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Swann Danger
Deep North (Custody Night School)
 Stark, minimal, and uncompromising, Swann Danger make music
as bleak as Siberia on a cold day, but, paradoxically, there's a heady attraction to their sound, a curious raw appeal that
pulls the listener in. Building everything on implacably precise bass and drums (the original duo of vocalist/guitarist Cynthia
Mansourian and bassist Andy Zevallos are now joined by Robert Perales on drums) the Swann Danger sound harks back to Metal
Box-era PiL in its angular almost-dub sweeps and skitters, surges and flows. In a way, it's a very British sound - you can
imagine Swann Danger cropping up on the John Peel show circa 1981, but in fact they're graduates of the Californian school
of post-rock invention. Cynthia Mansourian sings with a fatalistic clamour, like Lydia Lunch gazing through windows at rain,
while her guitar pokes the listener like needles. The songs frequently kick conventional structures aside in favour of unexpected
tangents: 'The Divide' skids off into an almost militaristic workout, the drums hammering an uncompromising tattoo while the
guitar scribbles over the top like crayon. But then the title track, urged along by a bass-pulse worthy of the great Jah Wobble
himself, ushers us past the velvet rope and the frowning bouncers, into the death disco. Here, the band suddenly become bizarrely
immediate and accessible, the bass holding things to a danceable throb even as the drums throw in punctuation and the guitar
scratches at the song like fingernails on a locked door. Now that works. Swann Danger certainly aren't going to be
everyone's idea of a good time, but I'm quite happy to point them at my head.
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| Swann Danger |
[music] |
| deep north - lp/cd |
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| cul de sac komitee |
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Swann Danger’s debut full length exists in the space between
the sounds you hear late at night. Their blues-tinged goth punk evokes emotions like melancholia, depression and isolation,
which are displaced at daytime but come to life again at night. With the minimum line up of only one guitar, one bass, one
drumkit the San Francisco band shows their talent in creating a dark and sombre, yet completely harrowing atmosphere. Most
of the songs are creeping in slowmotion through extensive walls of feedback, subtle melodies and hammered drumming. Over all
the expressively sung voice of singer Cynthia Mansourian is enthroned, giving the songs shape and personality. Without being
a copycat, the music is recalling bands like Birthday Party, Bauhaus or Love Life, while the singer’s voice resembles
Siouxie Sioux. Swann Danger is doing best when speeding things up a bit. That’s why songs like “message to destroy”,
“nothing happens” or “till the end” are convincing and unconventional pieces of goth punk. The concentration
of creating emotionally wrought atmospheres instead of falling into goth clichés makes the band outstanding. Outstanding,
too, is the deluxe packaging of this limited LP. [phillip]
www.swanndanger.com |
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Those who read every single review on this site might remember that I was stunned by hearing the first
10" by Swann Danger on "release the bats" records. This time they go completely DIY with a full cd and... a drummer (instead
of a drum machine).
Robert Perales seems to be the perfect man/computer to do the job since he can easily combine
those tight simple drums that makes Swann Danger the cold skeletal band they are. But in the same way he gives warmth to the
songs that need it. Anyway, one thing is for sure... this album has more rock and more death on it than the previous one.
From freezing songs such as "Don't be sweet" over wonderfull death blues (Gutted glass) till you hear a perfect prototype
of death rock extravaganza (deep north).
Cynthia Mansourian's voice sounds like an ice queen that reigns with cold
hearted ice-storms while screaming her guitar like a soundtrack to some cold broken heart she used to have. I guess she's
a nice girl... but she sounds like that though. Deep north indeed!
Swann danger were on a eurotour last summer and
I take the blame for the fact that they didn't play in Belgium. Come back soon and blow your icy storms all over me! I deserve
it! This album should be an instant classic! Favorite songs: Gutted Glass, Angle, Siren song and Deep north.
band:
Swann Danger
title: Deep North
format: cd
label: Custody Night School (website)
reviewer: david de decker
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// © 2007
PERTE ET FRACAS
Swann Danger
Deep north
- CD
Custody night school 2007 Swann Danger
Self-titled 10''
Release the bats 2003
On ne sent pas la douleur.
Elle nous refroidit. C'est glacial là-dedans. Tétanisant. Andy Zevallos, basse. Cynthia Mansourian, guitare et voix. Un duo
qui a fait ses gammes au sein de Heart of Snow (un seul maxi chez GSL en 2001 qui comprenait également un membre de Yaphet
Kotto). Pour compléter ce couple maléfique, une boite à rythme, histoire d'être sûr que personne ne gâchera la fête en se
sentant d'humeur joviale. Quatre ans déjà que leur 10'' est sorti. Cinq titres à déconseiller à toute personne qui n'aime
pas se retrouver enfermer dans un ascenseur. En panne l'ascenseur bien sûr. Xmal Deutschland sonnerait presque joyeux. Et
la mère Siouxsie la reine de la blague. Car le duo de Californien puise sa joie de vivre dans les années 80, le mouvement
gothique et autres réjouissances que l'on nomme désormais Deathrock (une étiquette à la con de plus). Du rock de corbeau aux
accents plus rock. Sauf que dans ce premier disque, de rock, il n'est pas question. Deathrock égal aussi mort du rock. Des
lignes de basse aussi belles que tragiques. Rondes et caverneuses. Une guitare inquiétante, à l'économie dont la reverb se
perd dans le brouillard. Ciselant. Voix très… Siouxsie Sioux. Evidemment. Tout ça n'a rien de gênant. Swann Danger
balaie ces poussières d'un coup de boite à rythme martial. Danse macabre pour réchauffer le cœur de l'intérieur.
Cinq morceaux grandioses de minimalisme.
Retour au présent. Swann Danger prend son temps. Quatre ans plus tard. Exit la
boite à rythme morte au combat. Un vrai batteur de chair et d'os. Celui de Dead and Gone et Creeps on Candy (groupe composé
de ¾ quart de Dead and Gone à l'unique album grandiose sur Alternative Tentacles). Lui, c'était pour le studio. Pour les concerts,
c'est celui de Year Future. Le groupe perd en originalité. Gagne en chaleur. Le rock de deathrock retrouve tout son sens.
Ok, c'est pas AC/DC non plus. Les bases restent les mêmes. Froideur et décadence. Mais cette batterie apporte indéniablement
de la puissance, faisant évoluer la musique de Swann Danger dans une sphère proche de celle de Celebration. La noirceur en
plus. Zevallos dessinent toujours avec sa basse les mélodies d'un dub austère de petit blanc, une danse maladive sur laquelle
les accords aiguisés et aigus de la guitare viennent se fracasser. C'est la musique de Heart of Snow que l'on retrouve. La
cold-wave rigide qui se donne un coup de pied au cul. Une décongélation qui n'a pas peur d'envoyer le bois. Ca reste dépouillé
et névrotique mais comme Swann Danger sait vous torcher de vrais morceaux accrocheurs avec des squelettes d'éléments, les
onze morceaux de ce Deep north ne sont pas qu'une lointaine contrée inaccessible où souffle le vent de la solitude. Donnez
du rock à vos corbacks.
SKX (22/07/2007)
website groupe www.swanndanger.com
website label www.releasethebats.com
(cd)| www.the-culdesac-komitee.de (lp)
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Upcoming Events
Wan's Way
A rare Goth double at 924 Gilman.By Rachel Swan
 Goth kids, Trenchcoat Mafia types, and heavy-eyeliner-wearers usually don't take center stage at
924 Gilman. Still, it's not completely unheard of for the East Bay punk club to feature music that might go over well at an
artists' squat in Berlin - and when it comes to bands as imaginative and completely out there as Swann Danger and the
Sixteens, genre categories just vaporize. These two female-fronted outfits represent both extremes of the Goth spectrum.
Swann Danger is the tortured, writerly, intellectual side. It began five years ago as a duo, with husky-voiced singer Cynthia
Mansourian and bassist Andy Zevallos plus a drum machine, later replaced by drummer Jim Anderson. Everyone thinks the band's
name is a reference to Proust, Mansourian says. It strikes her more as a superhero name - an idea she fancies, because
it's in such discord with the band's dark music and gloom-and-doom aesthetic.
The Sixteens -- a duo featuring Kristen Louise and Veuve Pauli, who trade off on synths, vocals, and
guitar -- are equally tortured, but much more spastic and more than a little wacked-out. Their music combines scratchy, atonal
melodies with chunky new wave drum samples and vocals that usually sound as if they're being filtered through a megaphone.
Louise, who favors the I-put-my-makeup-on-underwater look, is known for prancing around the stage in a glittery miniskirt
and stilettos. She poses on the group's MySpace site with a bottle of absinthe. The Sixteens' intentionally campy, often boisterous
performances detract from an otherwise hard-edged, industrial aesthetic - acknowledging that, yeah, these are hard times,
but really, what's all the moping about? It's a message that even Goths can appreciate.
Friday, Swann Danger and the Sixteens perform at 924 Gilman with Storm Crow, Limb from Limb,
and Surrender. 8 p.m. $6. 924Gilman.org
Date/Time: Fri., August 10, 8:00pm |
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SWANN DANGER: new album and European tour.
 They are compatriots to the likes of Black Ice, Sixteens, and Phantom Limbs (and indeed, are even neighbors to
some members of those aforementioned groups), and so it should come as no surprise that we enjoy ourselves a litte Swann Danger.
Quite much, in fact. Their newest offering, an album entitled "Deep North" and released on the band's own "Custody
Night School" imprint, builds on their previous 10" released by Release the Bats about 2 years ago. The drum machine was replaced
with live drums for the recording, but Andy and Cynthia's instrumentation remains sparse-- even skeletal-- in spite of the
fuller sounding percussion. Their myspace page describes the band's genre as "post-punk/ dub/ gothic," which I quite like
as a description. King Tubby or Big Youth, this is not, but while the drums and bass pound out a rhythmic din and the guitars
reverberate with distant, shimmering chords, you can easily envision this as a dub track emptied of its warmth and ganja-induced
histrionics. Cold-wave dub, perhaps? X-Mal Deutschland has come up as a point of reference before, which is not inaccurate
in and of itself, but only if you can imagine that filtered through PJ Harvey by way of Siouxsie Sioux. Be that as it may,
"Deep North" is definitely recommended to those who might be drawn the above description. ... and since they currently
find themselves on tour, you should indeed go to see them if you find yourself in their path.
When I
first read the book "lost souls" by Poppy Z Brite (an absolute Goth classic) I tried to imagine an ideal soundtrack for the
book. Miss Brite referred to Bauhaus a couple of times, but Bauhaus just didn't do it when it came to writing a theme for
that book. It needed something more claustrophobic and cold. 12 years later I'm getting this album by Swann danger in the
mail and this was the soundtrack I've been waiting for.
Think X-mal Deutschland hooking up with PJ Harvey and recording
5 tracks for a Twin Peaks sequal. Cold claustrophobic deathrock with lots of death and a pinch of rock. Although a song such
as "blood and glory" makes it all a little bit more easy listening. My personal favourite on the ep is the opening track "Motion
to bliss" with is hypnotic delayed basslines and an icequeen voice that sometimes reminds me of Siouxsie Sioux. Songs like
"All is Forgiven" and "The now is mine" should have sounded better if they were played by a real drummer, but they do prove
the bands' ability to write more complicated songs and let them fit into the concept of the band. That's why I'm very very
very curious to hear their next album with Joey Perales (Dead and Gone) on drums.
This album was hard to find in Europe
untill "release the bats" records re-released this one on white vinyl for Europe! Already a classic. Thank you very much!
mashnote.net
heartattack #45
SWANN DANGER 10"
Slow and deliberate tunes that sway and soothe, invading your conscious
and getting under your skin. Swann Danger lures you into its web with sultry vocals and liquid guitar. Cynthia's vocals
are deep and hypnotic, sort of like the woman from Glass Candy (but without the biting high tones). This two-piece is
able to make deep and complex songs with minimal
instrumentation sure to delight fans of GSL styled hardcore. LO
STARVOX.NET
LIVE REVIEW
SWANN DANGER + SIXTEENS
BOCHUM, GERMANY
The audience trickles in. The Bochum Total festival has indeed siphoned
off quite a lot of the usual Pagan Love Songs crowd. When Swann Danger take the stage there's only a handful of punters in
the venue to see them, but that doesn't stop the band from giving the performance their best shot. And, right from the start,
a surprise. I have seen Swann Danger referred to in such terms as 'shoegazing' and 'dreampop', descriptions which, frankly,
didn't fill me with boundless joy, since they create the impression that the band are soft and fluffy ethereal-bunnies, with
all the substance of sea mist. Fortunately, in real life Swann Danger prove to be a much more gritty and hard-hitting proposition, and it doesn't take many songs before I come to the conclusion that I rather
like what they do.
There are just two people on stage, playing guitar and bass, plus a plywood
box full of electronics. From these simple ingredients the band conjures a swirling mass of layered sound, as thick as soup
and boiling with heavily-treated chords and effects. It's dark and psychedelic, without - fortunately - going anywhere near
the hey-man hippy-dippy zone. Swann Danger are far too focused and spiky for that. On vocals, Cynthia Mansourian, looking
like Debbie Harry's cooler sister, sings with a restrained intensity before breaking off to wrench sheets of mangled noise
from her guitar. On bass, Andy Zevallos generates ominous low-down rumbles, like an approaching thunderstorm, and then hunches
over the plywood box to work mysteries with electricity. It's a strangely compelling noise, and despite the fact that the
band is only a two-piece, a strangely compelling visual spectacle, too. There's no rock 'n' roll grandstanding, no 'Hello
Bochum!' jolly-ups - just two intense people making intense music. It works, and it's good.
The Sixteens are intense, too, although in a slightly different way. If
Swann Danger are intense in a cerebral, inside-your-head kind of way, the Sixteens are more like the manic loony who sits
next to you on the bus.  With synthesizers. The band have reduced themselves to a duo since I last saw them in New York - tonight, only the core members
of Kristen Louise and Aaron Larsen are present - but as if to compensate they've racked up the energy levels and go stomping
and seething into the set as if the spirit of Marc Bolan is fighting with the ghost of Fad Gadget for possession of their
psyches. Wait a minute, Marc Bolan? Yes, indeed - how else do you explain those glittery stilettoes with which Kristen, fronting
the band with assertive confidence, is attempting to stamp the stage into submission? Meanwhile, ensconced behind assorted
items of hardware, wires, and personal mobility aids, keyboard-controller Aaron frowns at his equipment with alarming concentration.
That's when he's not hooting at us through an oboe. We're a mighty long way from the conventional stylings of rock 'n' roll,
that's for sure.
And what do they sound like? Like a fight between rival gangs of mutant
washing machines on the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Old Europe...cunningly choreographed and set to a disco beat. You can
trace the influences of ancien-regime electronica and outer-limits post-punk in the Sixteens sound; I'd be willing to bet
their record collections are stuffed with the likes of Cabaret Voltaire and Klaus Nomi. But the band build on their influences with the teetering brickwork of their own ideas, and the result is music that sweeps all before
it in a psyched-up ramshackle rush. Their sound is taut and abrasive, but the beats are always nailed down. Even in their
most out-there moments, the Sixteens aren't afraid to give us a beat we can dance to. Sure enough, the audience - which is
still small, although a few extra people have now trickled in - plucks up its courage and starts a random bop, encouraged
by Kristen's own strange gyrations on stage. She alternates between keyboards, snare drum, and sundry effects pedals, while
striking mutant-vogueing poses and ripping out her take-no-prisoners vocals all the while. Her between-song remarks are as
gloriously odd as the music. 'Look at this,' she says, as she removes a key from the keyboard in front of her. 'It's like
my teeth are falling out!' The band shudders and clangs and hoots and wallops to a conclusion - the set doesn't come to any
structured finish, it just ends unexpectedly, as if the clockwork has suddenly run down. The audience seems to be impressed
and bemused in equal measures. Me, I reckon we've just experienced a fine demonstration of art-punk surreal disco.
Wouldn't you know it - practically as soon as the Sixteens finish, the crowd
starts to arrive. It seems the Bochum Total festival has now packed up for the night, so a large number of the people who
we saw digging Das Ich earlier on have now made their way up to Pagan Love Songs for a night of clubbing. It's a shame they've
missed the bands, but that couldn't be helped. A strange quirk of the Bochum licensing laws means that live music at Zwischenfall
has to stop at the illogically early hour of 11pm, supposedly to prevent the club's neighbours being disturbed by the noise.
The DJs, however, are free to make as much noise as they like until the early hours. It seems officialdom considers the racket
made by a DJ spinning CDs to be perfectly acceptable, while the racket kicked up by live bands is deemed 'disturbing'. Nope,
I can't work that one out, either (although, in a perverse way, I'm relieved to discover that it's not only the UK which suffers
from such bizarre regulations). But this does mean, of course, that in situations like tonight, when it might have been better
to put the bands on stage later and thus get a bigger crowd to watch them, the logical adjustment to the schedule just can't
be made.
Still, the later part of the night's entertainment proves to be pretty good
in itself: Ralf Thyssen, who is the  co-proprietor of Pagan Love Songs with his brother Thomas, gets on the decks and keeps the dance floor moving with a very
fine stack of schwarze szene tunes, taking in sussed selections from the past and the coolest of the new. It's obvious, as
I sit in a corner near the dance floor, listening to the sound punch out of the PA and watching the dancers make shapes in
the lights, that here's a DJ who is genuinely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the music he's playing. That's more of
a rare thing than it should be these days, and it's easy to see why Pagan Love Songs has established a name for itself that's
known worldwide. The crowd that opted to watch those big name bands on the festival stage earlier today might have had a good
time, but this club, tucked away in an obscure Bochum street, is where the real cutting edge is kept sharp.
see all the photos from this concert here
Sixteens: http://www.realgone.org/sixteens
Swann Danger: http://www.swanndanger.com
Pagan Love Songs: http://www.nightmarezone.de
Zwishenfall, the venue which hosts Pagan Love Songs: http://www.zfall.de
The Bochum Total festival: http://www.bochumtotal.de
Bochum: http://www.bochum.de
12/17/05
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01. Motion To Bliss
02. Blood & Glory
03.
All Is Forgiven
04. You Have Won
05. The Now Is Mine
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Swann Danger
Swann Danger 2003
This is the first CD EP by Swann Danger, another
in a growing camp of San Francisco dark indie/deathrock bands. Swann Danger has its origins in a band called Heart of Snow,
formed in 2000. When they disbanded in 2001, the bassist (Andy) and vocalist (Cynthia) formed this two piece act.
The music is a duel of fluid, sludgy bass and bursts
of noisy guitar that reminds me of The Birthday Party meets Neurosis. Cynthia's vocal approach is a moody warble, much like
her previous work in Heart of Snow. The songs are all plodding in tempo, but restless in melody. They offer a good range of
intimidating and heavy sounds. This dark and brooding 5 song EP is a good taste of their potential. |
| | http://www.swanndanger.com
(Review 7 of 10)
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[Funprox review] 
cd, 5 tracks
#
reviewer: MvG
# date: 23-12-2003
# Google this record... |
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 Swann danger - Swann danger |
Last year a lot of good gothic rock has been released.
Swann danger is on of the latest new bands that are among the best new comers I have heard. The five tracks on this EP are,
together with the latest Black Ice EP, the best new material that has been released the last months in the post-punk/gothic
rock genre.
Just as Black Ice, Swann danger plays well thought out and artistically interesting music. Expect no loud
guitars and straightforward drums, the music is subtle with great attention to mood and atmosphere. Next to that Swann danger
makes use of unusual song structures and rhythms, which is clearly portrayed in ‘All is forgiven’ and ‘The
now is mine’. Songs like ‘Motion to bliss’ and ‘Blood and glory’ can easily compete with the
best Siouxsie material.
This EP is an exciting, at times almost psychedelic, listening experience. Swann danger is
an asset for the post-punk / goth scene. The Swedish label Release the bats must also have thought this, because early next year they will re-release
this EP on vinyl. It is for sure that this band is going to be big (in the underground).
file under:
gothic (gothic rock / (dark)wave / postpunk)
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Swann Danger
Swann Danger EP
~reviewed by Matthew
Swann Danger is a morose musical duo from Oakland, California, and
their debut EP is a brilliant effort that tactfully revitalizes traditional elements of Gothic Rock and Post Punk. The
band’s immediate strength is without question the commanding and charismatic vocals of Cynthia Mansourian, who is as
equally gifted with her guitar as she is with her mic.
Her strong alto is a dead ringer for Siouxsie
Sioux, and even this early in their career, I am willing to bet that the Siouxsie comparisons are already wearing thin on
Cynthia and her accomplice Andy Zevallos. But regardless of how great a faux pas it is for us critics to make band comparisons,
the average listener will not only notice the similarity to the Banshees, but will take great delight in it. This is
one of Swann Danger’s key selling points for fans of classic Goth. Furthermore, Swann Danger seems to have been
weaned on the more ‘evil’ and anxiety laden days of early “Join Hands” and “Juju” era
Banshees. (What, do you think Siouxsie is considered Gothic because of freakin’ “Cities In Dust” --
Please! Check out “Eve White/Eve Black” and then get back to me). The Banshees lingered in this oppressive
and suffocating territory for only a few albums and B-sides, and Swann Danger directly pick up right where they left off and
bring the claustrophobic lugubriousness to a new generation. And goddamnit, it’s utterly fantastic.
Each and every one of the five plodding tracks on this exceptionally
well-produced independent release are masterful dirges and immediately chill the blood. The EP unfolds menacingly enough
with the dry punchy percussion and delayed bass lines of “Motion To Bliss.” Cynthia’s demanding voice
appears strong and unwavering, chanting the lyrics to the first verse before an unexpected and superbly bleak wash of rumbling
guitar noise casts a murky shroud across your speakers and scares the bejesus right the fuck out of you. This
song demands to be blasted at unhealthy volumes, and in so doing, Cynthia’s sonic guitar effects will cause the hairs
on the back of your neck to stand icily on end. I am not entirely sure I have heard a Goth Rock band utilize such dark
chord progressions – the tone of the guitar has a familiar kind of overdriven feedback, drenched in delay effects, and
it drones on eerily while the exceptionally well executed drum loop pounds behind. Cynthia’s voice acquires a
greater sense of frenzy as each dizzying note spirals into a further abyss. Of course I sound overdramatic, but this
song is just so bloody intense. It’s musical theatre without the pretense. It’s simple, direct, stark
and minimalist – but these two folks alone make a great deal of noise (and I am guessing with minimal overdubbing).
And that was just the first track. Which is admittedly, in
my opinion, the strongest song on the EP. What follows however is only slightly trumped by the majesty of the
opening cut. “Blood And Glory” is a more teasing and impish in its rhythms and Cynthia’s vocal pacing.
It is easily the catchiest songs on the disc, with its manic shuffle and buzzing guitar harmonics. We could throw out
a comparison to the debut Xmal Deutschland release, but it would probably be lost on most readers. So we move on.
“All Is Forgiven” opens with an eerie disjointed collage of sound, before a hefty bass line sneaks in to be joined
by more soaring skin-crawling guitar. A similar brand of the frigid creepiness employed on “Motion To Bliss”
is apparent in this track, but the effect is more drawn out and hypnotic with the repetitive stalling rhythms and lumbering
bass lines.
Three tracks into the CD and Swann Danger still lurch along at an
uncompromisingly sluggish pace, emphasizing the claustrophobic kind of darkness found in the Goth of yesterday.
Smartly, the band is entirely disinterested in club accessibility, and instead opt for more severe and unsettling sound scapes
that invoke a feeling not unlike being buried alive. And can you imagine, for a moment, what it would be like to lie in the
earth? When the worms start crawling upon you, and you go to scream but your mouth fills up with the rotten soil and
you begin to choke to death? “You Have Won” captures that kind of neurotic Poe-eque discomfort beautifully
– with its lackadaisical bass line, spidery guitar punctuations, and unsettling lyrical imagery. “Down in
the dirt where there is no fun / follow me there cause you have won / under the water the air comes undone / pillow my face
and we’re down…down…listening close to the sound unwound / follow me there ‘cause you won.”
The final track “The Now Is Mine” features the most
experimental rhythm structures, and consequently, it is one of the few moments on the EP where you can actually tell that
the drums are not man made. Nonetheless, it’s still an enthralling track, with Cynthia’s voice soaring above
the awkward tribal percussion and ominous bass and guitar effects. The doom never lets up, the light never manages to
leak through the cracks, and this misanthropic music fan pledges eternal allegiance to Swann Danger.
Hopefully, this isn’t the last we will hear from Swann Danger.
I can imagine how maybe a adding a dash of punk and maybe thrashing out for a moment or two could add to the band’s
dynamics and secure them an even broader appeal with Death Rockers and old school fans. However, I personally dig the
oozing pace and density found on this disc and I think most like-minded folks will appreciate it as well. Whatever the
case, this is a spirited revival of what dark Post Punk and Goth was once all about and this EP is unquestionably essential.
Elitists unite! Contact Cynthia via the website below and add this stark mercurial masterpiece to your collection at
once!
Track List:
1.) Motion To Bliss
2.) Blood And Glory
3.)
All Is Forgiven
4.) You Have Won
5.) The Now Is Mine
Swann Danger is:
Cynthia Mansourian: vocals, guitar
Andy
Zevallos: bass, sampler, and drum machine
Swann Danger – Official Site:
http://www.swanndanger.com
09/21/03 |
Swann Danger
An
interview with Cynthia Mansourian of the promising new American gothrock formation Swann Danger... | |
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Recently there seems to be a renewed
interest in ‘traditional’ gothic music. Maybe the new generation of ‘goths’ that has grown up with
loud beats and distorted vocals are beginning to take notice of the authentic form of gothic music. In anyway, there have
been quite some good releases lately in the gothrock genre. New labels emerge for this kind of music, or strengthen their
activities and new bands are forming, that prefer rock over techno. One of the most promising new bands is Swann Danger. Last
year they released their untitled debut EP on their own. It is a record that raises expectations or the future. Therefore
I thought it was time for a little introduction to the band.
Who are you?
The band consists of Andy Zevallos, who plays bass guitar, runs the samples and the drum
machine, and me (Cynthia Mansourian) who sings and plays the guitar. We write the songs together.
Can you tell a little about the history of the band?
 We were both members of the band Heart Of Snow, which put out an EP on GSL in 2001. While we were in Heart Of Snow we started
playing as a two-piece and called it Die Little Death. When it came time to play out, we changed the name to Swann Danger
to avoid confusion with another local band with a similar name. The songs ‘You have won’ and ‘The now is
mine’ are a result of that period of songwriting. When Heart Of Snow broke up in early 2002, Swann Danger emerged as
our primary musical focus.
Swann Danger started playing live in may of 2002 and has played shows up and down the west
coast of the USA as well as a short US tour last summer. We have played shows with bands including like The Phantom Limbs,
Black Ice, Turn Pale, Glass Candy, Sixteens, Holy Kiss, Get Hustle and Cinema Strange.
Where do you draw your inspiration from / what are your
inspirational bands?
The inspiration behind
Swann Danger is ever evolving. Initially it came about as a means to express the darker and minimalist side of the music we
were writing that didn't exactly fit in Heart Of Snow. Our sound has remained on the dark side, but has expanded somewhat
from our early extreme minimalism. As a band we draw inspiration from personal experience as well as many different areas
such as art, film, literature, and, of course, music.
Inspirations happen constantly and are pretty impossible to
list...however, some artists that inspire us include Tones On Tail, The Velvet Underground, Tricky, David Bowie, PJ Harvey,
Billie Holiday, Rom Music, Kate Bush, The Doors, Dub Music, The Birthday Party and the Swans, and the desire to break out
of the lethargy and boredom of the routine of daily life (or maybe just document it, ha!).
What are you current activities and future plans?
In the immediate future we are recording the song ‘One hundred years’
for a tribute to The Cure's “Pornography” album which will be on the Swedish label Release The Bats Records. Tthey
will also be re-releasing our EP on 10" vinyl in the spring of 2004. We are planning shows in Los Angeles for february, as
well as shows in the San Francisco bay area. Next to that we are busy writing songs for a future full-length release and hope
to come and play shows in Europe.
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Un peu moins de deux ans, voici ce qu’il aura fallu à Heart of Snow pour sortir le très
"siouxsien" EP Endure or More puis se dissoudre. Lorsqu’en 2001, le batteur Scott Batiste rejoint The
Pattern, Cynthia Mansourian et Andy Zevallos, respectivement chanteuse et bassiste du groupe, forment Swann Danger.
On ne peut alors que s’agacer de voir disparaître ainsi une formation pourtant promise à bien des succès, à l’image
de leur entêtant Red.
Mais le roi est mort, vive le roi ! Car Swann Danger a su nous démontrer il y a quelques
mois avec son maxi éponyme que le talent a survécu au passage en duo. En cinq titres, ils élaborent un paysage sonore tout
en tension, sans pathos dégoulinant, où l’anxiété est toujours latente. Le jeu minimaliste et percutant diffuse un charme
sombre qui raviera tout amateur de postpunk et de goth old school. 
