Espers was an American

psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music. Chara ...

band from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, United States, that was part of the emerging

indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has it ...

scene. They formed in 2002 as a trio of singer-songwriter Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and

Brooke Sietinsons Brooke may refer to: People * Brooke (given name) * Brooke (surname) * Brooke baronets, families of baronets with the surname Brooke Places * Brooke, Norfolk, England * Brooke, Rutland, England * Brooke, Virginia, US * Brooke's Point, Palawan ...

but later expanded to a sextet including

Otto Hauser Otto Hauser (April 12/27, 1874 in Wädenswil – June 14/19, 1932 in Berlin) was a Swiss prehistorian Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins ...

Helena Espvall Helena Espvall is a Swedish-American musician noted for her participation in the post-millennial psychedelic folk and free improv scenes. Her primary instruments are cello, guitar and voice."Helena Espvall interviewed and introduced by Buck Cur ...

and Chris Smith. Their music is reminiscent of late-sixties British folk as well as many contemporary folk acts. Most of the band's members have also featured on recordings by a number of other folk artists such as

Nick Castro Nick Castro is a folk, psychedelic folk, traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expre ...

and Vashti Bunyan and as a result have become an important part of the psychedelic folk revival. They released their self-titled debut in 2004 on

Time-Lag Records Time-Lag Records is an independent record label based in Portland, Maine. It has released albums by artists such as Phantom Buffalo, Elephant Micah, Fursaxa, MV+EE and the Bummer Road, Death Chants, Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand, Char ...

and followed that with an album of cover songs, '' The Weed Tree'', in 2005. This release featured the band's versions of songs by artists as diverse as

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pla ...

The Durutti Column The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly w ...

and

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles " (Don't Fear) The Reaper", " Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The ba ...

. In 2006 the band released their third full-length album, '' II'' (presumably so called because it was their second album of original material), on Drag City Records. Their fourth album, ''

III III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * Ins ...

'', was released on October 20, 2009.

Discography

Albums

*'' Espers'' (2004) *'' The Weed Tree'' (2005) *'' II'' (2006) *''

'' (2009)

Singles

*"Riding" / "Under The Waterfall" (7") (2005)

Compilation appearances

*'' The Golden Apples of the Sun'' (compiled by '' Devendra Banhart'' for '' Arthur Magazine'') (2004) **"Byss & Abyss" *''Million Tongues Festival'' (compiled by Plastic Crimewave of

Plastic Crimewave Sound Plastic Crimewave (born Steven H. Krakow), otherwise known as Steve Krakow, is a Chicago-based illustrator and writer, avant-garde musician, music historian and impresario. He is the editor of Drag City-published magazine ''Galactic Zoo Dossier'' ...

for '' Arthur Magazine'') (2004) **"Under The Waterfall" *''The 2005 Believer CD'' (2005) (from ''

The Believer Believer(s) or The Believer(s) may refer to: Religion * Believer, a person who holds a particular belief ** Believer, a person who holds a particular religious belief *** Believers, Christians with a religious faith in the divine Christ *** Beli ...

'' magazine) **"Firefly Refrain" (originally by

Fursaxa Fursaxa is a United States-based psychedelic folk or freak folk project led by Tara Burke of Pennsylvania. Her home-recordings feature acoustic guitar, simple Casio electronic keyboards, accordion, dulcimer and her heavily overdubbed vocals on a ...

) *''The R.E.M. Collection Disc 3'' (2005) (compiled by Peter Buck) (from ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' magazine's August 2005 issue) **"Meadow" *'' Rough Trade Shops - Counter Culture 2005'' (2006) **"Meadow" *''Folk Off'' (compiled by ''

Rob Da Bank Robert John Gorham (born 24 June 1973 in Portsmouth, Hampshire), known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is an English DJ and co-founder of music festivals Bestival, originally on the Isle of Wight and now moved to Lulworth, Dorset and Camp Besti ...

''; Sunday's Best Records) (2006) **" Rosemary Lane" *''Strange Folk'' (Albion Records) (2006) **"Flowery Noontide" *''The Playlist August 2006'' (2006) (from ''

'' magazine's August 2006 issue) **"Mansfield and Cyclops" *''Acoustic 07'' (2007) **"Mansfield and Cyclops" *'' A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind: Volume 1'' (Compiled by Amorphous Androgynous) (2008) **"Mansfield and Cyclops" *''The Quiet Revolution'' (2006) (from '' Mojo'' magazine's October 2006 issue) **"Children of Stone" *''The Best Of 2006'' (2006) (from ''

'' magazine's December 2006 issue) **"Moon Occults The Sun" *''Intersteller Overdrive'' (2008) (from ''

'' magazine's October 2008 issue) **"Widow's Weeds"

References

External links

Espers
at Drag City
Interview with Greg Weeks and Chris Smith, May 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espers Psychedelic folk groups Musical groups from Philadelphia American folk musical groups Drag City (record label) artists Wichita Recordings artists Musical groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in Pennsylvania Love Da Records artists Locust Music artists