Harris was born July 15, 1980, in Northern California and grew up around the San Francisco Bay area.[3] She grew up in a Fourth Way commune there which was inspired by the philosophy of George Gurdjieff. The community was known as "The Group", which would later serve as some inspiration for the moniker Grouper. According to Harris, the kids called each other and the parents 'groupers' sort of as a defiance. She says: "It was us making our own identities inside a pretty controlled environment, and sort of lashing back maybe... When I had to think of a name I felt annoyed at nothing sounding right. I wanted something that referenced me without referencing 'Me.'" According to her, she "felt like the music was at its barest just a grouping of sounds, and I was just the grouper."[4]"
After finishing college, Harris briefly moved to Los Angeles, where she worked with Mayo Thompson at Patrick Painter.[5] Harris is now based in Oregon. Harrisβ first album was 2005βs Grouper, a self-released full-length CD-R, followed later that year by Way Their Crept on Free Porcupine (re-released in 2007 on Type Records). In 2006 she released a single (He Knows), one album, called Wide, and a collaboration with Xiu Xiu entitled Creepshow. Harris made available new material steadily through the years and continued to collaborate with various artists such as Roy Montgomery and Xela.
In 2008 she released Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill. An AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares praised the album for showing more musical range than Harris' previous work and for "letting more melody, more structured songs, and even a few phrases emerge from the ether."[6] Pitchfork gave it 8.2 stars calling the work "an arresting album of pastoral psychedelic pop".[7]
In 2011, Grouper released an album consisting of two parts: A I A: Dream Loss and A I A: Alien Observer, which was critically acclaimed by Pitchfork, while the latter part was noted for being more accessible of the two discs.[8]
Early in 2012, Grouper performed Violet Replacement in the UK and Europe, a pair of longform tape collage pieces which originally took shape for commissioned performances in New York and Berkeley. Besides, she collaborated with Jesy Fortino of Tiny Vipers to release an album Foreign Body under their common moniker Mirrorring.
At Berlin's Club Transmediale festival in early February 2012 Harris performed Circular Veil in collaboration with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma.[3] Somewhere between an installation and a performance, it found her extending her more concise music outward into eight hours of music, designed to mimic one full sleep cycle.
In 2013, Harris released an album, The Man Who Died in His Boat.
Grouper's studio album titled Ruins was released on October 31, 2014. The album is relatively stripped-down; piano, voice and field recordings.[9] The majority of the album was recorded in Aljezur, Portugal in 2011, while Harris was on a residency set up by Galeria ZΓ© dos Bois.[10] That same year she appeared on The Bug's album providing vocals for the track "Void".[11]
In 2015, Grouper collaborated with independent filmmaker Paul Clipson on the film Hypnosis Display, commissioned by Leeds Opera North.[12]
In 2016, Grouper released a 7" entitled "Paradise Valley".[13]
In 2017, Grouper was one of the curators for the 11th edition of the Dutch Le Guess Who? festival. Her curated program included films La Double Vie de VΓ©ronique by Krzysztof KieΕlowski and Lighthouse by Paul Clipson and music performances from artists Marisa Anderson, William Basinski, Marcia Bassett & Samara Lubelski duo, BrΓΆtzmann/Leigh, Ekin Fil, Keiji Haino, Roy Montgomery, Coby Sey, Tiny Vipers, Wolfgang Voigt and Richard Youngs.[14]
On March 8, 2018, Grouper announced her new album Grid of Points and released the first single "Parking Lot" from the album.[15] The album was released on April 27 via Kranky.
During her days as a part of a Fourth Way commune, Harris' primary sources for discovering music were limited. With a little help from her parents, whose musical tastes were eccentric and divergent, she discovered Eastern European folk and American avant-pop. Through her father, who himself was a composer, she would later discover contemporary classical and early music.[16] In 2008, when she released Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill, Pitchfork compared it to classic ethereal releases from the British label 4AD, drawing comparisons to Cocteau Twins[7] and early His Name Is Alive.[17] The Portland Mercury described some songs from the album, such as "Wind and Snow" and "Stuck", sonically reminiscent of the Renaissance period composers Gesualdo and Monteverdi.[16]
Alien Observer
Grouper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
looking towards the big lights
looking out to be free
suddenly something passes by my window
i feel it in the darkness
i get to feel it sometimes
following the street lamps
wondering how were ever meant to hide
fly back to the stars
alien observer in a world that isnt mine
The lyrics to Grouper's song "Alien Observer" speak to a deep yearning for escape from the mundanity of life and a sense of not belonging in one's own world. The opening line, "look into the night sky", sets the tone for the rest of the song, which is characterized by a sense of wonder and longing. The second line, "looking towards the big lights", is a reference to the stars, which have captivated human fascination for centuries. The singer of the song is looking for a sense of freedom that can only be found in the vastness of the universe. The line "looking out to be free" encapsulates this idea.
Suddenly, the singer sees "something" pass by their window, which evokes a feeling of awe and fear. This event serves as a reminder that there is much more out there beyond our immediate surroundings. The singer feels this sense of otherworldliness often, as if they are not meant to be in this world. They follow the streetlamps, which provide a sense of direction and guidance, but also serve as a reminder of the limitations of human knowledge.
The final lines of the song, "going to take a spaceship, fly back to the stars, alien observer in a world that isn't mine", represent a desire for escape from the confines of Earth and a longing to return to the stars, where the singer feels more at home. The idea of being an "alien observer" suggests a sense of distance and detachment from humanity, as if the singer is just passing through this world.
Line by Line Meaning
look into the night sky
Observing the dark sky above
looking towards the big lights
Gazing at the bright and illuminated heavenly bodies
looking out to be free
Seeking freedom by searching the open expanse of the sky
suddenly something passes by my window
Sudden and unexpected movement passing by the windowpane
i feel it in the darkness
Sensing something unknown in the absence of light
i get to feel it sometimes
Experiencing the unknown sensations at various times
following the street lamps
Trailing the man-made light sources that lead the way
wondering how were ever meant to hide
Pondering about the ability to conceal oneself
going to take a spaceship
Settling on using a spacecraft
fly back to the stars
Soaring into the starry skies
alien observer in a world that isnt mine
Being an extraterrestrial spectator in a foreign world
Contributed by Mateo B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.