Angels of Light were an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician

Michael Gira Michael Rolfe Gira (; born February 19, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, author and artist. He is the main force behind the New York City musical group Swans and fronted Angels of Light. He is also the founder of ...

after he disbanded

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira since he left Swans, most noticeably being musically more melodic and less brutal than his previous efforts and with emphasis on acoustic instruments and

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

influences. Before the band was formed, Gira intended to call his post-Swans acoustic/song-based project The Pleasure Seekers. This name was discarded because there had been a group with the same name in the 1960s. The first two live performances of what would become the Angels of Light (the Tonic/

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magaz ...

benefit shows) were billed as "Michael Gira with guests". The revolving lineup up Angels of Light included a wide range of musicians from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and elsewhere, including Dana Schechter of

Bee and Flower Bee and Flower is a band founded in New York City in 1999 by singer-songwriter, bassist, animator, illustrator, composer and producer Dana Schechter. Schechter formed the band while being a member of Michael Gira's band Angels of Light. Bee and F ...

Kid Congo Powers Brian Tristan (born March 27, 1959), better known by his stage name Kid Congo Powers,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 25, 41, 359 is an American rock guitarist, singer, and actor best known as a member of ...

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. ...

Larry Mullins Laurence A. "Moon" Mullins (June 13, 1908 – August 10, 1968) was an American college football player, coach and athletic director. He played fullback under Knute Rockne at the University of Notre Dame. He served as the head coach at St. Bened ...

(a.k.a. Toby Dammit), Cassis Birgit Staudt of b-blush,

Bliss Blood Bliss Blood is an American musician and songwriter. She has written and recorded two albums with virtuoso guitarist Al Street, five albums with New York jazz band The Moonlighters from 2000 to 2009, and six albums from 1988 to 1995 with Houston ...

of The Moonlighters,

Thor Harris Thor Harris (born February 7, 1965) is an artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter and handyman. He was the percussionist for Swans (2010–2016). He has performed with Shearwater (2001–2010), Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, Lisa ...

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tub ...

guitarist Christoph Hahn,

Phil Puleo Phil Puleo (born September 27, 1963) is an American composer, drummer, illustrator and visual artist from New York. He is known as a founding member of the band Cop Shoot Cop in the 1990s, and for his current involvement in the experimental rock ...

Cop Shoot Cop Cop Shoot Cop was a noise rock group founded in New York City in 1987. They disbanded in 1996. The band were frequently classified as industrial rock, but were often quite different from many bands so dubbed: having a distinctive instrumental l ...

, and freak-folk musician Devendra Banhart. On ''

The Angels of Light Sing 'Other People' ''The Angels of Light Sing 'Other People is the fourth studio album by Angels of Light. Produced by band leader Michael Gira, it was released on March 21, 2005, via Gira's own record label, Young God Records. It is the band's first album to feat ...

'' and ''

We Are Him ''We Are Him'' is the fifth and final studio album by American experimental rock band Angels of Light. It was released on September 11, 2007, via Young God Records. The album features extensive contributions from various musicians, including th ...

'', Gira was backed by

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

band Akron/Family. Hahn, Harris and Puleo went on to join Gira in the new Swans lineup assembled in 2010. Shortly thereafter Swans released their first post-reunion LP '' My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky''. All Angels of Light albums were released on Michael Gira's label

Young God Records Young God Records is an independent record label formed by Michael Gira in 1990 that specializes in experimental, avant-garde and often non genre-specific releases. The label was named after an EP released by Gira's band Swans called '' Young Go ...

Discography

Studio albums * '' New Mother'' (1999) * '' How I Loved You'' (2001) * ''

Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home ''Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home'' is the third studio album by Angels of Light. It was released on March 4, 2003, via band leader Michael Gira's own record label, Young God Records. Produced by Gira himself and engineered by Martin ...

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Akron/Family & Angels of Light'' (2005) – split album with Akron/Family. * ''

'' (2007) Live albums * '' We Were Alive!'' (2002) Singles * "Praise Your Name" (1999)

References

External links

Young God Records official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angels of Light Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups from New York City Swans (band) Musical groups disestablished in 2009 American alternative country groups American folk musical groups Young God Records artists 1998 establishments in New York City Neofolk music groups