Tiny Mix Tapes

Swans release handmade 2xCD live album The Gate, so here’s your chance to feel good about yourself

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Humanity’s in a kindness conundrum at the moment! Swans listeners in particular have had the opportunity to support the fowl band through the usual means of buying their albums and attending their shows. But is “the usual” really sufficient for an evolving outfit that’s been emotionally pummeling us for about 20 years total? Unorthodox fan love is even more imperative now that frontman Michael Gira has suggested a cessation of Swans (in its current form) activity following the activities relating to their next studio album, set for tentative release in May 2016. If only we were offered some sort of guideline for generosity, so that the more creative among us don’t start sending personalized cowboy hats for the man himself to add to his collection…

Here’s a convenient link to that previously hypothetical guideline, where among the list of optional supportive behaviors is at least one of note: a 2xCD live album called The Gate is available in an edition of 2500, and it includes six live songs (four of which are new and unrecorded) and four “crudely recorded” demos likely to be polished further for the upcoming Swans album. The cover art is a collaboration between Gira and Nicole Boitos, and The Gate itself is numbered and going for $45.

As the page indicates, it’s all to help support the recording of more Swans material! You might also consider buying a Gira-drawn portrait of yourself. That’s $500, and the jury’s out on if it’ll afford you bragging rights.

Check out the trailer for the DVD that’ll come with the new album, followed by the live release’s tracklist.

The Gate tracklisting:

Disc 1:

01. Frankie M.
02. A Little God in My Hands
03. Apos/Cloud of Unforming

Disc 2:

01. Just a Little Boy
02. Cloud of Forgetting
03. Bring the Sun/Black-Eyed Man
04. When Will I Return (demo)
05. New Rhythm Thing (demo)
06. People Like Us (demo)
07. Red Rhythm Thing (demo)
08. Finally, Peace (demo)

• Swans: https://www.facebook.com/SwansOfficial
• Young God: http://younggodrecords.com