk[6]
Years active	1998–2009
Labels	Young God
Members	Michael Gira

Before the band was formed, Gira intended to call his post-Swans acoustic/song-based project The Pleasure Seekers. This name was discarded because there had been a group with the same name in the 1960s. The first two live performances of what would become the Angels of Light (the Tonic/Bowery Ballroom benefit shows) were billed as "Michael Gira with guests".

The revolving lineup up Angels of Light included a wide range of musicians from New York City and elsewhere, including Dana Schechter of Bee and Flower, Kid Congo Powers of The Cramps, Larry Mullins (a.k.a. Toby Dammit), Cassis Birgit Staudt of b-blush, Bliss Blood of The Moonlighters, Thor Harris of Shearwater, Swans guitarist Kristof Hahn, Phil Puleo of Cop Shoot Cop, and freak-folk musician Devendra Banhart. On The Angels of Light Sing 'Other People' and We Are Him, Gira was backed by Brooklyn band Akron/Family. Hahn, Harris and Puleo went on to join Gira in the new Swans lineup assembled in 2010. Shortly thereafter Swans released their first post-reunion LP My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky.

All Angels of Light albums were released on Michael Gira's label Young God Records.

Discography

Studio albums

• New Mother (1999)
• How I Loved You (2001)
• Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home (2003)
• The Angels of Light Sing 'Other People' (2005)
• Akron/Family & Angels of Light (2005) – split album with Akron/Family.
• We Are Him (2007)

Live albums

• We Were Alive! (2002)

Singles

• "Praise Your Name" (1999)

References

1. McCaffrey, Conor (August 13, 2013). "Interview: Swans… climbing a ladder to God". State. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
2. Vile, Gareth K. (November 5, 2012). "The Seer Returns: Michael Gira on Swans' ever-evolving live show". The Skinny. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
3. Tudor, Alexander (August 20, 2012). "Swans – The Seer". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
4. Frowny, Guy. "Kid Congo Powers and The Pink Monkey Birds". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
5. Leone, Dominique (January 20, 2003). "The Angels of Light – Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
6. Nasrallah, Dimitri (October 24, 2010). "Michael Gira: From Uncompromising Swans to Ethereal Angels of Light". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 27, 2015.

External links

• Young God Records official site
• Michael Gira interview (September 1999) for QRD
• Michael Gira interview (November 2001) for QRD
• Michael Gira interview (October 2003) for QRD