On August 11th, 2023, London-based musician Sky_A released his first song, titled “Spider Silk,” from his forthcoming debut album. Sky_A is the moniker under which composer and producer Sky Ainsbury creates his futuristic yet personal sonic environments. Sky, who makes her living creating moving pictures and other forms of audiovisual art, contributes her expertise in filmmaking and an eye for visual detail to the project. Sky thinks he may have Synaesthesia and these drawings show how he perceives music through the lens of the forms of the figures, the colors of the melody, and the textures of the material it is made of.
Sky discusses the influence of his musical background on his compositions, saying, “I read once about Tchaikovsky writing the Nutcracker, how each instrument represented a character in the piece, so every time you hear the Oboe, that’s the duck, or the fairy, or whichever is being represented at the time. That made a deep impression on me. When I say that the acoustic guitar represents human flesh in my music, the drums represent buildings and machines, and the distorted guitar represents weapons, and the synthesizers represent the internet and a converging consciousness, I mean it.
When I compose, I think of the entire album as one big canvas on which to paint a story. Aneek Thapar (65daysofstatic, Rival Consoles, Mazoulew), and Adam Betts (Three Trapped Tigers, Squarepusher, Jarvis Cocker), among others, contributed to the production and mixing of his track Spider Silk, which he also played and recorded himself. Lyrically, it examines the paradox of strength amid weakness.
Sky_A explains the song’s inception, saying, “Someone told me the riffs and parts I write are quite spidery — moving up and down at the same time like a thing with many legs.” The gentle acoustic guitar and the flurry of rapidly repeated notes helped me zero in on that vibe for this song. They think spider silk is stronger than steel because of its flexibility – it can give and take. This song is about the strength that comes from letting oneself be vulnerable and trusted in romantic relationships. Spider Silk was released on August 11th 2023 and was made available on all major platforms.
Listen to “Spider Silk” on Spotify:
