Michael Gira leads Swans into a new chapter with Birthing on Mute and Young God Records
Swans will release their seventeenth studio album, Birthing, on 30 May 2025 through Mute and Young God Records (North America). The album will be available in triple vinyl format, housed in a brown chipboard sleeve, as a double CD in a brown chipboard digipack, and digitally. The first editions of the triple vinyl and CD releases will include a bonus DVD featuring Swans Live 2024 (Rope) The Beggar, a concert film directed by Marco Porsia, along with Christopher Nicholson’s documentary I Wonder If I’m Singing What You’re Thinking Me To Sing, which follows Michael Gira’s 2022 solo tour.
Artist: Swans
Release Date: 2025-05-30
Genres: Experimental Music, Post-punk
Label: Mute Records, Young God Records
Description: Swans release their seventeenth album Birthing on May 30 via Mute and Young God Records featuring contributions from key members and a live concert DVD.
Related articles: Interview with Michael Gira on Swans
The first track from the album, I Am a Tower, has been made available in advance of the release. The material for Birthing was primarily developed during Swans‘ 2023–2024 tour. Tracks such as The Healers, I Am a Tower, Birthing, Guardian Spirit, Rope, and Away evolved through live performances before being refined in the studio. Two additional compositions, Red Yellow and The Merge, were created directly during the recording sessions. The album was produced by Michael Gira, recorded at Soundfabrik Berlin by Ingo Krauss, with assistance from Kiron Gaudi, and mixed at Candy Bomber Studio, Berlin by Ingo Krauss. Mastering was done by Doug Henderson at Micro-Moose, Berlin.
According to Michael Gira, Birthing and the accompanying live release Live Rope mark his final work in the role of producer and organizer of the band’s large-scale sonic projects. Swans will undertake a final tour in this configuration at the end of 2025 before transitioning to a reduced format, though the band will continue in some capacity as long as Gira remains able to do so.
Michael Gira has announced a solo European tour in April 2025, accompanied by Kristof Hahn. Further details on Swans‘ tour in support of Birthing will be announced at a later date.
Michael Gira is a musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the founder and leader of Swans, which he established in 1982. Initially associated with the New York no wave scene, the band evolved through various stylistic changes, incorporating elements of industrial, post-punk, folk, and experimental music. Outside of Swans, Gira has led projects such as Angels of Light and operated Young God Records, which has released music from artists including Devendra Banhart and Akron/Family. Over the decades, his work has been marked by an uncompromising approach to composition and production.
Born in Los Angeles in 1954, Gira spent time living in Europe during his teenage years before returning to the United States. His early experiences, including a period in Germany and travels across the U.S., influenced his artistic perspective. Before founding Swans, he was involved in the underground music scene in New York City, where he developed the distinctive aesthetic that has characterized his career.
His work with Swans has encompassed a wide range of styles, from the abrasive sounds of their early releases to the expansive compositions of their later albums. Since reactivating the band in 2010, Gira has continued to produce music with a rotating lineup of collaborators, emphasizing intensive live performances and a process-driven approach to songwriting and recording.
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