COELACANTH THE GLASS SPONGE Press Release 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 we've 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.