Gregor Samsa

Gregor Samsa are a Post-Rock band that began in Richmond, VA in early 2000. The band made a big impact on the genre through their use of haunting co-ed vocals and expansive dark melodies. Gregor Samsa are masters at building tension in their music through use of atmospheric minimalism that slowly climbs to a crescendo of layered instruments and noise. Their sound is perfectly woven into songs that are beautiful and powerful.

The band came up alongside artists like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, and ISIS, the later two having done tours with Gregor Samsa. They would later prove to be a hugely influential band in the genre with numerous US and European Tours in the early 00s. They released two Eps on Iodine Recordings, which were denoted by only their time signatures (18:06 and 27:36), and two full lengths on The Kora Records (55:12 and REST). They also notably released a split EP with Los Angeles’ Red Sparroes on Robotic Empire Records. The band eventually migrated to Brooklyn, NY where they became somewhat of a collective organization with building a cohort of over a dozen musicians, including several members of the avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot.

"Gregor Samsa features many of the stronger characteristics of vocal post-rock: hushed beauty, dark, dense melodies, and soft, co-ed vocals. They excel at building tension through a use of negative space.” - Pitchfork