Released on Cassette via Submarine Recordings – The Spider Room is a sprawling 2-track improvisational project by Scottish Avant-Garde musician Joseph Blane.
The story behind this project is arguably just as interesting as the sounds recorded – with both tracks being completely improvised in a cold, dark abandoned building. Armed with a guitar and a recorder, Joseph expanded on these original guitar recordings by utilizing the environment around him – taking advantage of dusty old instruments to provide intriguing overdubs of piano, violin, glockenspiel and much more to round out the improvisations.
Described by the artist as ‘free-form avant-garde noise jazz‘ – which does pretty much hit the nail on the head. The first track ‘Beneath the Dust’ boasts quite a dark mood, while the latter “Above the Dust” evokes feelings of brightness and hope, with a more prominently focused guitar and melodic riffs on the accompanying instruments.
Both parts are roughly 15 minutes in length, providing plenty of time for both the artist and the listener to dig in and immerse themselves. The result is potent and engaging, turning what could be possibly intimidating ‘free-form avant-garde noise jazz‘ into a very listenable experience.
Unfortunately it appears the Cassette edition is NEARLY sold out (at the time this article is published, there remains 1 single copy for sale!) – however the Digital edition is still available for all to enjoy. You can give it a spin via the Artists personal Bandcamp page or head over to Submarine Recordings to try your luck at scoring a physical!
Eternity Tree 