Heathen Spirituals
Like a scene from a dream, Thor Harris 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 â without a soul sitting in any of them.
This was the creation of Heathen Spirituals, the fifth recorded work by Harrisâ adventurous ambient ensemble Thor & Friends and the first that accurately resembles the skyward repetition of the Austin-based groupâs live performances.
Itâs 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 Friendsâ 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 Texasâ Butler School of Music â the esteemed institution that Harris dropped out from decades ago.
A craftsman, artistically and otherwise, Thor Harris is master plumber, carpenter, and woodworker. In musical contexts, his name is often followed by the five words: âknown for his work with,â 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.
In 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 (Harrisâ âHow to Punch a Naziâ instructional video got him famously banned from Twitter in 2017).
Heathen Spirituals, arriving on Joyful Noise Recordings, contains three original pieces with a 35-minute runtime. The rhythmic repetition of opening seance âAnne Sextonâs Glassesâ evokes a cognitive crescendo, while the spellbinding âChristmas Eve at the Wizardâs Houseâ evokes a sense of weightlessness, sucking the listener up into the firmament then floating them back down. The crashing, choir-backed âHeathen Spiritual,â meanwhile, stirs a gorgeous requiem for a dying planet.
In glorious fidelity, the sessions capture the instinctual purity of Thor and Friendsâ live performances, which thrive on skyward repetition.
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Description
Like a scene from a dream, Thor Harris 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 â without a soul sitting in any of them.
This was the creation of Heathen Spirituals, the fifth recorded work by Harrisâ adventurous ambient ensemble Thor & Friends and the first that accurately resembles the skyward repetition of the Austin-based groupâs live performances.
Itâs 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 Friendsâ 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 Texasâ Butler School of Music â the esteemed institution that Harris dropped out from decades ago.
A craftsman, artistically and otherwise, Thor Harris is master plumber, carpenter, and woodworker. In musical contexts, his name is often followed by the five words: âknown for his work with,â 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.
In 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 (Harrisâ âHow to Punch a Naziâ instructional video got him famously banned from Twitter in 2017).
Heathen Spirituals, arriving on Joyful Noise Recordings, contains three original pieces with a 35-minute runtime. The rhythmic repetition of opening seance âAnne Sextonâs Glassesâ evokes a cognitive crescendo, while the spellbinding âChristmas Eve at the Wizardâs Houseâ evokes a sense of weightlessness, sucking the listener up into the firmament then floating them back down. The crashing, choir-backed âHeathen Spiritual,â meanwhile, stirs a gorgeous requiem for a dying planet.
In glorious fidelity, the sessions capture the instinctual purity of Thor and Friendsâ live performances, which thrive on skyward repetition.
