Rest

In their third full-length album, Gregor Samsa takes a new approach to composition, both in process and instrumentation. The result is Rest; nine pieces composed over e-mail during the course of nine months by key members. In Rest, GS expand on their affinity for minimal, classical instrumentation mixed with mangled and manipulated sound through integration of new instruments such as the celesta, clarinet, classical voice and vibraphone. Along with these new sounds, guitar has been almost entirely replaced by piano, whose parts were recorded on a rare Bosendorfer once owned by Philip Glass. These pieces demonstrate a shift in focus to harmony, restraint and the use of muted tones, while less interest is taken in the large dynamic shifts that once carried the weight of many of their compositions.