Swans "Soundtracks for the Blind" double CD

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SWANS – “SOUNDTRACKS FOR THE BLIND” DOUBLE CD ATAVISTIC/YOUNG GOD RECORDS [U.S.A.] ALP59CD/YG01 “This double CD album has everything in there – all the ideas from Swans’ 15 years of work. There’s some contemporary recordings of the band as it existed in ‘96/7, with Larry Mullins on drums/percussion, Jarboe singing and playing keyboards, Vudi playing electric guitar, and Joe Goldring playing bass and electric guitar, and me singing and playing electric and acoustic guitar, but there’s also a huge amount of sounds and recordings that I (and a few by Jarboe here too) collected over the years. These are reassembled, looped, mangled, and in many cases overdubbed upon to create new pieces of music. Being the “artist” in this case, it’s hard for me to talk about this one, because the memory is so laden (or burdened!) with the experience of making this thing. I guess what I’m trying to say here is I almost had a heart attack making it (slightly kidding here). It was just overwhelming. I really set my own trap, dug my own grave on this one. There was SO MUCH material to deal with, to sift through (whole trunks full of decomposing, moldy cassettes and discs with samples and sounds), and the task of making it into something coherent was at times debilitating. Really like climbing up a mountain of sand. I don’t remember why I set this goal for myself, to somehow incorporate such a ridiculously disparate amount of material. I think maybe it was so I could justify throwing all that crap into the local dump, which is what I did when I finished the album. But in the end, after centuries of picking at this huge iceberg of material with a toothpick, my trusty engineer Chris Griffin and I managed to sculpt something out of it. It actually breathes, seems to live, in most places I think. There’s a press release below written by Kurt at Atavistic (Swans label at the time), and some reviews too, which might give you a better idea of how this sounds. Anyway, in the end, I was elated with this music, both because I liked it and because finishing it meant I could finally lay Swans to rest after 15 years. In my case, I’m always happiest when I’m leaving.” --- Michael Gira. “Soundtracks for the blind is the final studio album from the legendary band. Throughout their fifteen-year history, Swans have unfailingly presented intense, utterly singular & peerless music. Soundtracks for the blind, their new double-cd set, is the final studio album. Soundtracks was compiled from a complex variety of sources, among them cassette loops, found sounds, narratives & multi-track recordings of new songs & interludes featuring many of the same talented musicians who joined M. Gira & Jarboe on last year's highly successful great annihilator world tour: Larry Mullins (drums, iggy pop band) & Vudi (gtr, american music club) and Joe Goldring on bass and guitar. These myriad textures, sounds & musical passages were then collaged, merged & interwoven by gira, and true to form, the fidelity & aural effect on the listener is just astounding. Soundtracks for the blind totally delivers, in full circle fashion, the promise nascent in '94's great annihilator album. The collision of art, sound & technology has seldom sounded more complete or seductive... Soundtracks for the Blind yields total sonic immersion: your only option is to succumb.” --- Atavistic press release. for other ambient, experimental, avant-garde, free jazz, etc. items. Please contact me with any questions you may have, preferably at least two days before auction-end so that I have enough time to respond. CONDITION: Both CDs have just one or two light scratches/marks that do not affect playback. Booklet is in near-mint condition. Digipak is in near-mint condition except for some very slight creasing towards the top of the spine. TERMS OF SALE, ETC: All sales are final; no returns are accepted unless I have made a material error in the description. PayPal is the only acceptable form of payment. I must receive y... read more

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