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White Swan Black Swan

Visit the White Swan Black Swan website here

White Swan Black SwanWhite Swan Black Swan
"Finger and Nail." (mp3)
from "White Swan Black Swan"
(Arch Hill Records)

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Stream from Rhapsody


White Swan Black Swan EPWhite Swan Black Swan
"Zona Rosa" (mp3)
from "White Swan Black Swan EP"
(Arch Hill Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Buy at Rhapsody
Buy at Napster
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Amazon


Castle of Useless Junk

White Swan Black Swan

"Orange & Brown" (mp3)
from "Castle of Useless Junk"
(Arch Hill Records)

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Buy at Rhapsody
Buy at Napster
Stream from Rhapsody
Buy at Amazon

Together, White Swan Black Swan are Sonya Waters and Ben Howe formerly of Fang , Ricky McShane from The Chainsaw Masocist and Ben Furniss from Surrealistic. White Swan is the songs of Sonya Waters and Black Swan are the songs of Ben Howe; different songs and a different sound - but the people making them are the same.


White Swan Black Swan make their music in a brick house on the edge of a sleeping volcano. Their house is furnished with out-of-date Super 8 movie projectors, old amplifiers, 70's lamps, faded paintings of imagined places, all keepsakes from a past era embellishing the musical landscape. The wooden floors echo with the sounds of warm vintage equipment and analogue technology. Their brick bungalow is a rural green oasis - hidden away for the city that surrounds it.

Combined, White Swan Black Swan have veered left of their indie- rock roots to explore different territories. The music is littered with acoustic pianos, cool Fender Rhodes tones, outmoded synthesizers drones , chiming hollow body guitars and spaced out old sound effects. McShane's drums give the music a swing into 60's cool jazz or a lurch into a European funereal march. Imagine these songs in a Lynch or Fellini soundtrack, a mix of south-of-the--border country combined with psychedelic folk.

White Swan Black Swan have released two EPs and a 'double mini album' - which came out in August 2008

14 May

White Swan Black Swan Mexico and USA videos

Author: Ben Howe
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Have a look at the new White Swan Black Swan video for "Finger and Nail" filmed kicking back in in Tepotzlan Mexico...

Or see White Swan Black Swan performing at the Driskill SXSW

And they also made it to this "best stage banter at SXSW 2009" video

21 Feb

White Swan Black Swan Performing at SXSW

Author: Ben Howe
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White Swan Black Swan are heading over to the USA for some shows

  • Friday 6th of March - Cassette Number Nine - Auckland, New Zealand - with Luke Buda and Cassette
  • Sunday 15th of March - The Basement - Nashville, USA
  • Saturday 21st of March (12am) - the Victorian Room at the Driskill (in the picture above) SXSW Music Festival - Austin Texas - USA

...and more shows to come.

23 Oct

White Swan Black Swan with Howe Gelb

Author: Ben Howe
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Yep, it might not be our show but we highly recommend the man hailed as an alt-county pioneer with his band Giant Sand…last time he played in New Zealand it was a top notch show with many an unexpected improvisational twist. Supported by White Swan Black Swan in Auckland and apparently it IS still possible to get tickets from Real Groovy or otherwise from the door.
- Thursday 23rd October Dunedin - Sammies - Support from the Alpha State
- Friday 24th October Wellington - SFBH - Support from Manimanima
- Saturday 25th October Auckland 420 - Support from White Swan Black Swan


…and if you wanna, check out White Swan Black Swan on Nightline

10 Sep

White Swan Black Swan Double Mini Tour

Author: Ben Howe
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White Swan Black Swan have just released their ‘double mini album’ and are about to head out on the road around the lakes, rivers and streams…north Island shows with the WSBS band and South Island with the WSBS duo.

For three of the shows WSBS will also be playing with the most excellent Jess Chambers & Justin Firefly

  • Friday 26th September – The Lounge - Carterton
  • Saturday 27th September – Bar Bodega – Wellington – with Jess Chambers & Justin Firefly + Seth & Merle
  • Sunday 28th September (3pm) – Aunt Daisy’s Café – Tetahi Bay with Jess Chambers & Justin Firefly
  • Friday 10th October – The Wunderbar – Christchurch – with The Eastern
  • Saturday 11th October – Circadian Rhythm - Dunedin – with Alpha State
  • Sunday 12th October – The Grain Store – Oamaru (3pm)
  • Thursday 16th October – The Dogs Bollix – Auckland – with Jess Chambers & Justin Firefly
Image

“White Swan is the drawled film score pop songs of Sonya Waters and Black Swan is the darker alt country songs of Arch Hill boss Ben Howe. Cat Power v Bonnie Prince Billy….they are the most handsome birds on the river now”
4/5 stars – The Sunday Star Times – James Belfield
11 Aug

White Swan Black Swan Double Mini reviews

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REVIEWED ON ELSEWHERE

"An excellent earlier EP by this Auckland duo and friends made repeat appearances at Elsewhere previously -- and it is a pleasure to bring it back (see below) using this "double mini album" as the excuse.
W/B Swan are Sonya Waters and Ben Howe who have long and illustrious careers (in bands such as the Instigators, ICU in London, Orange, Superette) and they were together in the acclaimed Fang. Bassist Ben Furniss and drummer Rick McShane complete the line-up and here guests are Sam Prebble (violin) and Brig Wood (drums on one track).
For W/B Swan however the rock backgrounds are pushed away and the moods are more ethereal, melancholy, sonically spacious and gloriously melodic as they stalk territory between alt.country (with twanged Texas guitars), indie.rock and in places a European art music languor that is very appealing indeed.
With White Swan (Waters) and Black Swan (Howe) taking a disc apiece it is tempting to see a musical schism, but it is less two separate CDs than subtle changes of musical emphasis which might have worked just as well on a single re-ordered disc.
So not solo projects, but different sides of the same piece of Swan glass.
There is a cool, emotional distance sometimes on the White Swan disc which is entrancing; and the Black Swan disc errs more towards alt.country with wry lyrics.
At heart however are utterly appealing songs which are deftly realised, beautifully understated and which sit neatly across a wide emotional and stylistic spectrum, but always sound like W/B Swan music.
A lot of repeat-play listening."
reviewed by Graham Reid at http://www.elsewhere.co.nz

REVIEWED ON CHEESE ON TOAST

"If this double-disc release from White Swan Black Swan is a sign of things
to come, then things to come are super sweet. Divided into a kind of
his'n'her arrangement, the first disc features White Swan (Sonya Waters) and
the second is Black Swan, aka Ben Howe - both ex-Fang. It's Nancy and Lee
calling to each other over a canyon, with a river of Morricone flowing
beneath them. It's a two-horse town of sorrow and cool, by way of a Mt
Roskill living room - and produced by Mark "Lambchop, etc" Nevers!"
Reviewed by Matthew Crawley on Cheese On Toast http://www.cheeseontoast.co.nz

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