The Flowers of Hell

The Flowers of Hell are a trans-Atlantic experimental orchestra made up of a revolving line-up of 16 or so independent musicians based in Toronto and London. Their largely instrumental sound builds bridges between classical music and post-rock, shoegaze, space rock and drone music, often resulting in their being described as an orchestral extension of the work of The Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3.[1][2]

The Flowers of Hell
Background information
OriginToronto & London
GenresExperimental, space rock, drone, psychedelic, post-rock, neo-classical
Years active2002–present
LabelsOptical Sounds
Unfamiliar
Benbecula Records
Fat Ghost
Saved By Vinyl
Awkward Silence
Starmole Japan
Earworm Records
Shifty Disco

Led by synesthete composer Greg Jarvis, much of their repertoire is an exploration of the timbre-to-shape synesthesia that causes Jarvis to involuntarily perceive all sounds as floating abstract visual forms.[3]

The group's music has been championed by Lou Reed,[4] Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine),[5][6] and Pete 'Sonic Boom' Kember (Spacemen 3) who mentored the group through the creation of their debut album, and numerous others. They have had positive coverage from media including Rolling Stone,[7] NME,[8] Pitchfork,[9] and BBC Radio.[10]

In 2020, their decade old Come Hell Or High Water LP was put on display in the Tate Britain's exhibition of works by the 19th century Art Nouveau illustrator Aubrey Beardsley.[11][12] The group's final performance before the coronavirus lockdown took place at the exhibition's opening gala.[13][14]

History

The Flowers of Hell moniker comes from an old blues concept of transformation whereby the misery and toil of the musician results in the pleasure of the listener. The name was first used by the group’s founder Greg Jarvis on tracks included on various UK newspaper and magazine covermount CDs in 2002 and 2003, of which just under two million units were distributed. Jarvis expanded the project into a London-based live act in 2005 with the founding six piece line up consisting of himself as the principal guitarist, Guri Hummelsund on drums, Abi Fry on viola (later of British Sea Power and Bat For Lashes), Owen James on trumpet, Ruth Barlow as the accompanying guitarist, and Steve Head on Hammond organ.[15]

In early 2008, following a move back to his native Toronto after a decade spent abroad in London and Eastern Europe,[16] Jarvis debuted a North American branch of the group as an opening act for Spectrum[17] (one of the post-Spacemen 3 projects of Pete ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember). The Flowers of Hell have since operated on both continents simultaneously with Jarvis going back and forth for concerts and all members contributing to recordings.[18]

Throughout the band’s evolution, Jarvis has remained as its main composer and producer. Jarvis is an audio-visual synaesthete and his compositions and productions are largely based upon the abstract visions he involuntarily experiences when hearing sounds. Synaesthesia is a cognitive trait found in 4% of the population who are born with two (or more) senses intermingled. With the timbre-to-shape variant that, differing sonic timbres give rise to a visual language of sound.[19]

Notable events in the group's history include a 2020 performance at the Tate Britain where their Come Hell Or High Water LP was on display,[14] a 2019 performance for an audience of synesthetes at the Moscow Conservatory,[20] NASA's mission control staff declaring their fandom and synchronizing The Flowers of Hell song Sympathy For Vengeance with fresh Discovery shuttle footage,[21] Lou Reed highly praising the group and starting his final radio show with three of their recordings,[22] My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields inviting the group to open for one of the eight dates on their 2008 reunion tour,[23] and closing the Intersection Festival of experimental classical music on Toronto's main square in 2011 and 2015.[24][25] In 2010 Greg Jarvis made headlines after being detained in Sentani, West Papua by rebel soldiers from the Organisasi Papua Merdeka - Jarvis was mistaken for a spy and used a ukulele to prove he was a musician.[26] [27] [28]

Collaborators

The group's early albums saw them collaborate with many musicians who’ve been side players or leaders in well established acts from the experimental side of the indie rock genre.[1] Performers who have guested on Flowers Of Hell recordings and/or live shows include Peter ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember (Spacemen 3), Will Carruthers (Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Brian Jonestown Massacre), Ray Dickaty (Spiritualized), Ivan Kral (Patti Smith Group, Iggy Pop's band), Ivo Pospíšil (DG 307, Garáž),[29] Owen Pallett (Arcade Fire), Tim Holmes (Death in Vegas), Julie Penner (Broken Social Scene, Do Make Say Think), Abi Fry (British Sea Power, Bat for Lashes),[29] Neil 'Hamilton' Wilkinson (British Sea Power)[29] Mel Draisey (The Clientele, Le Volume Courbe, Primal Scream), Jon McCann (Guided by Voices), Julia Morson (Toronto Mendelssohn Choir), John Mark Lapham (The Earlies), Tom Knott (The Earlies), Jan Muchow (Ecstasy of Saint Theresa).[30]

Discography

Studio Albums

Live Albums

Compilations

EPs

Singles

  • 2020 The Last Beat Of My Heart (String Mix)
  • 2020 Opt Out (Edit)
  • 2020 The Joy Of Sleeping
  • 2019 Warmth Of A Christmas Chill (Single Version)
  • 2019 Muchomurky Bile (Velvet Mix)
  • 2019 Through The F Hole (Abichestra Mix)
  • 2009 White Out (extended version) (Fat Ghost)
  • 2009 Blumchen (Shifty Disco)
  • 2006 Excerpt from Opt Out (Shifty Disco)
  • 2005 The Joy of Sleeping (Shifty Disco)
  • 2005 Solitary Closure (Shifty Disco)
  • 2005 Foreign Lands (Shifty Disco

DVDs

  • 2013 Pocta Václav Havel (bonus content)
  • 2010 Live At The Music Gallery (concert film)
  • 2009 Opus 66 video on Mind Expansion Records compilation

Compilation Appearances

  • 2019 Muchomurky Bile (Velvet Mix) - 3 Garáži (Czech dissident group Garáž's 3LP boxset)
  • 2014 Heiligen - Music For A Good Home 3 (Audioscope/Shelter charity compilation)
  • 2014 Atmosphere - Psych Pop 2 (Optical Sounds compilation)
  • 2013 Mr.Tambourine Man - Strange Brew (UNCUT magazine covermount compilation)
  • 2013 Muchomurky Bile - Psych Pop From Toronto (Optical Sounds compilation)
  • 2012 The Human Illusion - A Changing Landscape (IFAR compilation)
  • 2009 Darklands - Never Lose That Feeling 3 (AC30 covers compilation)
  • 2009 Forest Of Noise - Deep Wireless (NAISA compilation)
  • 2007 Compound Fractures - Psychedelica 2 (Northern Star Records comp)
  • 2005 The Sunrise Retreat - Algidance 3
  • 2002 The Joy of Sleeping - Relax (Eve magazine covermount compilation)
  • 2002 Gonna Stop (Wastin' My Time) - Red (Red magazine covermount compilation)
  • 2002 Vindaloop - Dawn (Daily Star covermount compilation)
  • 2002 The Joy Of Sleeping (Allied Irish Bank Premium CD)
  • 2001 Vindaloop - Peoplesound Sampler

References
  1. Allmusic review of The Flowers of Hell album
  2. "Eye Weekly review". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  3. Anon. (28 May 2013). "Blended Senses". The National. CBC. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  4. Anon. (20 July 2012). "July 20, 2012 Playlist". LouReed.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  5. Now magazine Perlich's Picks
  6. Mondo magazine concert review
  7. Anon. (28 May 2009). "Hype Monitor: Brajo, Avi Buffalo, Flowers Of Hell". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  8. O'Keefe, Niall (3 April 2009). "Album Review: The Flowers Of Hell, Come Hell Or High Water". NME. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  9. Raber, Rebecca (28 July 2010). "The Flowers Of Hell, Come Hell Or High Water". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  10. Anon. (14 February 2010). "Clare McDonnell 14/02/2010". BBC. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  11. Maconie, Stuart. "Freak Zone - March 15, 2020". BBC Radio 6 Music. BBC. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  12. Coe, Gideon. "Gideon Coe - 20 Feb 2020". BBC Radio 6 Music. BBC. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  13. Bitu Tshikudi, Patricia. "Une artiste de Steinbach au musee Tate a Londres". CBC Radio-Canada. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  14. Small, Alan. "Songwriter Throws Perfect Opening Day Strike". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  15. "About". Flowers Of Hell. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  16. Bimm, Jordan (1 April 2009). "Flower Power: shoegazer orchestra goes global". Now. Now. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  17. Anon. (7 February 2008). "The Scene: shows that rocked Toronto last week". Now. Now. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  18. Zarobiak, Joshua (5 April 2011). "The Sights And Sounds Of Success" (PDF). Durham College. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  19. Everett-Green, Robert (3 December 2010). "For Musician With Synaethesia, The Cello Can Sound Too Fury. Or Too Red". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  20. "Conference Concerts". Moscow Conservatory. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  21. Louche, Liz (15 March 2010). "Flowers of Hell enlist musicians from Broken Social Scene, Spiritualized, Guided by Voices, and more to join their NASA-approved space rock jam session". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  22. "Lou Reed's New York Shuffle". BBC6. BBC6. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  23. "Perlich's Picks". Now Magazine. Now Magazine. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  24. Huffa, Joane (2 September 2011). "Flowers Of Hell in full bloom INTERsection Festival allows experimental band to blossom in Yonge Dundas Square". Now (newspaper). Now. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  25. Hudson, Alex (2 September 2015). "Flowers Of Hell Get Operatic for 'Aria 51'". Now (newspaper). Exclaim!. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  26. Anon. (12 October 2010). "Flowers Of Hell mainman mistaken for MI5 spy in Papua New Guinea". NME. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  27. Dombal, Ryan (12 October 2010). "Flowers Of Hell Leader Mistaken For A Spy, narrowly escapes kidnapping in Papua New Guinea". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  28. Hudson, Alex (12 October 2010). "Flowers Of Hell Leader Mistaken For A Spy In Papua New Guinea, Forced to play for his life". Exclaim!. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  29. Adams, Gregory. (7 September 2012) Flowers of Hell Reveal 'Odes' Details, Share Joy Division Cover Exclaim!.
  30. "The Flowers Of Hell". TBShows. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
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