The new album ‘Madison,’ from Sloppy Jane was just released and caps off a multi-year process in writing and recording. Haley Dahl, who records as Sloppy Jane, spent three years exploring caves that could capture her vision for the album. Inspired by recordings made in Luray Caverns, traveled across the USA to experiment and find the acoustics that would fit her vision. The process would ultimately lead her to Lost World Caverns in West Virginia, one in which would lead her and her 21 bandmates to record the album from inside the caves from 3pm to 8:30 am each day over the course of two weeks. ‘Madison’ is Sloppy Jane’s first release as the newest signing to her close friend, Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records. Dahl stated, “Phoebe and I made friends in high school when I was goth and didn’t bathe and she wore dresses with little bicycles on them – we mistook each other for cool then, and it lasted. Phoebe is one of my closest friends, and is also someone who has always seen that the things that make my work different are what make it valuable. She played bass in Sloppy Jane. When I was moving to New York I talked about how I wanted to make the band bigger and incorporate chamber instruments, and a lot of people didn’t get what I meant, but Phoebe said, ‘Go get your orchestra.’
Haley Dahl spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about the recording process of ‘Madison’, what inspired her to look for the acoustic sounds a real cave could capture and more.
