Thor Harris

-Thor is like a caveman. From the future.
-He's at once terrifying and the most gentle soul ever...
-Incredibly empathetic, but he will punch a Nazi without hesitation.
-He ran for governor of Texas, "cause, fuck this".
-He is one of the most self-aware and agile artists we have ever worked with. He has the musical curiosity of an uncorrupted child.
-He makes crushingly honest videos about depression.
-His Twitter handle is @ThorHarris666, but your grandmother would still adore him.
-From his home in Austin TX, he works as a plumber and woodworker. He helps to build homes for those in need, while combatting runaway gentrification. He is a literal pillar of the Austin community.

About Thor & Friends:

Polymath percussionist Thor Harris inaugurated Thor & 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 & 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.