SPIDER: “I want there to be more Black women in alternative music… That definitely drives me”

The day Jennifer Irabor adopted the moniker SPIDER, a spider that had taken up residence around her window died. During an extended break from music, she was visited by actual arachnids, which she learned later were symbols of storytelling in folklore, but were also “connected to creatives who have stopped creating”.

“I hadn’t made music in a while,” she explains, “and I was like, ‘Oh, maybe this is a sign that I need to get back on it.’”

Her namesakes continued to inform her music career. “I feel like anytime I need a sign for something, I’ll see a spider,” she says. “Before I made my TikTok account, I was like, ‘If I see a spider, I’ll make one.’ Then there was a spider in the sink.”

She’s released three EPs in as many years. The latest, February’s an object of desire, delves into intimacy, objectification and desire over static-y drums and crackling guitars, with influence peeking through from Hole, Veruca Salt, Yves Tumor, Momma, Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. She’s also filmed live videos for the tracks daisy chains and straight out the oven! – a chance for her to build out her EP’s themes beyond the music.

“I was trying to describe it [as] all these theories and thoughts I was having within the Catholic backdrop of my mind,” she elaborates. “I really wanted to have the background be a Catholic living room.”

An impressive level of detail goes into SPIDER’s aesthetics. In the videos, Jennifer wears a shirt which reads ‘Jesus looks like me’, a nod to a top Debbie Harry wore with the same phrase, and her kilt was inspired by legendary punk designer Vivienne Westwood, as well as Jennifer’s own upbringing. “I describe myself as this Catholic-school-girl-turned-rock-star, so it felt fitting to include it,” she explains.

Jennifer’s sound is defined by its rough, almost tactile guitars, but it’s about much more than just the genre.

“I wanted to do alternative music, partly because I wanted there to be more Black women in it and I wanted to add to that space,” she says. “That was one of the main focuses. It definitely still drives me.”

When she played her first headline show at London’s Camden Assembly earlier this year, she recruited safesp8ce and her flatmate BUKKY to perform on the bill.

“I really wanted to make the whole thing not just the SPIDER headline show but a celebration of Black alternative music,” she enthuses, before pointing out that genres like rock and punk are about providing a platform to those from less privileged backgrounds. “It’s more than just an aesthetic and a guitar plugin,” she says. “It is also how you live your life.”

For now, Jennifer’s taking some time off before the next thing. If she can…

“I’ve started seeing lots of spiders,” she hints. “I saw four yesterday and was like, ‘They’re coming for me again!’”

SPIDER’s EP an object of desire is out now. This article originally appeared in the summer print issue of the magazine.

Read this next:

• Hole: The turbulent birth and misunderstood beauty of Celebrity Skin
• Beyond Supernova: How Nova Twins are still breaking new ground
• Momma: “The rock star doesn’t exist anymore in the traditional sense”