Michael Gira

by Ned Raggett
Best known for his role as founder and co-leader of avant-garde rock band Swans, Michael Gira has made it a point not to work very much under his own name (at least musically -- he has published and regularly done spoken-word shows), preferring instead to create and lead various projects as well as produce other musicians. Even after Swans came to an end, his various musical efforts were group affairs like the Body Lovers and the Angels of Light, which he led but harnessed a wide variety of performers. This said, Gira has had a few releases appear billed as solo efforts, and while more might yet surface in future, it looks likely such recordings will be sporadic in nature. Unsurprisingly, such releases demonstrate, as much as his more well-known band efforts, Gira's skill and power at creating emotionally intense music and lyrics. 1995's Drainland was his official full-solo release, though even it was described as "Swans Related Product," and was consciously put out as a complement to his longtime collaborator and partner Jarboe's own solo album, Sacrificial Cake. Billed as "Michael Gira With Guests", a limited-edition live recording from early 1999 was done specifically as a benefit to assist Jarboe with her medical bills from a disease picked up on a trip to Israel the previous year. Somniloquist followed in early 2000.