Angels of Light

Upon concluding Swans, the avant-garde rock ensemble he had established and guided across a decade and a half, Michael Gira turned his attention toward multiple endeavors encompassing additional writing, spoken-word performances, and production duties for fellow acts. His initial musical outing took the form of an entirely instrumental Body Lovers project, though announcements at the time indicated plans for a forthcoming "song-oriented" endeavor. This project evolved into Angels of Light, an informal assembly of players drawn in part from Swans and Body Lovers alumni such as Bill Rieflin, Phil Puleo, Larry Mullins, and Kurt Ralske, who contributed to Gira's stark yet beautiful songwriting and arrangements anchored by his art/folk acoustic guitar work. The collective's first album, New Mother, earned broad praise upon its release in the beginning of 1999, after which a tour commenced with an ensemble approaching ten members that incorporated notable figures including industrial noise legend Foetus.