1996's Upgrade & Afterlife included a would-be film score by O'Rourke, "Our Exquisite Replica of 'Eternity'", and an extended interpretation of the John Fahey piece "Dry Bones in the Valley" featuring guest Tony Conrad on violin.
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The Harp Factory on Lake Street, released on the Table of the Elements label, was their most experimental work, a piece for chamber orchestra with only occasional voice and piano from Grubbs.
A photo of Signer's "Wasser Stiefel" serves as the cover art of Upgrade & Afterlife (1996), an album by American experimental music group Gastr del Sol.
Copa del Rey | Viña del Mar | Mar del Plata | Bassano del Grappa | Sol LeWitt | Santiago del Estero | La forza del destino | Valle del Cauca | Guillermo del Toro | Tierra del Fuego | Museo del Prado | La fanciulla del West | Pinar del Río | Valle del Cauca Department | Pinar del Río Province | Lanao del Sur | Accademia delle Arti del Disegno | Viña del Mar International Song Festival | Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore | Riva del Garda | Davao del Norte | Consistori del Gay Saber | Davao del Sur | San Juan del Sur | Benicio del Toro | Rojos del Águila de Veracruz | Mario del Monaco | Del Rio, Texas | Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca | Zamboanga del Sur |
While the EP retains most of the stylistic elements of debut Frigid Stars LP, some new sounds are introduced, notably on "W.", which features solo atonal piano played by David Grubbs (of Bastro, Squirrel Bait and Gastr del Sol).
He has collaborated with numerous musical artists, including Califone, Dirty Three, Gastr del Sol, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Will Oldham, Scott Tuma and Ken Vandermark.
Remaining members Chris Brokaw and Thalia Zedek recorded Near Life Experience with two different rhythm sections: one half of the album was recorded with drummer Mac McNeilly of the Jesus Lizard and Bundy K. Brown of Tortoise and Gastr Del Sol, the other half recorded with Kevin Coultas and Tara Jane O'Neil of Rodan and The Sonora Pine.
He was interviewed by the alternative weekly magazine New City in 1993, and told the interviewer that he was planning to see a concert featuring Unrest, Gastr Del Sol, and Stereolab in Chicago; after the story was published, guitarist Pat O'Connell and drummer Michael Lenzi both called Cohen, and the three decided to form a band together.