My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
Encyclopedia
My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky is a studio album by Swans
released on September 23, 2010; it is their first studio recording in 14 years. Swans founder Michael Gira
funded the recording of this album by creating the limited-edition album I Am Not Insane
and chose several collaborators from previous Swans line-ups as well as his side project Angels of Light to record and tour for this album. My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky has received positive critical feedback for the return of Swans as well as the rich spiritual themes of the lyrics.
and acoustic form on I Am Not Insane
and sold in order to fund the recording process for this album. Gira handmade 1,000 copies of that album to fund the new Swans recordings. In January 2010, Gira amended the band's Facebook
and MySpace
to read "SWANS ARE NOT DEAD"—an announcement that the band had been reformed as well as a play on words from Swans' live album Swans Are Dead
.
Gira wrote the songs over a three year period and decided that they were unfit for an Angels of Light album and he wanted to transition back the aggressive sound and "sonic intensity" of Swans; he briefly considered releasing the material as an Angels of Light/Swans split album
, but decided against it. After Gira financed the album through sales of I Am Not Insane, he got together a group of musicians to record with him in New York. Each song—with the exception of "You Fucking People Make Me Sick"—was recorded in 12-hour daily studio sessions that culminated in nighttime overdubs.
In deciding to reform Swans, Gira attempted to create a continuity between the band's last studio album—1996's Soundtracks for the Blind
—as well as his subsequent work with Angels of Light; for instance, the song "My Birth" includes lyrics written in 1997 originally for Swans. The line-up of Swans that recorded this album features Gira, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo
, and Norman Westberg
from prior Swans releases as well as Gira solo collaborators Thor Harris
and Chris Pravdica; this is the first Swans album that does not feature Jarboe
since her debut on 1986's Greed. Gira chose these musicians in part for how they would work together touring to promote this album and has created a distinct sound for Swans, emphasizing rhythm and the interplay between atmospheric instruments such as dulcimer
, tubular bells
, and vibraphone
.
Gira contacted Italian artist Beatrice Pediconi to handle all of the artwork for the album after seeing her pieces in Harpers. The special edition of the album has a cover that mirrors the album artwork of I Am Not Insane.
sums up its review with, "The real bravery is for an album whose title equates religion with suicide to end almost at the other end of the spectrum: 'Teach me please, to cease to resist,' Gira asks. '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, "to elevate, to make you levitate, almost like having it erase your body and lift you up to Heaven."
, made a demo version of the song "No Words" available on the band's MySpace
page, and has reorganized Swans for their first tour since 1997. Tour dates are slated to be performed in the United States and Europe, including headlining the Supersonic Festival
in October 2010 and Gira intends to tour for 18 months.
Gira has also remix
ed the album with the intention of selling that version on tour and through the band's web site.
The album was also notably part of the one billionth submission to the music indexing service Gracenote
.
. The A.V. Club gave the album an A, calling it "a leviathan of an album" and commenting on the similarities and differences that this album has with the rest of Swans' catalogue, saying that it "resembles all of Swans' previous work, yet none of it." BBC Music
has declared it "a majestic return and, let us hope, a harbinger of more to come." The Big Takeover
has remarked that the album "encompasses all of the original band's many moods." In its December issue, The Wire
listed My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky as the third best album of 2010.
Bonus disc available on the special edition
Additional musicians
Additional personnel
Bonus disc
Swans (band)
Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...
released on September 23, 2010; it is their first studio recording in 14 years. Swans founder Michael Gira
Michael Gira
Michael Rolfe Gira is an American musician, author, and artist. He is the main force behind the recently reformed New York City musical group Swans and fronts the Angels of Light...
funded the recording of this album by creating the limited-edition album I Am Not Insane
I Am Not Insane
I Am Not Insane is a 2010 album by Michael Gira. The release consists of a CD of new material, and a DVD of two live shows that includes a 16 minute "mini-doc" on Gira's new material in acoustic demo form, shot and edited by Francisco Macias. Several songs were considered, and eventually revised,...
and chose several collaborators from previous Swans line-ups as well as his side project Angels of Light to record and tour for this album. My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky has received positive critical feedback for the return of Swans as well as the rich spiritual themes of the lyrics.
Recording
In a 2009 interview, Gira hinted at the prospect of resurrecting the Swans project. Later that year, many of the tracks would appear on My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky were released in demoDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
and acoustic form on I Am Not Insane
I Am Not Insane
I Am Not Insane is a 2010 album by Michael Gira. The release consists of a CD of new material, and a DVD of two live shows that includes a 16 minute "mini-doc" on Gira's new material in acoustic demo form, shot and edited by Francisco Macias. Several songs were considered, and eventually revised,...
and sold in order to fund the recording process for this album. Gira handmade 1,000 copies of that album to fund the new Swans recordings. In January 2010, Gira amended the band's Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
to read "SWANS ARE NOT DEAD"—an announcement that the band had been reformed as well as a play on words from Swans' live album Swans Are Dead
Swans Are Dead
Swans Are Dead is a double live album by Swans. It was released in 1998 and was recorded in 1995 and 1997 on the band's final tours.The setlists of this era in the Swans live show were probably the most varied in terms of chronology...
.
Gira wrote the songs over a three year period and decided that they were unfit for an Angels of Light album and he wanted to transition back the aggressive sound and "sonic intensity" of Swans; he briefly considered releasing the material as an Angels of Light/Swans split album
Split album
A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...
, but decided against it. After Gira financed the album through sales of I Am Not Insane, he got together a group of musicians to record with him in New York. Each song—with the exception of "You Fucking People Make Me Sick"—was recorded in 12-hour daily studio sessions that culminated in nighttime overdubs.
In deciding to reform Swans, Gira attempted to create a continuity between the band's last studio album—1996's Soundtracks for the Blind
Soundtracks for the Blind
Soundtracks for the Blind is the eleventh studio album by Swans, and the final for fourteen years, until 2010's My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky. It was released as a double-CD in 1996...
—as well as his subsequent work with Angels of Light; for instance, the song "My Birth" includes lyrics written in 1997 originally for Swans. The line-up of Swans that recorded this album features Gira, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo
Phil Puleo
Phil Puleo is a drummer from New York and a founding member of the band Cop Shoot Cop.-Discography:Cop Shoot CopRed ExpendablesSwansOther appearances-References:...
, and Norman Westberg
Norman Westberg
Norman Westberg is a New York City guitarist best known for his work with Swans. Present through almost the entirety of the band's existence, Westberg was brought on for Swans' debut album Filth and appeared on every album through 1991s White Light From the Mouth of Infinity...
from prior Swans releases as well as Gira solo collaborators Thor Harris
Thor Harris
Thor Harris is a musician, painter, and carpenter. He is the percussionist for Shearwater , a band from Austin, Texas. He has performed with Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, Lisa Germano, Gretchen Phillips, Devendra Banhart, Rebecca Cannon, Rob Halverson and Swans...
and Chris Pravdica; this is the first Swans album that does not feature Jarboe
Jarboe
Jarboe is an American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist.Jarboe is a solo artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with the New York City based group Swans. With founder Michael Gira, the duo was the core of Swans until the group broke up in 1998...
since her debut on 1986's Greed. Gira chose these musicians in part for how they would work together touring to promote this album and has created a distinct sound for Swans, emphasizing rhythm and the interplay between atmospheric instruments such as dulcimer
Dulcimer
Dulcimer may refer to two types of musical instruments:* Appalachian dulcimer, a fretted, plucked musical instrument which is also referred to as a "mountain dulcimer", "lap dulcimer", "hog fiddle", "fretted dulcimer" or simply "dulcimer"...
, tubular bells
Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
, and vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
.
Gira contacted Italian artist Beatrice Pediconi to handle all of the artwork for the album after seeing her pieces in Harpers. The special edition of the album has a cover that mirrors the album artwork of I Am Not Insane.
Themes
The title of the album comes from the lyrics to an unreleased Swans song entitled "Oxygen" that depicts Gira dying and ascending to Heaven and several reviewers have noted spiritual themes on the album. Tiny Mix TapesTiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as its mix tapes generator.-History:Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and...
sums up its review with, "The real bravery is for an album whose title equates religion with suicide to end almost at the other end of the spectrum: 'Teach me please, to cease to resist,' Gira asks. '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, "to elevate, to make you levitate, almost like having it erase your body and lift you up to Heaven."
Promotion
In addition to releasing I Am Not Insane, Gira has promoted the album by offering it for free streaming on the InternetStreaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
, made a demo version of the song "No Words" available on the band's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page, and has reorganized Swans for their first tour since 1997. Tour dates are slated to be performed in the United States and Europe, including headlining the Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival is a yearly music festival in Birmingham featuring a combination of music, art, film and and other crafts. It continues to join boundaries between music and art, by inviting people to engage with both through a programme of avant garde sound and performance as well as hands-on...
in October 2010 and Gira intends to tour for 18 months.
Gira has also remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed the album with the intention of selling that version on tour and through the band's web site.
The album was also notably part of the one billionth submission to the music indexing service Gracenote
Gracenote
Gracenote, Inc., formerly called CDDB , is a company that maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs and vinyl records. It provides software and metadata to businesses that enable their customers to manage and search...
.
Reception
My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky has received largely positive reviews; for instance, the album is rated an 83 with "universal acclaim" by MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. The A.V. Club gave the album an A, calling it "a leviathan of an album" and commenting on the similarities and differences that this album has with the rest of Swans' catalogue, saying that it "resembles all of Swans' previous work, yet none of it." BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
has declared it "a majestic return and, let us hope, a harbinger of more to come." The Big Takeover
The Big Takeover
The Big Takeover is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since 1980 by critic Jack Rabid.-Overview:The Big T usually appears in June and December, with most recent issues coming in around 200 pages. The review section, featuring Jack’s Top 40 for the issue, is regularly 60-80...
has remarked that the album "encompasses all of the original band's many moods." In its December issue, The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
listed My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky as the third best album of 2010.
Track listing
All songs written by Michael GiraMichael Gira
Michael Rolfe Gira is an American musician, author, and artist. He is the main force behind the recently reformed New York City musical group Swans and fronts the Angels of Light...
- "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" – 5:08
- "Inside Madeline" – 6:36
- "Eden Prison" – 6:03
- "Little Mouth" – 4:12
Bonus disc available on the special edition
- "Look at Me Go" – 46:07
- A collection of studio outtakes mixed into one track
Personnel
Swans- Michael GiraMichael GiraMichael Rolfe Gira is an American musician, author, and artist. He is the main force behind the recently reformed New York City musical group Swans and fronts the Angels of Light...
– electricElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, electric 12 string guitar, sounds, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Christoph Hahn – electric guitar, mouth harpMouth harpMouth harp may refer to:* Harmonica* Jew's harp...
on "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" - Thor HarrisThor HarrisThor Harris is a musician, painter, and carpenter. He is the percussionist for Shearwater , a band from Austin, Texas. He has performed with Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, Lisa Germano, Gretchen Phillips, Devendra Banhart, Rebecca Cannon, Rob Halverson and Swans...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, vibesVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, dulcimerDulcimerDulcimer may refer to two types of musical instruments:* Appalachian dulcimer, a fretted, plucked musical instrument which is also referred to as a "mountain dulcimer", "lap dulcimer", "hog fiddle", "fretted dulcimer" or simply "dulcimer"...
, curioCurioCurio may refer to:* A strange and interesting object which evokes curiosity** Curio , a predominantly glass cabinet with a metal or wood framework used to display collections of curios...
s, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Chris Pravdica – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Phil PuleoPhil PuleoPhil Puleo is a drummer from New York and a founding member of the band Cop Shoot Cop.-Discography:Cop Shoot CopRed ExpendablesSwansOther appearances-References:...
– drums, percussion, dulcimer - Norman WestbergNorman WestbergNorman Westberg is a New York City guitarist best known for his work with Swans. Present through almost the entirety of the band's existence, Westberg was brought on for Swans' debut album Filth and appeared on every album through 1991s White Light From the Mouth of Infinity...
– electric guitar, e-bowE-BowThe EBow or ebow is a hand-held, battery-powered electronic device for playing the electric guitar, invented by Greg Heet in 1969...
on "Inside Madeline"
Additional musicians
- Devendra BanhartDevendra BanhartDevendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
– vocals on "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" - Brian CarpenterBrian Carpenter (musician)Brian Carpenter is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and radio producer. He is the lead singer and songwriter for the Boston, Massachusetts band Beat Circus. His primary instrument is the trumpet. He also leads the Ghost Train Orchestra in New York City...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, slide trumpetSlide trumpetThe slide trumpet is a type of trumpet that is fitted with a slide much like a trombone.The slide trumpet grew out of the war trumpet as used and developed in Western and Central Europe: Don Smithers in The Music and History of the Baroque Trumpet before 1721, argues that the slide grew out of the... - Saoirse Gira – vocals on "You Fucking People Make Me Sick"
- GrasshopperGrasshopper (musician)Grasshopper is an American musician with the band Mercury Rev. He has also appeared with Rev side-project Harmony Rockets, his own band Grasshopper and the Golden Crickets, and as a guest musician on numerous other recordings.-Early years:Mackowiak's early years have been colored by a 1991...
– mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Bill Rieflin – drums, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, 12 string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
Additional personnel
- Beatrice Pediconi – artwork
- David Perry – layout
- Kevin S. McMahon – engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, processing, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Jamal Rhue – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
Bonus disc
- Brian Carpenter – hornsHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
- Michael Gira – artwork
- Jason La Farge – stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, engineering - Christoph Hahn – guitar
- Hunter Hunt Hendrix – guitar
- Kevin S. McMahon/Marcata Recording – engineering, mixing, mastering
External links
- Swans official website – My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
- My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...