Following his decision to end Swans, the legendary avant-garde rock group he founded and helped lead for 15 years, Michael Gira dedicated himself to pursuing a variety of projects, including further writing , spoken-word work, and production for other bands. Musically, his first released effort was the debut all-instrumental Body Lovers release, but contemporaneous bulletins had him saying that a more "song-oriented" effort was in the wings. That eventually became the Angels of Light, a loosely organized collective of musicians including numerous Swans/Body Lovers veterans such as Bill Rieflin, Phil Puleo, Larry Mullins, and Kurt Ralske, assisting Gira with his stark yet beautiful lyrics and music, working around the core of Gira's own art/folk acoustic guitar playing. The band's debut, New Mother, was released to wide acclaim in early 1999; a tour followed shortly, featuring a near-ten person lineup, including noteworthy musicians in their own right like industrial noise legend Foetus.