Continuing her Violet Replacement tour, Liz Harris from Portland aka Grouper will be performing live in Riga on March, the 13th. Her sound is characterized by an influence of dream pop as well as a love for dreamy and otherworldly soundscapes which lets her music range from sweetly ethereal indie ballads to slightly noisy and nervous sound dreams. The concert, according to the wish of Liz Harris herself, will take place at the Anglican Church. This concert will be part of ECAS (European Cities of Advanced Sound) action and Grouper will also be performing at our ECAS partner festival Club Transmediale.
The music of Grouper can be easily compared to the work of artists like Cocteau Twins or EMA, yet Harris’ enthusiasm for ambient shoegaze vibes as well as her sophisticated, clearly sung vocals put her in a genre that was coined by The Wire magazine as mordant ambient song. In 2008. her album Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill was listed as one the 50 best music albums of the year by pitchfork.com.
In 2011. Grouper released an album called ‘’AIA’’, which consisted of two LP’s: ‘’Alien Observer’’ and ‘’Dream Loss’’. Both thematically similar records gained much critical acclaim. One of the main achievements of these records was mentioned the ability of Harris to create narcotic drifts of sound and combine them with true talent of a songwriter.
NBC Washington’s “Concert Picks” column said of Grouper, “The ambient one-woman post-rock band Grouper also makes this show a must-see (if you have tickets or connections or luck – otherwise, sorry, it’s sold out, sold out a long time ago). Liz Harris’ spooky, ethereal and surreal sounds are based on her acoustic, often avant garde guitar plucking and her quiet, hazy vocals. The minor key melodies are pretty despite a suspenseful nightmare quality.”
Let us also remind you that this year will be the 10th anniversary of Skaņu mežs festival and this concert will mark the beginning of special celebration events that will take place throughout the whole year up until the days of the festival itself.
Tickets are available at www.bilesuserviss.lv website and sales points for 7 lats or at the box office on the day of concert for more.
