Thor Harris
Thor Harris (born February 7, 1965) is an artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter and handyman.[1] He was the percussionist for Swans (2010–2016). He has performed with Shearwater (2001–2010), a band from Austin, Texas, Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, Lisa Germano, Yonatan Gat, Gretchen Phillips, Devendra Banhart, Rebecca Cannon, Swans, Xiu Xiu, Flock of Dimes & Amanda Palmer, Whalesong,[2] and the Grand Theft Orchestra. He has recorded at least six instrumental albums with the Austin producer Rob Halverson.[3] He also contributed to Ben Frost's 2014 album, Aurora.[4] In February 2017, and he has enjoyed touring with Thor & Friends since 2015.[5]
Thor Harris | |
---|---|
2018 | |
Background information | |
Born | February 7, 1965 |
Genres | Experimental, indie rock, folk, experimental rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, carpenter, art instructor |
Instruments | Drums, percussion, dulcimer, vibraphone, clarinet, piano, organ, violin, viola, accordion, melodica, keyboards, guitar, bass, trombone |
Years active | 1986–present |
Associated acts | Swans (2010–2016) Xiu Xiu (2017–present) Bill Callahan (2005–2013) Shearwater (2001–2010) Devendra Banhart (2004) Angels of Light (1999–2001) Rob Halverson (1993–2010) Amanda Palmer (2013) Lisa Germano Gretchen Phillips |
Personal life
Harris posted a video to his Twitter account titled "How To Punch A Nazi" as a response to the rise of Richard Spencer, and on February 8, 2017, Twitter briefly suspended Harris's account[6] for the video. On August 10, 2017, Harris announced his candidacy for governor of Texas on Twitter.[7] Thor Harris also builds custom musical instruments.[5]
Discography
With Rob Halverson
- Fields of Innards (1999, Thor Harris and Rob Halverson)
- Robinson Ear's Little Whirled of Sound (2000, Rob Halverson)
- One Night Only (2002, Rob Halverson)
- Second Whirled (2004, Rob Halverson)
- Fields of Innards II (2010, Thor Harris and Rob Halverson)
- Fields of Innards III (2019, Thor Harris and Rob Halverson, on Joyful Noise Recordings)[8]
With Shearwater
- The Dissolving Room (2001, Shearwater on Grey Flat)
- Everybody Makes Mistakes (2002, Shearwater on Misra)
- Winged Life (2004, Shearwater on Misra)
- Palo Santo (2006, Shearwater on Misra)
- Rook (2008, Shearwater)
- The Golden Archipelago (2010, Shearwater)
With Swans
- My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky (2010, Swans)
- The Seer (2012, Swans)
- To Be Kind (2014, Swans)
- The Glowing Man (2016, Swans)
With Thor & Friends
Other
- New Mother (1999, Angels of Light on Young God Records)
- How I Loved You (2001, Angels of Light on Young God Records)
- Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home (2003, Angels of Light on Young God Records)
- Rejoicing in the Hands (2004, Devendra Banhart on Young God Records)
- Niño Rojo (2004, Devendra Banhart on Young God Records)
- A River Ain't Too Much to Love (May 31, 2005; Smog (Bill Callahan))
- Woke on a Whaleheart (April 17, 2007; Bill Callahan on Drag City)
- Drums and Drunken Circuit (2009, Thor Harris, Rob Halverson, and Bill Callahan)
- You Knew (2012, Mother Falcon)
- Dream River (2013, Bill Callahan, on Drag City)
- A U R O R A (2014, Ben Frost)
- Noplace (2017, Aidan Baker/Simon Goff/Thor Harris)
- Is Adam OK? (2019, Thor Harris & Joyful Noise Players, on Joyful Noise Recordings)[8]
- With Anni Rossi (2019, Shahzad & Thor, on Joyful Noise Recordings)[8]
- Doom Dub (2019, Thor Harris, on Joyful Noise Recordings)[8]
- Radiance of a Thousand Suns (2019, Whalesong, Self- Released)[2]
- Io (2019, Little Mazarn on Self Sabotage Records)
- note: Harris's six 2019 releases on Joyful Noise Recordings were issued both as six individual digital albums and as one limited-edition (666 copies) set of six colored-vinyl records in a wooden box.[8]
References
- Ken Lieck (January 21, 2000). "Hammer of the Gods". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- "Radiance of a Thousand Suns, by Whalesong". Whalesong. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- "Music | Thor Harris and Rob Halverson albums". Thorrob.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
- Geslani, Michelle (March 20, 2014). "Listen: Ben Frost's new song "Venter", featuring Swans' Thor Harris". March 20, 2014. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- "About". Thor & Friends. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
- Rettig, James (February 8, 2017). "Thor Harris Suspended From Twitter For How-To-Punch-A-Nazi Tutorial". February 8, 2017. Stereogum. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- Wicks, Amanda. "Thor Harris Says He's Running for Governor of Texas". Pitchfork.com. Condé Nast. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- "Thor Harris: 2019 Artist in Residence". Joyful Noise Recordings. 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
- "Album Review: Thor & Friends' "The Subversive Nature of Kindness"". Austin Monthly. December 2017. Retrieved 2019-12-23.