Kristof Hahn

Goodbye to this stellar version of Swans. Newly Sentient Being features superb recordings of Swans’ final concert of the “Big Sound” era, the apotheosis of 15 years of cosmic sonic expressionism, alternately heavenly and debased, visceral and transcendent.

Swans final New York show in 2024 included on a limited-edition DVD available with initial CD and vinyl pressings of Birthing.

Filmed on Saturday, August 26, 2023 during the 13th edition of the NOX ORAE festival in La Tour-de-Peilz (Switzerland).

From their roots as a brutal, confrontational industrial band, through breakups and chaos, to their odds-defying current status as one of the most accomplished and ambitious bands in the world, one whose concerts are more like ecstatic rituals than nostalgic trips. SWANS has always been a collection of singular performers, but there's been one constant since its formation in 1982--singer, songwriter Michael Gira. 'Where Does a Body End?' is a SWANS documentary with unfettered access to hundreds of hours of Gira/SWANS archives of never-seen-before recordings, videos, and photographs. An unfiltered story of a life in the arts, frequent difficulty spanning decades without a safety net, creating work because Gira says "What else am I going to do?"

Festivalhalle Moers, Moers, Germany

SWANS recorded live 2010/2011. Track listing: No Words / No Thoughts (18:50) - Avatar (10:36) - The Apostate (19:31) - Beautiful Child (Fragment) (3:43) - Jim (8:16) - Sex God Sex (7:13) - The Seer / I Crawled (32:16)

Included in some CD releases of the Swans album. A live performance, recorded in 2013.

Included in some CD releases of the Swans album The Glowing Man. Recorded live in 2015.

On stage, backstage, and at home with Michael Gira and Swans. Short documentary by Pitchfork

7/3/2015 Poland