Grouper

Under the name Grouper, Liz Harris has since the mid-2000s developed a body of work that sits between ambient, psychedelic folk, slowcore and minimalism, consisting of hushed songs, discreet textures, piano, acoustic guitar and vocals often merged into the sonic texture. Born in Northern California and long based in Astoria, Oregon, she released her first recordings in 2005, initially self-produced and then on several independent labels. After Grouper 2005, Way Their Crept 2005, Wide 2006 and Cover the Windows and the Walls 2007, Grouper broadened her writing with Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill 2008, an album where the song form becomes clearer without breaking with her misty aesthetic. The follow-up moves through the A I A: Dream Loss and A I A: Alien Observer diptych in 2011, then The Man Who Died in His Boat 2013. On Ruins 2014, recorded partly in Portugal, Liz Harris tightens the frame further around the piano, the voice and ambient sound captures. Grouper continues with Grid of Points 2018 and Shade 2021. In parallel, Harris has led several projects and collaborations, notably Mirrorring with Jesy Fortino of Tiny Vipers, Raum with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, as well as work with Xiu Xiu, Inca Ore, Roy Montgomery, The Bug or Lawrence English. This trajectory links the experimental scene, intimate ambient and a very personal approach to song.