Each month in the magazine we play an artist or group a series of tracks which they are asked to comment on – with no prior knowledge of what they are about to hear.

In The Wire 506 it is the turn of psychedelic noise duo Yellow Swans.

Here you can listen to a mix of the tracks our correspondent Ilia Rogatchevski played to the duo during the interview, which is published in full in The Wire 506. To find out what they said about them, subscribers can read the interview in our online magazine library here. Or you can buy a copy of the magazine in our online shop.

But first, a brief biography of our subjects:

Yellow Swans are a psychedelic noise duo comprising Pete Swanson and Gabriel Saloman Mindel. Originally formed in 2001 in Portland, Oregon, the group drew their influences from hardcore punk and DIY ethics of anarchist communities of the Pacific North West. During their initial seven year run, Yellow Swans released four studio albums and countless CD-Rs and cassettes, often produced in small numbers and distributed via mail order through their Collective Jyrk label. Swanson and Mindel toured extensively, building a reputation as a relentlessly hardworking unit who nurtured and connected networks of likeminded artists.

Their live shows evolved from many hours spent improvising together, with Mindel’s processed guitar locking into Swanson’s tape loops and tabletop electronics. Their final studio album Going Places (2010), released after the duo disbanded, was edited from recordings that pivoted away from catharsis to explore more ambient textures. Yellow Swans reformed in 2023, releasing their archive on Bandcamp and playing a handful of shows. Their recent tape series Out Of Practice I–IV documents this era of the band and showcases tentative steps towards new material.

The jukebox was conducted remotely with Yellow Swans dialling in from Paris, where they were working on a multichannel commission for the Présences électronique festival.

Tracklist (with time stamps):

The Third Bardo (00:00)
“I’m Five Years Ahead Of My Time”
From Lose Your Mind (Sundazed) 2000, rec 1967

Masonna (02:16)
“Chapter 1-7”
From Ejaculation Generater (Alchemy) 1996

Milan Knížák (08:26)
“Composition N3”
From Broken Music (Multhipla) 1979

Prince (12:52)
“1999”
From 1999 (Warner Bros) 1982

Wolf Eyes (19:12)
“With Spykes 5”
From Wolf Eyes w/ Spykes (Hanson) 2000

Christina Carter (34:22)
“School Song/Desire To Play And Play”
From Bastard Wing (Eclipse Records) 2003

Raven Chacon (42:21)
“This Is Where We Went/Were”
From Overheard Songs (Innova) 2006

Devendra Banhart (46:54)
“Support Our Troops”
From Remixed & Covered (Kill Rock Stars) 2007

Metalux & John Wiese (49:27)
“Exoteric/1”
From Exoteric (Load) 2004

Evicshen (51:44)
“Bolete”
From Hair Birth (American Dreams) 2020