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Coelacanth
The Glass Sponge
23five, Incorporated
Available through the Helen Scardsale Agency for $12.00
The glass sponge is a subclass within the sponge phylum,
distinguished by their silica spicules that unite into
delicate geometric networks. These needlelike structures
form the skeleton of this most simple animal, which
when dried acquires an exquisite white hue. During the
Victorian era, these dessicated remains were prize possessions
in the finest of wunderkammers; and from what weve
been told, a pair of glass sponges mounted under a dome
could fetch up to 5 guineas. Furthermore,
glass sponges have the unique ability to respond to
their harsh, deep sea environment through rudimentary
electrical impulses that ripple through their bodies
which are devoid of nerves and muscle.
These are merely the beginnings of the fascination with
the glass sponge for Coelacanth, a sound art project
whose name is of an ancient fish once thought to be
extinct, but in truth has been flourishing in oceanic
trenches. Authored by the Coelacanth duo of Loren Chasse
and Jim Haynes, The Glass Sponge takes an abstracted
yet empathetic view of its allegorical subject. Throughout
The Glass Sponge, Coelacanth sets textural flutters,
squeaks, and scrabblings in motion. These brittle events
punctuate the boundless excursions of minimalism brought
to life through elegaic bell tones, ghostly feedback,
and tuning fork resonance, all spiralling together into
translucent drones. Despite the obvious submariner references
for this album, it may be a surprise that very little
water spilled into the recording of The Glass Sponge.
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