Multitalented instrumentalist Thor Harris — former percussionist and woodwind player for Swans; close collaborator with Xiu Xiu, Bill Callahan, Shearwater, and Amanda Palmer (to name a few); AND a one-time candidate for governor in Texas — has announced that he will be Joyful Noise’s Artist In Residence for 2019.
What that means is that he’s about to to make six full-length albums with a host of friends who also happen to be some of the most forward-thinking musicians out there.
From late April until early November, Harris will be releasing new music digitally every six weeks; all six LPs will be then collected and sent out into the physical world of us mortals as 666 wooden box sets, all hand-made by Harris himself (did I forget to mention he was a woodworker as well?). The first round of his collaborators is 32-names long, and includes Swans’ Michael Gira and Norman Westberg, Sharon Van Etten, Lawrence English, Jad Fair of Half Japanese, and Margaret Chardiet of Pharmakon.
Pre-orders for both the box sets and digital compilations are already available here. Below, watch a video of Harris doing a great job selling you on what he has in store:
Participating collaborators:
Alex Somers (Sigur Rós)
Michael Gira & Norman Westberg (Swans)
Neko Case
Sharon Van Etten
Bill Callahan (Smog)
Ayse Hassan & Fay Milton (Savages)
Thierry Amar & Timothy Herzog (Godspeed You! Black Emperor)
Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel/A Hawk and a Hacksaw)
Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw)
Andy Stack (Wye Oak)
Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu)
Margaret Chardiet (Pharmakon)
Lawrence English
Shahzad Ismaily
Sabrina Ellis (A Giant Dog/Sweet Spirit)
Greg Saunier & John Dietrich (Deerhoof)
Jasamine White-Gluz (No Joy)
Kid Millions (Oneida)
Yonatan Gat
Jad Fair (Half Japanese)
Sima Cunningham & Macie Stewart (Ohmme)
Marina Tadic (Eerie Wanda)
Adam Harding (Dumb Numbers)
C.J. Boyd
Daniel Smith (Danielson)
More about: Thor Harris
