The Spangle Maker | id

The Spangle Maker is a musical project founded and led by Derek Power. Currently it consists of him and Amy Green. In the past, it has also included Natalie Garland and Andrew Thompson. It started in the greater Washington, D.C. area (Herndon, VA specifically) in May 2006 and currently resides in the greater Boston area after Power’s relocation in early 2009.

The Spangle Maker is named after a song by Cocteau Twins and was an initial starting point for developing the project’s sound. The sound has been under the care and supervision of Derek Power and has reflected his diverse musical interests, especially in rock and electronic-based music. Based on the current oeuvre – the 2007 EP The Romantic Dysthymia, the 2008 LP Alpha and four two-track digital-only singles – the project has ventured into alternative rock, ambient, avant-garde, dream pop, ethereal, experimental ambient, minimalism, neo-baroque, post-rock, shoegaze, synth-pop and techno. The project will continue to explore new sounds and new sonic ideas.

The Spangle Maker established early-on some distinctions as far as release types. EPs – defined as being under forty minutes total – are to carry conceptual ideas with single themes, narratives or ideas. LPs – greater than forty but less than eighty minutes – are anthologies of diverse songs with no apparent or deliberate connection. The EPs and LPs are currently available via Archive.org as free 160kbps MP3 with a Creative Common license to allow for personal listening and distribution only. Singles are digital-only releases with minimal white-on-black artwork and titled only by catalogue number: TSM 000 followed by a letter. The singles can be found amongst the major digital music sites including iTunes, Amazon mp3, Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic and Lala.

The Spangle Maker is currently operating as a studio-based project with Derek Power responsible for the composition, production and overall direction. The project is under the auspices of Power’s personal creative business outlet, djproject (or The djproject Group). Long-term projects related to The Spangle Maker include a live incarnation, a more centralized website, high quality digital and physical releases of the EPs and LPs (complete with artwork) and of course more conceptual EPs and anthological LPs.

To contact the project, write to [email protected] .