Gregor Samsa
Gregor Samsa Gregor Samsa is a band from Virginia formed in 2000 and fronted by Champ Bennett. It takes its name from the main character of Franz Kafka's short story The Metamorphosis.The band's sound, although rooted in the post-rock genre, differs from that of other bands in the genre in that it employs dual vocals by Bennett and Nikki King, a feature which relates them to the shoegazing and slowcore genres. Gregor Samsa has stated on its website that "the early history of the group has been lost in a wash of noise, strange beeps, and outright lies". Reviews of their album 55:12 contained comparison to acts such as Brian Eno, Sigur Rós, Múm, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Low. Over the years, more than thirty people have come and gone from the group's line-up, including, but not limited to, members of Spokane, Labradford, Kayo Dot, Ghastly City Sleep and Engine Down. Today, Champ and Nikki remain the only original members. Incidentally, it was for this reason they decided to marry in September 2007. The current line-up consists of Champ's brother William and their cousin Jeremiah, along with Cory (Antlers), Mia (Kayo Dot) and Toby (Kayo Dot). They have just finished a new record called Rest, which was written through email and then recorded over a period of 8 months or so in NYC, and was released in May on Kora Records in North America and Own Records in Europe.