Aspera were an American indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

History

Aspera formed in 1996 under the name Aspera ad Astra in Philadelphia, and released a 7" split with Haelah before issuing their debut full-length in 1998. Following this the group underwent lineup changes before the release of their 1999 EP; several drummers would join and leave the group until late 2000, when A.J. Edmiston joined. Around this time the group shortened its name. They began releasing material on Jagjaguwar Records in 2002, including a re-release of their 2001 album Sugar & Feathered. 2007 saw Back When Love issued on Philadelphia label Burnt Toast Vinyl

Burnt Toast Vinyl

Burnt Toast Vinyl is an independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:Burnt Toast Vinyl was founded by a Drexel University student who had initially been involved with concert promotion at the school...

. Aspera were part of the so called "Psychedelphia" scene, alongside bands such as Bardo Pond

Bardo Pond

Bardo Pond are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1991, and who are currently signed to London based label Fire Records. The current members are Michael Gibbons , John Gibbons , Isobel Sollenberger , Clint Takeda , Jason Kourkonis , and Aaron Igler...

 and The Lilys.

Aspera seems no longer to be a going concern. Tripp, Werth, and Edmiston, along with Carmine Degennaro, are now working with Ken Griffin, formerly of Irish band Rollerskate Skinny

Rollerskate Skinny

Rollerskate Skinny were an Irish band that enjoyed their greatest success during the 1990s.-History:Ken Griffin, Ger Griffin and Steve Murray had been in The Hippyshakes in the 1980s. Later the band became "Shake" and was characterized by a strawberry logo...

, as Favourite Sons

Favourite Sons

The Favourite Sons is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, made up of Ken Griffin and four members of Jagjaguwar's Aspera. They have released one full length album, Down Beside Your Beauty, which was mixed by Victor Van Vugt The Favourite Sons is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, made up of Ken...

. Drew Mills has formed the band Blood Feathers

Blood Feathers

Blood Feathers are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were formed in 2005 by Ben Dickey and Drew Mills. The current band consists of Dickey and Mills , Mickey Walker , Patrick Marsceill , Sam Murphy , and Tracy Stanton .- Biography :Blood Feathers started as a...

 with Ben Dickey of Amen Booze Rooster.

Members

Initial lineup

• Mike Robinson - vocals, keyboards
• Justin Tripp - guitar, keyboards
• Drew Worth - guitar
• Matt Werth - bass
• Drew Mills - drums, vocals, guitar

Later members

• Chris Powell - drums
• A.J. Edmiston - drums

Discography

• Split with Haelah (1997)
• Peace (Audio Information Phenomena, 1998)
• Winged by Rhymes EP (Insound Records, 1999)
• Split with The Lilys (Tigerstyle Records, 2000)
• Sugar & Feathered (Big Wheel Recreation
  Big Wheel Recreation
  Big Wheel Recreation was an independent record label based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was formed in the fall of 1994 by Rama Mayo and Richard P. Cummings. Started as a hobby, Big Wheel became a fully functioning record label in 1999...
  
  , 2001; reissued by Jagjaguwar Records, 2002)
• Birds Fly EP (Suicide Squeeze Records
  Suicide Squeeze Records
  Suicide Squeeze Records is a Seattle, WA - based independent record label that presses a significant number of 7" vinyl singles in addition to the more prevalent compact discs. The label was started in August 1996 with the release of a 7" single from 764-Hero. The label quickly grew from owner...
  
  , 2002)
• Oh Fantastica (Jagjaguwar, 2003)
• Back When Love (Burnt Toast Vinyl
  Burnt Toast Vinyl
  Burnt Toast Vinyl is an independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:Burnt Toast Vinyl was founded by a Drexel University student who had initially been involved with concert promotion at the school...
  
  , 2007)