The Turning Wheel

by SPELLLING

The Turning Wheel cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 25 June 2021
  • Label: Sacred Bones
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 57:25
  • Community rating: 3.95/5 from 18 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

On 'The Turning Wheel', SPELLLING stages a monumental evolution from her earlier synth-based work into a realm of orchestral and theatrical progressive pop. Self-produced and featuring an ensemble of 31 musicians, the album's intricate compositions blend rich acoustic instrumentation like strings, brass, and banjo with a core of art-pop and psychedelic soul. The record is thematically split into two halves, 'Above' and 'Below', which navigate from jubilant, dreamy moods to more gothic and chilling tones, exploring themes of transformation, magic, and life's cyclical nature through SPELLLING's distinctively narrative and folkloric songwriting.

Genres

Descriptors: conceptual, progressive, orchestral, theatrical, bombastic

Tracklist

  1. Little Deer (05:39)
  2. Always (05:14)
  3. Turning Wheel (03:33)
  4. The Future (03:27)
  5. Awaken (04:31)
  6. Emperor with an Egg (03:09)
  7. Boys at School (07:28)
  8. Legacy (03:51)
  9. Queen of Wands (05:21)
  10. Magic Act (05:40)
  11. Revolution (05:59)
  12. Sweet Talk (03:33)

Credits

  • SPELLLING - primary artist, producer
  • Milo Jimenez - acoustic guitar
  • MacGregor Munson - banjo
  • Lidia Rodriguez - baritone saxophone
  • Doug Stuart - bass
  • Giulio Xavier Cetto - bass
  • Jennifer Hinkle - bass trombone
  • Carolyn Walter - bassoon, clarinet, bass clarinet
  • Calliope Brass Quintet - brass
  • Genevieve Tabby - cello
  • Dharma Mooney - choir, choir/chorus
  • Ezra Teshome - choir, choir/chorus
  • Noor Al-Samarrai - choir
  • Brijean Murphy - congas, conga drum
  • Satcher Hsieh - electric guitar
  • Lisa Reed - electric guitar [shredding]
  • Monica Benson - flugelhorn, trumpet
  • Rebecca Steinberg - flugelhorn, trumpet
  • Amy Ahn - harp
  • Erin Paul - horn
  • Donia Jarrar - piano
  • Javier Santiago - piano
  • Del Sol Quartet - strings
  • Sara Mayo - trombone
  • Rita Andrade - viola
  • Jinty McTavish - violin
  • Sabrina Tabby - violin
  • Nick Marchione - arranged by [brass], brass arrangement
  • Ted Case - arranged by [strings], string arrangements
  • Aleks Ozolins - engineer [brass session], engineer
  • Jonny Esser - engineer [choir sessions], mastering
  • Mike Johnson - engineer [choir sessions], mastering
  • Stari - engineer [sax and acoustic guitar]
  • Adrian Morgan - mastered by, mastering
  • Drew Vandenberg - mixed by, additional production
  • Maryam Qudus - mixed by
  • John Finkbeiner - engineer

More from SPELLLING: full discography