Amber Asylum

Amber Asylum came together in San Francisco as a fluid collective whose core lineup centers on Kris Force handling violin, guitar, and lead vocals, Wendy Farina on drum kit and percussion, Erica Stoltz contributing both bass and vocals, and Jackie Gratz on cello. Numerous additional players have passed through the ranks or collaborated on recordings, among them Timothy North, John Benson, violinist Annabel Lee, cellist Martha Burns, John Oberon, pianist Michael Richards, Blaise Smith, clarinetist Heather Sneider, guitarist and drummer Steve Von Till, and Camille Norment.

Farina has also lent her talents to Towel, Condor, and Red Shark, while Stoltz has served as bassist and lead vocalist in Lost Goat. Force and Gratz have both appeared alongside Matmos and Neurosis.

The ensemble’s earliest output was the split single “Looking Glass/Poppies.” Their debut full-length, Frozen in Amber, arrived in 1996 via the Elfenblut imprint and featured such pieces as “Heckle and Jeckle,” “Ave Maria,” and “Volcano Suite,” music that has drawn comparisons to Coil, Mazzy Star, Siddal, and Matmos.

Relapse Records issued the follow-up Natural Philosophy of Love in 1997. The group quickly returned to the studio for Songs of Sex and Death, which surfaced the next year containing tracks including “Vampire,” “Dreams of Three,” and “Everything You Touch.” Two years later came Supernatural Parlour Collection.