The Flowers of Hell

The Flowers of Hell
Background information
OriginToronto & London
GenresExperimental, space rock, drone, psychedelic, post-rock, neo-classical
Years active2002–present
LabelsOptical Sounds
Unfamiliar
Benbecula Records
Fat Ghost
Saved By Vinyl
Awkward Silence
Starmole Japan
Earworm Records
Shifty Disco

The Flowers of Hell are a transatlantic experimental orchestra made up of a revolving line-up of 16 or so independent musicians based in Toronto and London. Their mostly instrumental sound builds bridges between classical music and post-rock, shoegaze, space rock and drone music, often resulting in their being described as an orchestral extension of the work of The Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3. They are led by synesthete composer Greg Jarvis. Much of their repertoire is an exploration of the timbre-to-shape synesthesia that causes Jarvis to involuntarily perceive all sounds as floating abstract visual forms.