Jarboe

Born in New Orleans, American singer, songwriter and performer Jarboe came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a member of Swans, where her voice, lyrics and arrangements helped steer the band toward an experimental rock that blended post-punk, industrial and dark folk, from «Children of God» (1987) to «Soundtracks for the Blind» (1996). From the early 1990s Jarboe developed a prolific solo discography in parallel, combining abstract rock, dark ambient, spoken word and ritual-inspired music on albums such as «Thirteen Masks» (1991), «Sacrificial Cake» (1995), «Anhedoniac» (1998), «Disburden Disciple» (2000), «The Men Album» (2005) and «Mahakali» (2008). Later based in Atlanta, she expanded her cross-disciplinary collaborations, notably with post-metal group Neurosis on the joint album «Neurosis & Jarboe» (2003) and with Justin K. Broadrick on «J²» (2008), performing in both intimate venues and on stages associated with extreme and experimental music. Jarboe’s work is characterized by a highly nuanced use of the voice — from melodic singing to more spoken or incantatory textures — and by a constant interplay between introspection, mystical imagery and sonic exploration.