{"title":"Thor and Friends","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"3-4","title":"3","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor fans of Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Moondog, Swans, The Necks. Polymath percussionist Thor Harris inaugurated Thor and Friends in the autumn of 2015 after five years of touring as the percussionist of iconic avant-rock ensemble Swans. The project is intended as a vehicle for experimentation with the conceptual vocabulary of American Minimalism collaborating with a rotating cast of Austin-based musicians. The ensemble has three core members, Thor Harris, Peggy Ghorbani and Sarah 'Goat' Gautier with its line-up expanding andcontracting with the flux of compositional and improvisational contexts. Thor and Friends draws on classic Minimalist composers, including Terry Riley and Steve Reich, but also amalgamate such diverse influences as Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, Moondog and The Necks around a polyrhythmic core of mallet-struck instruments, primarily marimba, xylophone and vibraphone. Circling these core motifs are shifting streams of everything from processed pedal steel and analog synthesizer to violin, viola, stand-up bass, clarinet, duduk and oboe. Thor and Friends, \u003ci\u003e3\u003c\/i\u003e is, naturally, the band's third LP. Initially put out as part of Joyful Noise Recordings, 2019 Artist in Residence, it is now being released far and wide through Joyful Noise. Musicians who played on this record include, Jennifer Wasner, Tuvan throat singing is Soriah, Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost of A Hawk and a Hacksaw, John Dieterich from Deerhoof, Thierry Amar and Tim Herzog from Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Adam Torres, Michael Gira, Jarboe, Stine Janvin Motland, John Congleton and many others.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Joyful Noise Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Blue | LP","offer_id":50504386904395,"sku":"1098270","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50504386281803,"sku":"1098269","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/aaf0f15c-7180-42c8-a70d-4444b641959a_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727804794"},{"product_id":"4-2","title":"4","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor fans of Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Moondog, Swans, The Necks. Polymath percussionist Thor Harris inaugurated Thor and Friends in the autumn of 2015 after five years of touring as the percussionist of iconic avant-rock ensemble Swans. The project is intended as a vehicle for experimentation with the conceptual vocabulary of American Minimalism collaborating with a rotating cast of Austin-based musicians. The ensemble has three core members, Thor Harris, Peggy Ghorbani and Sarah 'Goat' Gautier -with its line-up expanding and contracting with the flux of compositional and improvisational contexts. Thor and Friends draws on classic Minimalist composers, including Terry Riley and Steve Reich, but also amalgamate such diverse influences as Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, Moondog and The Necks around a polyrhythmic core of mallet-struck instruments, primarily marimba, xylophone and vibraphone. Circling these core motifs are shifting streams of everything from processed pedal steel and analog synthesizer to violin, viola, stand-up bass, clarinet, duduk and oboe. Thor and Friends, \u003ci\u003e4 \u003c\/i\u003eis the band's fourth LP. Initially put out as part of Joyful Noise Recordings, 2019 Artist in Residence, it is now being released far and wide through Joyful Noise. Through friendship and musical collaboration, this album brings together Craig Ross, Alan and Mimi from Low, Bill Callahan, and Jolie Holland; strings from the likes of Mollie Fischer, Travis Weller, Lindsey Verrill, Andrea Calderon, andNino Soberin; and even more instrumentation from Jeff Johnston on saw, Christopher Cundy, Andrea Belfi, and Adam Harding. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Joyful Noise Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Green | LP","offer_id":50504389230923,"sku":"1098272","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50504389624139,"sku":"1098271","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/16306794-8dd5-45c9-aad9-ee3d1b1f4ebc_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727804827"},{"product_id":"heathen-spirituals","title":"Heathen Spirituals","description":"\u003cp\u003eLike a scene from a dream, \u003cstrong\u003eThor Harris\u003c\/strong\u003e stood upon a crowded stage, 13 players deep: tapping, plucking, bowing, blowing lyric-less love songs to a grand auditorium of 325 shining red seats – without a soul sitting in any of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis was the creation of \u003cem\u003eHeathen Spirituals\u003c\/em\u003e, the fifth recorded work by Harris’ adventurous ambient ensemble \u003cstrong\u003eThor \u0026amp; Friends\u003c\/strong\u003e and the first that accurately resembles the skyward repetition of the Austin-based group’s live performances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s a century-old concept: cutting a record in an empty music hall. Masterminded by intrepid producer and lifelong Harris collaborator Craig Ross (Patty Griffin, Spoon), Thor and Friends’ roster of musically accomplished misfits spent two days wired up, playing free-flowing meditational pieces on unamplified orchestral instruments inside Jessen Auditorium, a stunning Art Deco relic from the early days of the University of Texas’ Butler School of Music – the esteemed institution that Harris dropped out from decades ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA craftsman, artistically and otherwise, Thor Harris is master plumber, carpenter, and woodworker. In musical contexts, his name is often followed by the five words: “known for his work with,” having been a member of avant-rock godheads SWANS and high-minded indie favorites Shearwater, while also factoring into important recordings by Bill Callahan, Amanda Palmer, Devendra Banhart, and Shahzad Ismaily.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn many circles, Harris is equally well-known for being an openhearted mental health advocate with a devilish sense of humor and a penchant for entertaining social commentary (Harris’ “How to Punch a Nazi” instructional video got him famously banned from Twitter in 2017).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHeathen Spirituals\u003c\/em\u003e, arriving on Joyful Noise Recordings, contains three original pieces with a 35-minute runtime. The rhythmic repetition of opening seance “Anne Sexton’s Glasses” evokes a cognitive crescendo, while the spellbinding “Christmas Eve at the Wizard’s House” evokes a sense of weightlessness, sucking the listener up into the firmament then floating them back down. The crashing, choir-backed “Heathen Spiritual,” meanwhile, stirs a gorgeous requiem for a dying planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn glorious fidelity, the sessions capture the instinctual purity of \u003cstrong\u003eThor and Friends\u003c\/strong\u003e’ live performances, which thrive on skyward repetition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Joyful Noise Recordings","offers":[{"title":"LP - Clear","offer_id":51556758356299,"sku":"R1002-9867","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/ef0c5810-ec80-f852-b30f-0bccf925c3b2_fe179171-c0c8-4255-bfa7-d88bb8f290ce.jpg?v=1752282728"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/thor-and-friends.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}