#308: Dana Schechter, the woman behind the band "Insect Ark"

<p><strong>INSECT ARK</strong>, the long-running exploratory endeavor led by Dana Schechter, recently released its <em>Future Fossils </em>EP, an alluring collection of solo archived outtakes, excerpts, and live improv tracks born between 2016 and 2018, via Belgium’s Consouling Sounds.</p> <p>When Dana Schechter started <strong>INSECT ARK</strong> as her “true” solo project in 2012, she set out to build desolate and hallucinogenic galaxies of sound entirely on her own. Writing and playing solo offered an escape into the deepest realms of self-reflection, dredging and birthing a hitherto sonic beast that was, it turns out, utterly unhinged and totally liberating. Focusing on experimental, drone, noise, and avant-garde noise, <strong>INSECT ARK</strong>’s first years produced records that were raw, ominous, and totally unique. While defying comparison, these new sounds possessed Schechter’s distinct musical spirit, woven throughout her twenty-plus years of band/collaboration work.</p> <p>After three releases (2012’s <em>Collapsar</em>7”, 2013’s <em>Long Arms</em>10”, 2015’s <em>Portal/Well</em>LP),<strong> INSECT ARK </strong>added live drums to the mix, and the resulting albums — 2018’s <em>Marrow Hymns</em> (with drummer Ashley Spungin) and 2020’s <em>The Vanishing </em>(with drummer Andy Patterson) — showed that her singular vision could also expand into heavier and more crushing territory within a collaborative space. The power that live drums brought to <strong>INSECT ARK</strong> helped gather a new fan base in the heavy-music world, adding another layer to the band’s palette.</p> <p>Now, after nine years of existence, <strong>INSECT ARK</strong> has come full circle to once again embrace solo work on 2021’s <em>Future Fossils</em>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.insectark.com/">http://www.insectark.com</a><br> <a href="http://www.insectark.bandcamp.com/">http://www.insectark.bandcamp.com</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/InsectArk">http://www.facebook.com/InsectArk</a><br> <a href="http://www.instagram