Azar Swan
| Azar Swan | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Genres | Industrial, pop, experimental |
| Years active | 2012−present |
| Labels | Handmade Birds, Pendu Sound, Zoo Music |
| Associated acts | Religious to Damn, A Storm of Light, Shakespace, the Diplomats, Blacklist, White Bodies, Vaura, Vain Warr |
| Website | http://www.azarswan.com |
| Members | Zohra Atash Joshua Strawn |
Azar Swan is the musical project of singer-songwriter and musician Zohra Atash, co-produced by Atash and Joshua Strawn. After dissolving their previous band, Religious to Damn, Atash and Strawn chose to begin experimenting with electronic instrumentation. The duo work with mixer Mike Dextro (a producer and live touring DJ for Zebra Katz), while Charlie Schmid (also of Vaura and Religious to Damn) contributes percussion on select tracks.
Azar Swan played their first show on November 10, 2012, followed by notable direct support slots with Prurient, White Lung, Cut Hands, King Dude, Tamaryn and David J, and a BUST Magazine showcase with JD Samson and MEN.
The band premiered their debut single, "Amrika", on USA Today on October 24, 2012. They subsequently released several digital singles including "In My Mouth", which was one of the final releases from Pendu Sound Recordings and was remixed by Drew McDowall.
In November 2013, Azar Swan released their debut LP, Dance Before the War, on the independent label Handmade Birds. [[Pitchfork {website)|Pitchfork]] called the band's sound "prime industrial pop" and said that the album's title track was aggressive and accessible with a "bent for experimentation." The band's second album, And Blow Us a Kiss, was released in October 2014 by Zoo Music, the record label owned and operated by Dee Dee Penny of Dum Dum Girls and Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles. They followed the album up with a double-A-side remix 12" called Variations on Handmade Birds, which featured mixes by Vatican Shadow and Cut Hands. Variations was notable for being the first time that both William Bennett (of Whitehouse) and Dominick Fernow (of Prurient), both widely recognized as two of the most significant pioneering figures in power electronics and noise music, had been featured on the same release.
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