Jarboe Devereaux, (born January 30) known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two constant members of the group until it broke up in 1997. Although absent from the group's lineup when the band reformed in 2010, Jarboe contributed background vocals and voice collage for the band's 2012 album, '' The Seer''. She has released numerous solo albums and collaborations, many of which have been self-published. She also co-composed the soundtrack of the 2009 psychological horror game '' The Path''.

Life and career

Jarboe was born in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and raised in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, primarily in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, in a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Cajun family. Her father was a police detective who worked for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI), and whom she has described as "the ultimate law-enforcement man".Chonin, Nieva (1995).
Birds of Prey
," San Francisco Bay Guardian, 1995 Both of her parents were employees of the FBI, and met through their jobs. In a 2015 interview, she revealed that her father died before she joined Swans, though she commented that her mother was "very interested in what I was doing." As a child, Jarboe learned to play a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, and studied opera at the insistence of her father, who hoped for her to have a career as a singer. Jarboe described herself as "obsessed" with Swans since hearing their first album, '' Filth'' (1983). She came into contact with Michael Gira and attended the band's practice sessions before, after several auditions, joining as a vocalist and keyboardist and debuting on '' Greed'' (1986). Prior to Swans, Jarboe's musical background had consisted of training as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and choral vocalist.

I had to unlearn proper singing technique and pronunciation. There is a tremendous difference between the vernacular of jazz and choral work and the way Michael Gira molded me. I think Michael Gira is the one who made me a "rock" singer. He told me, "Drop your g's." It's not "going to," it's " gonna." "Drop your consonants and relax." He said to me, "You're an American, sing like an American." He really ripped into my singing style and changed it around for me.

Between 1985 and 1997, she worked as a vocalist and keyboardist in the band, appearing on albums including '' Children of God'' (1987), '' The Burning World'' (1989), and '' Soundtracks for the Blind'' (1996). Jarboe's inclusion in the band marked a departure from their previous

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

sound to a more melodic industrial and even

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

sound. She also collaborated with Gira as a duo, forming their side project, The World of Skin in 1987, releasing several albums and singles. Her solo debut album, '' Thirteen Masks'', was released in 1991. Swans broke up in 1997. Jarboe continued her solo career, releasing various experimental records (many of which she has self-released and distributed over the internet) including '' Sacrificial Cake'' (1995) and '' Anhedoniac'' (1998). In 2003, she released a collaborative album with the experimental metal band Neurosis. When Swans reformed in 2010, Jarboe was not a member of the group. However, she recorded vocals for two tracks as a special guest on their album '' The Seer'' (2012). Jarboe completed a world tour in the autumn/winter of 2013, with Veil of Thorns' P. Emerson Williams on guitar. She released an experimental soundscape album, ''With Sun Falling,'' with Veil of Thorns in June 2015. In reflections on her solo work, particularly the six albums between 2017 and 2020, Jarboe said her participation in Tibetan Buddhism has been a persistent theme.

Discography

References

Sources

External links

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Discography
{{Authority control Singers from New York City Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Swans (band) members American women singers Place of birth missing (living people) American experimental musicians American post-punk musicians American industrial musicians Musicians from New Orleans American women in electronic music Alternative Tentacles artists Singers from Mississippi 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women