I'm glad I listened to the black record first. the white record, the 45rpm one, feels like a bonus disc at best but is it the one that's sequenced first in the digital? there are no markings on the LP at all, not even in the runoff grooves (besides her usual aphorisms).
― flappy bird, Saturday, 9 March 2019 22:07 (five years ago) link
Hey the vinyl is back on the bandcamp for those that missed it:
https://grouper.bandcamp.com/album/after-its-own-death-walking-in-a-spiral-towards-the-house
― Evan, Thursday, 14 March 2019 17:35 (five years ago) link
Okay! So I was fortunate enough to interview Liz H about Nivhek -- and I could be wrong but I think this is the only interview she's doing about this project in specific.
https://thequietus.com/articles/26584-liz-harris-nivhek-interview-grouper
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 15:37 (four years ago) link
That’s one of the best interviews with her that I can recall, thanks!!
― i will never make a typo ever again (Karl Malone), Wednesday, 5 June 2019 18:54 (four years ago) link
yes great read, thanks ned
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 19:30 (four years ago) link
Thank you both!
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 5 June 2019 19:58 (four years ago) link
performing as Nivhek for a few lucky cities this fall.
https://www.instagram.com/p/By1FKAslPEX/
― Evan, Tuesday, 18 June 2019 15:38 (four years ago) link
“I’ve been buying Grouper records for a pretty long time,” Tweedy says of Liz Harris’s opaque experimental project. “There’s real growth from record to record, but she’s been able to maintain this mysterious atmosphere even as some things have become a little more unlocked and a little more accessible.”“It’s the kind of record that I almost don’t want to know who’s responsible for it,” he laughs. “It’s not presented in a way that makes that a priority. It’s presented with a very limited exposure of identity. It could be a group of aliens that kidnapped a female singer, or any number of things.”
“It’s the kind of record that I almost don’t want to know who’s responsible for it,” he laughs. “It’s not presented in a way that makes that a priority. It’s presented with a very limited exposure of identity. It could be a group of aliens that kidnapped a female singer, or any number of things.”
https://daily.bandcamp.com/2019/10/04/wilco-jeff-tweedy-bandcamp-picks
― flappy bird, Friday, 4 October 2019 19:51 (four years ago) link
Previously unreleased 11 minute live recording of "Alien Observer" from October 2009
https://soundcloud.com/kranky/grouper-alien-observer-live-at-emanuel-vigeland-mausoleum-oct25-2009
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 15 October 2019 22:27 (four years ago) link
just FYI AIA: alien observer and AIA: dream loss are being reissued on vinyl by kranky on the 25th of this month
― the late great, Tuesday, 15 October 2019 22:43 (four years ago) link
best album of the decade!
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 15 October 2019 23:22 (four years ago) link
makes me want to pull out my OG “vinyls” and give them a spin. Title cut of Alien Observer is one of my fave tracks.
― omar little, Tuesday, 15 October 2019 23:35 (four years ago) link
Maria Somerville made a beautiful album this year, 'All Our People'. Perchance it's not entirely fair to put this here, but a) I didn't know where else to put it and it's definitely anchored in the Grouper realm, and b) it deserves all the love it can get imo.
Maria Somerville draws on folk forms alongside post-punk, traditional Irish motifs, starry eyed pop and hypnotic drones to create wholly original music that is borne of her roots in Connemara, Western Ireland.All My People (self-released on 1 March and distributed by Rush Hour), channels the wilderness of the Irish landscape through dense, ethereal soundscapes, bare boned percussion and a heady electronic undertow, interspersed with ghostly vocals that are ever present and all encompassing, like crystalline glints of sunshine peeking through dark stormy clouds.
All My People (self-released on 1 March and distributed by Rush Hour), channels the wilderness of the Irish landscape through dense, ethereal soundscapes, bare boned percussion and a heady electronic undertow, interspersed with ghostly vocals that are ever present and all encompassing, like crystalline glints of sunshine peeking through dark stormy clouds.
https://mariasomerville.bandcamp.com/album/all-my-people
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 19 December 2019 10:04 (four years ago) link
i like this a LOT. wish it wasn't sold out already! i will keep my eyes peeled for new stuff from her!
my 2019 listening is very scattered and shallow, as always, but this would be one of my faves from this year for sure.
― Peaceful Warrior I Poser (Karl Malone), Thursday, 19 December 2019 17:37 (four years ago) link
Hmm, noted!
As for Liz, there's a Nivhek show happening Saturday night here in SF.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 19 December 2019 17:39 (four years ago) link
Warms the heart that you're enjoying it so much, KM!
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 30 December 2019 15:15 (four years ago) link
For whatever reason, I took against The Man Who Died in His Boat and it turns out - yet more evidence that I don't know shit about anything - that it's fabulous. STS and Living Room as the final 1-2 are Harris in excelsis.
That is my banal 'I've been listening to Grouper today' story.
― Ngolo Cantwell (Chinaski), Wednesday, 26 February 2020 16:26 (four years ago) link
i splurged on the split with inca ore on discogs a few days ago - it just came in. man, "poison tree" is soooo good
― But guess what? Nobody gives a toot!😂 (Karl Malone), Saturday, 7 March 2020 00:01 (four years ago) link
yeah that's a good one, and the Inca Ore side is good as well iirc
― sleeve, Saturday, 7 March 2020 00:02 (four years ago) link
oh man, I found that one completely randomly at honest johns in London a few years ago, one of the best record store kismet experiences I've ever had. such a great split and yeah "poison tree" is one of her best.
― flappy bird, Saturday, 7 March 2020 03:49 (four years ago) link
new track
https://clatsopanimalassistance.bandcamp.com/releases
― howls of non-specificity (sleeve), Friday, 4 December 2020 20:40 (three years ago) link
Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.
― Indexed, Friday, 4 December 2020 22:17 (three years ago) link
Not new unfortunately, from the Inca Ore split in 2008. Great song though.
― flappy bird, Friday, 4 December 2020 22:29 (three years ago) link
lol I wondered abt that, thanks. bought it anyway, good cause
― howls of non-specificity (sleeve), Friday, 4 December 2020 23:46 (three years ago) link
yeah the cat i had most of my whole adult life was a clatsop rescue, god bless 'em
― Clay, Saturday, 5 December 2020 01:25 (three years ago) link
Idling away a Sunday afternoon, I made this compilation - criteria being only 10 tracks, only 1 track per release. I mean, look at it. Artist of the century so far, surely?
Headache (Paradise Valley)Blouse (Grid of Points)Parking Lot (Parking Lot)Little Gray Cat (Inca Ore/Grouper)When We Fall (Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill)Down to the Ocean (Cover the Windows and the Walls)Holding (Ruins)Being Her Shadow (The Man Who Died in His Boat)Vapor Trails (A I A: Alien Observer)Close Cloak (Way Their Crept)
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Sunday, 11 April 2021 19:24 (three years ago) link
i shall listen to this playlist!
but you might have another spot to fill - "parking lot" is also on Grid of Points
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Sunday, 11 April 2021 20:49 (three years ago) link
(maybe Helen's "Felt This Way"?)
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Sunday, 11 April 2021 20:50 (three years ago) link
Oh, of course! And, confession, I've never listened to the Helen record. I am shamefacedly listening now.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Sunday, 11 April 2021 21:04 (three years ago) link
"hold" or "moving machine"?
― Clay, Sunday, 11 April 2021 21:04 (three years ago) link
there is probably a better one on there! "felt this way" was a song on a 7" they put out before the album. i only gave the album maybe 1.5 listens, and none of it struck me in the same way, but i should have given it more time!
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Sunday, 11 April 2021 21:06 (three years ago) link
the entire helen album rules imo
― Clay, Sunday, 11 April 2021 21:08 (three years ago) link
also hard to overlook the Raum album, god it's all so good
― Clay, Sunday, 11 April 2021 21:09 (three years ago) link
'Felt This Way' is great and I clearly need to listen to that Helen record some more but that playlist I put together is a) all Grouper and, even for Harris, the more bleached-out, narcotic version - might be a bit bombastic! (I'd happily have added the whole Nivhek album, tbh.)
I'd also never heard Moving Machine. Yikes.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Sunday, 11 April 2021 21:12 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcAO6WeE3vU
gorgeous new single "unclean mind", this is probably my favourite thing from her since "headache"
https://music.apple.com/us/album/shade/1577846229
album out 22 october
― ufo, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 06:04 (two years ago) link
This is gorgeous.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 07:39 (two years ago) link
YESSSS
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 09:17 (two years ago) link
So good. Glad to see her go back to acoustic guitar… last time she used one was in… 2013?
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 09:32 (two years ago) link
longer actually, a man who died in his boat was all outtakes from dragging a dead deer up a hill, so it's the first time she's recorded new stuff on acoustic guitar since the sessions for both those albums in 2007-8
― ufo, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 09:46 (two years ago) link
HYPE
― pomenitul, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 09:47 (two years ago) link
https://grouper.bandcamp.com/album/shade
― sleeve, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 15:06 (two years ago) link
whelp, with the heads up this morning I WAS initially excited I'd have a chance at the expected "art" edition...
― Evan, Tuesday, 27 July 2021 16:15 (two years ago) link
Heh, yeah, I paused to look up who the artist was, then Pitchfork put it on their front page, and it was gone.
― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 17:38 (two years ago) link
just gonna order the CD, v. excited to hear it!
― mark e. smith-moon (f. hazel), Tuesday, 27 July 2021 18:51 (two years ago) link
new album is gorgeous as expected, her best album in a while
― ufo, Friday, 27 August 2021 02:05 (two years ago) link
jeeze, 2 months to wait
― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 27 August 2021 03:14 (two years ago) link
it's mostly acoustic guitar-based but in a folkier way than before, probably most similar to ruins except with acoustic guitar instead of piano. there's some other dronier tracks too, of course
unusually there's even drums on one track, but in the most grouper way possible
― ufo, Saturday, 28 August 2021 09:16 (two years ago) link
awesome, thanks ufo!
probably most similar to ruins except with acoustic guitar instead of piano. there's some other dronier tracks too, of course
so, to me that sounds in the direction of Dragging a Dead Deer -- is it like that?
― professional anti- (Karl Malone), Saturday, 28 August 2021 09:42 (two years ago) link
"unclean mind" is the closest to ddad, the other acoustic guitar tracks are a different style, folkier with slow picking. it works really well
― ufo, Saturday, 28 August 2021 09:48 (two years ago) link
maybe a touch of Tiny Vipers / Mirrorring
― assert (matttkkkk), Saturday, 28 August 2021 12:46 (two years ago) link