Gregor Samsa (band)

Last updated
Gregor Samsa
Gregor Samsa (band).jpg
Background information
Origin Richmond, Virginia, United States
Genres Post-rock, shoegaze
Years active2000present
Labels Iodine Recordings (Past)
The Kora Records (United States)
Own Records (Europe)

Gregor Samsa is an American band from Virginia, United States, formed in 2000 and fronted by Champ Bennett. It takes its name from the main character of Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis .

Contents

The band's sound, although rooted in the post-rock genre, differs from that of other bands in the genre in that it employs dual vocals by Bennett and Nikki King, a feature which relates them to the shoegazing and slowcore genres. Gregor Samsa has stated on its website that "the early history of the group has been lost in a wash of noise, strange beeps, and outright lies”. [1]

Reviews of their album compared it to acts such as Brian Eno, [2] Múm, [3] Sigur Rós, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Low. [4]

In support of its latest release, the band played twenty-one eastern US venues in March before then venturing a 23-date tour of the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, and Germany during April. Historically, the band has chosen to tour and perform alongside a wide array bands and genres including Spokane, Kayo Dot, Barzin, Part Chimp, Calla, Engine Down, Isis, Pelican, Explosions in the Sky, Interpol, and many others.

The band completed their album, Rest, in late 2007 and released it in April 2008. They also released their most recent album, 40:13.5, in December of 2024.

Current members

Past members and contributors

Discography

Albums

EPs

Splits

Related Research Articles

<i>Mind Bomb</i> 1989 studio album by The The

Mind Bomb is the third studio album by the English post-punk band The The. It was released by Some Bizzare/Epic on 15 May 1989 and recorded during late 1988 and early 1989. It is the band's first album to feature former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

<i>Gettin In over My Head</i> 2004 studio album by Brian Wilson

Gettin' In over My Head is the fourth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released June 2004 on Rhino Records. Many of the songs were reworked versions of tracks recorded for the scrapped album Sweet Insanity and the Andy Paley sessions from the 1990s. The album reached #100 in the US during a 1-week chart stay, and #53 in the UK. Critical reaction was mixed.

<i>Grown Backwards</i> 2004 album by David Byrne

Grown Backwards is the seventh studio album by musician David Byrne, released on March 16, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poi Dog Pondering</span> American band

Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group which is noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Frank Orrall founded the band in Hawaii in 1984, initially as a solo project. In 1985 Orrall formed the first line-up of PDP to perform its first concert at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The band embarked on a yearlong street performance busking tour across North America. They eventually settled down in Austin, Texas in 1987, where they recorded their first three albums. In 1992, the band relocated to Chicago and they began to incorporate orchestral arrangements and elements of electronic, house music, and soul music into their acoustic rock style. The membership of Poi Dog Pondering has evolved from album to album, with Frank Orrall a constant player since the inception of the band.

<i>Instant Replay</i> (The Monkees album) 1969 studio album by the Monkees

Instant Replay is the seventh studio album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1969 by Colgems Records. Issued 11 months after the cancellation of the group's NBC television series, it is also the first album released after Peter Tork left the group and the only album of the original nine studio albums that does not include any songs featured in the TV show.

<i>The Lost Episodes</i> 1996 compilation album by Frank Zappa

The Lost Episodes is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa which compiles previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his career, and as early as 1958, into the mid-1970s. Zappa had been working on these tracks in the years before his death in 1993.

<i>Escalator over the Hill</i> 1971 studio album by Carla Bley and Paul Haines

Escalator over the Hill is mostly referred to as a jazz opera, but it was released as a "chronotransduction", with "words by Paul Haines, adaptation and music by Carla Bley, production and coordination by Michael Mantler", performed by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra.

Stars Like Fleas is a Brooklyn-based band formed by multi-instrumentalist Shannon Fields and vocalist Montgomery Knott in the winter of 1998. Frequently compared to later Talk Talk and Robert Wyatt, their music blends avant-jazz and free improvisation with electronic textures and several overdubbed murmured vocal lines.

<i>The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001</i> 2001 studio album by George Jones

The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001 is the 57th studio album by American country music singer George Jones, released on September 11, 2001 on the Bandit Records label.

<i>Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III</i> 2004 studio album by Rod Stewart

Stardust... the Great American Songbook, Volume III is the third studio album of pop standards by British musician Rod Stewart, released on 19 October 2004 by J Records, and his 22nd album overall. The album was dedicated to the Tartan Army.

<i>The Wedding</i> (Oneida album) 2005 studio album by Oneida

The Wedding is an album by krautrock band Oneida. It was released in 2005.

<i>Gregor Samsa</i> (EP) 2002 EP by Gregor Samsa

Gregor Samsa was the debut EP released in 2002 by Virginian Post-rock band, Gregor Samsa.

<i>27:36</i> 2003 EP by Gregor Samsa

27:36 is the second EP released by Gregor Samsa in 2003, one year after their debut EP, Gregor Samsa. It features three untitled tracks which were later named by the band for easy reference, though those names are unofficial.

<i>55:12</i> 2006 studio album by Gregor Samsa

55:12 is the first full-length studio album by Virginia-based post-rock band Gregor Samsa, released in 2006 on The Kora Records.

"Willie the Pimp" is a song from Frank Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats. It features an idiosyncratic Captain Beefheart vocal and one of Zappa's classic guitar solos. It is the only track that is not instrumental on the album, though the track features a long guitar solo.

<i>Real Life</i> (Joan as Police Woman album) 2006 studio album by Joan as Police Woman

Real Life is the debut studio album by Joan As Police Woman, released by Reveal Records in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2006, and a year later in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Karsten Daniels</span> American singer-songwriter

David Karsten Daniels is an American singer-songwriter with an affinity for "slow-creeping songs that, once at full power, are like nothing else". His recordings are typically combinations of many styles of music sitting underneath lyrics that explore topics such as life & death, family dynamics, religion, neuroscience, the nature of change and the natural world.

<i>Rest</i> (Gregor Samsa album) 2008 studio album by Gregor Samsa

Rest, released April 1, 2008, is the second full-length album by Virginian post-rock band Gregor Samsa. The band posted the tracks online at Imeem before the album was released. The album was released in five formats, digital, unlimited, limited, collector's, and vinyl.

<i>One Shot Deal</i> 2008 live album by Frank Zappa

One Shot Deal is an album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in June 2008.

References

  1. "Stylus Magazine". Stylusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  2. "55:12 - Gregor Samsa | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". Allmusic . Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  3. "Popmatters.com" . Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  4. "Stylus Magazine". Stylusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 18 Sep 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  5. "Splendid are detective. Splendid are select". 1map.com. Retrieved 21 November 2020.