Gastr del Sol (derived from a combination of the name of a race horse (Gato del Sol) and David Grubbs' previous band Bastro) was an American,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based band, consisting for most of their career, of

David Grubbs David Grubbs (born September 21, 1967) is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingd ...

and Jim O'Rourke. Between 1993 and 1998 they released seven albums ranging in genre from

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

(the scene they were most associated with) to musique concrète.

Early line-up

Grubbs, a former member of

Squirrel Bait Squirrel Bait was an American punk rock band from Louisville, Kentucky active from 1983 to 1987. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well a ...

formed the band in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1991 from the final line-up of the group

Bastro Bastro was an American post-hardcore band which was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums. The band also experimented wit ...

, with Bundy K. Brown and

John McEntire John McEntire (born April 9, 1970 in Portland, Oregon) is an American recording engineer, producer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of both Tortoise and the Sea and Cake. McEntire started playing dr ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

respectively. The trio released their first album, ''

The Serpentine Similar ''The Serpentine Similar'' is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on June 1, 1993 by TeenBeat Records. The album was re-released by Drag City on June 16, 1997. Background Guitarist David Grubbs and drum ...

'', in 1993, ushering in a quieter, less

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

-oriented sound with the change of name. Brown and McEntire left to join

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

the following year, and guitarist/composer/producer Jim O'Rourke joined.

Duo line-up

At this point Gastr del Sol became mainly a collaboration between Grubbs and O'Rourke, joined by an ever-changing collection of guests. Though McEntire was no longer a full member, he continued contributing to many Gastr del Sol recordings and concerts. Most releases by this line-up were on Chicago's Drag City, beginning with the acoustic guitar-based '' Crookt, Crackt, or Fly'' in 1994. "Work From Smoke", the centerpiece of this album, fused Grubbs and O'Rourke's penchant for atonal guitar interplay with bass clarinet and Grubbs's increasingly

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

lyrics. A pair of releases followed quickly in 1995. The ''Mirror Repair'' EP added elements of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. '' The Harp Factory on Lake Street'', released on the

Table of the Elements Table of the Elements is an American record label. It concentrates on re-released and specially recorded experimental music, including many avant-garde musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries: such as John Cale, Tony Conrad, La Monte Young, L ...

label, was their most experimental work, a piece for chamber orchestra with only occasional voice and piano from Grubbs. Also in 1995, the band contributed the song "Quietly Approaching" to the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

benefit album '' Red Hot + Bothered'' produced by the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

. 1996's ''

Upgrade & Afterlife ''Upgrade & Afterlife'' is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on June 17, 1996 by Drag City. The album cover is ''Wasserstiefel (Water Boots)'' by Swiss artist Roman Signer. Composition ''Pitchfork'' wr ...

'' included a would-be film score by O'Rourke, "Our Exquisite Replica of 'Eternity'", and an extended interpretation of the John Fahey piece "Dry Bones in the Valley" featuring guest

Tony Conrad Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both ...

on violin. With the release of ''

Camoufleur ''Camoufleur'' is the fifth and final studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on February 23, 1998 on Drag City. Critical reception Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described ''Camoufleur'' as "a subdued, meditativ ...

'' in 1998, Gastr del Sol progressed further into the realm of conventional melodies and

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other compo ...

, creating their most accessible and popular album. Its chord patterns, melodies, and flugelhorn and string-heavy arrangements prefigure O'Rourke's future pop releases. The album was co-written with Markus Popp, of the pioneering German

glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...

group

Oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one ...

, who contributed to the electronic aspects of the album. After ''Camoufleur'' the band split up. Grubbs and O'Rourke have both continued to release albums under their own names in the fields of rock, pop, and experimental music.

Partial discography

* ''

'' (Teenbeat/ Drag City, 1993) * ''Twenty Songs Less'' (Teenbeat, 1993) * '' Crookt, Crackt, or Fly'' (Drag City, 1994) * '' Mirror Repair EP'' (Drag City, 1994) * '' The Harp Factory on Lake Street'' (

, 1995) * ''The Japanese Room at LA Pagode'' (with

) (Table of the Elements, 1995) * ''

'' (Drag City, 1996) * ''

'' (Drag City, 1998)

References

External links

Work from Smoke: A Gastr del Sol Resource

Jim O'Rourke discography
with details on other Gastr del Sol recordings {{Authority control American post-rock groups Rock music groups from Illinois Musical groups from Chicago Drag City (record label) artists