2. SwansTo Be Kind
I can’t claim to be an OG Swans fan, I’m late to this party. I wandered into the middle of a Swans gig having lost my mates at a festival, just trying to get to the other side of the stage to get to where they were. But, when I looked up from my text thread I realised that I was at the loudest seance I’d ever been too. The hairs on my back were standing up and I didn’t even know who the band were.
Real, seasoned Swans heads will argue with me about which is the most important Swans record but this was the one that was the way in for me. Listening back to it now brings back the feeling of seeing them for the first time loud and aggressive and hairy and relentless.
A few years ago Swans offered SMD a slot supporting them but James was booked to be away recording a band for the date so we couldn’t do it. Bizarrely, I thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up and offered to do a solo synth thing, despite the fact that such a thing didn’t exist. They said OK so I spent almost a month making totally new music to play before a Swans show on a new synth rig. I recorded the show, then disassembled the rig and never did anything with the recordings. I still consider that whole scenario to be a win.
