Gungor is a band formed by husband and wife duo

Michael Gungor Michael Gungor (born September 14, 1980) also known as Vishnu Dass, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, music editor, author, and podcast host. He led the musical collective Gungor, which received multiple Grammy nominations. The group' ...

and Lisa Gungor. The group's music has been compared to the music of

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

, Bon Iver and Arcade Fire. The band has released seven studio albums, the last one appearing in March 2019. These albums explored a broad musical soundscape and charted the couple's changing beliefs from traditional Christianity through a more

panentheistic Panentheism (; "all in God", from the Greek , and ) is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 (after reviewin ...

worldview, other religions, and

apophatic theology Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theology, theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to Problem of religious language, approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may no ...

. In early 2018, they announced a shift in direction that would see Gungor return to the progressive spiritual space, while the less mainstream material will move to "other projects" including Michael and Lisa’s solo projects.

History

Michael Gungor grew up in Marshfield southeast of

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...

. He is the son of pastor and author Ed Gungor. Michael began writing and playing music at a young age and studied jazz guitar at both

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

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and the

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in Denton while also touring and working as a performer playing multiple instruments. Lisa Gungor grew up in Deming west of

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; ; lit. 'the crosses') is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the county seat, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

. She came from a "sports-crazed" family and didn't fully commit to her musical abilities until her senior year in high school. Michael and Lisa met at

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a Private university, private Evangelicalism, evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral ...

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during their first year.

Early career

Michael and Lisa were worship leaders at Resurrection Life Church in Grandville near

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. In 2002, Michael began producing albums with his church. The albums caught the attention of

Integrity Music Integrity Music is part of the David C. Cook nonprofit group. Founded as a direct-to-consumer music club in 1987 as ''Integrity Music'', Integrity was at the forefront of contemporary worship music's widespread popularity of praise and worshi ...

, who signed Michael for a solo album. In 2003, he released "

Bigger Than My Imagination ''Bigger Than My Imagination'' is the debut album of contemporary worship musician Michael Gungor. Track listing # "Closest Friend" # "Friend of God" # "Bigger Than My Imagination" # "Move Me" # "Meet With Me" # "Waiting" # "I Am Yours" # "Li ...

" under Integrity Media. Lisa also sang on the album. In 2005 Michael and Lisa released a live album titled ''Battle Cry: Worship from the Frontlines'', through Integrity Media.

The Michael Gungor Band

In 2006, Michael Gungor parted ways with Integrity Music, seeking more creative control over his music. He then formed The Michael Gungor Band, consisting of himself on guitar and vocals, his wife Lisa on vocals, and Brad Waller. They released the album ''All I Need Is Here'' in 2007. In 2008, they signed with Brash Records. The label re-released ''All I Need Is Here'' in 2008 as ''Ancient Skies'', omitting two songs and adding the upbeat rock opener "Say So", as well as a song sung by Lisa, "You Are The Light".

2010 - 2014: Gungor

Michael Gungor renamed the group from The Michael Gungor Band to simply Gungor in 2010. The first album release under the new name was ''Beautiful Things'' in 2010 that features a short gospel-blues jam featuring

Israel Houghton Israel Houghton (; born May 19, 1971) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, producer, and worship leader. His worship team is credited as Israel & New Breed. Musical career Houghton produced an album by Michael Gungo ...

titled "Heaven". In 2011, the album and its title track, "Beautiful Things", were nominated in the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

categories Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album and Best Gospel Song, respectively. In 2011, Gungor released ''Ghosts Upon the Earth''. Gungor followed up with a live album, ''A Creation Liturgy'' in 2012. The band's third studio album, ''I Am Mountain'', was released on September 24, 2013. On October 24, 2013, the band began its 60-city headline tour across the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Though Gungor's music is filled with

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

themes, the band has attempted to distance itself from being labeled simply a " Christian" band due to the problematic way the term may be used. Michael refers to Gungor as a collective because at any given time the group is composed of 3-10 members. He and his wife believe that their music transcends one genre. Gungor write songs that are a mix of indie rock, post rock, progressive rock, soft rock and more. If asked, Michael describes his song style as "alternative, folk, textured and experimental." They performed at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

2014.

2015 - 2017: ''One Wild Life''

In 2015, Gungor embarked on their most ambitious creative project thus far: ''One Wild Life.'' The band released three full-length albums—''Soul'', ''Spirit'' and ''Body''—in a span of a year. '' One Wild Life: Soul'' began the trilogy on August 7, 2015. While each record carries a distinct vibe, the album series presents a body of work which celebrates the adventure and challenges faced by Michael and Lisa Gungor since the release of their previous album "I Am Mountain". ''One Wild Life: Soul'' charted on multiple ''Billboard'' charts the first week of release, including ''Billboard'' 200. On ''One Wild Life: Soul,'' Michael and Lisa wrote a song dedicated to Lucie, their youngest daughter, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome.

2018 - 2020: Hiatus and ''Archives''

On April 26, 2018, Gungor announced on the band's official

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page that they were going to address the "multiple personality thing going on within its musical stylings" by bringing Gungor back to its roots in "the progressive spiritual space, and finding different homes for some of the other music that we’ve tried unsuccessfully to fundamentally change the Gungor brand with". This was accompanied by the removal of ''I Am Mountain'' and ''One Wild Life'' series from online stores and streaming services, the latter being replaced by a 90-minute "director's cut" of the three albums. Michael and Lisa also announced an upcoming solo album each in the post. On February 1, 2019, the band announced that their upcoming "End of the World" Tour would be "Gungor's farewell tour". While Michael and Lisa continue to make music, future projects would no longer be recorded under the Gungor band name. On March 1, 2019, the band released ''Archives'', an album intended to wind down the project. ''Archives'' is composed of previously unreleased material as well as re-released material.

2021 - present: ''Praise'' and ''Love Song to Life''

Beginning in 2021 the group began releasing singles, including collaborations and original songs and announced they were releasing an album which they described as attempt to make "worship music again that would be enjoyable for people who might not fit the traditional religious boxes". In February 2022 they released an EP of covers ''Praise''. In November 2022 they released ''Love Song to Life'' their first studio album since 2016.

Discography

Awards

* Independent Music Awards 2013: ''A Creation Liturgy (Live)'' - Best Live Performance Album"12th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced!"
Independent Music Awards, June 11, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.

References

External links

*
Gungor
at AllMusic
The Michael Gungor Band
at AllMusic {{Authority control American musical duos Musical groups established in 2006