Meet Sky Ainsbury, otherwise known as Sky_A. The London based writer and producer not only paints soundscapes in elements of acoustic, rock, and electronic but also creates a visual experience to accompany the sonic one.
Having a form of Synaesthesia, a sensory experience where one sense comes through as another like that of seeing shapes when listening to music or colours when hearing a word, Sky_A illustrates how he hears music in terms of shapes of the figures, the colours of the melody, and its textures as material.
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 it is. That really stuck with me. So if I say that in my music, the acoustic guitar is flesh, human bodies, the drums and distorted guitar are architecture and machinery, weapons, and the synths are technology, the internet, a kind of convergent consciousness – when I say that I mean it quite literally. I’m approaching composition like a canvas, and there’s consistency across the album, there’s a story if you dig for it.
“Spider Silk” from his upcoming album, was performed and produced by the artist with additional support from Adam Betts (drums) and Aneek Thapar (production and mixing).
On the song, Sky_A says,
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. I leaned into that with this track, the softness of the acoustic guitar and all these fast repeating notes, spreading this gossamer. They say spider silk is stronger than steel because of its ductility – it can give and take. The song is about learning to trust and be vulnerable in love and the power that comes from that.
What’s quite aurally beautiful about “Spider Silk” is the unique sound of the guitar. It is intriguing in sound, and there’s a tinny sound that makes it feels as if it’s tightly clinging onto the last strings of sanity. The excellent use of autotune, adds to the balance of the thin line between sane and insane. This amalgamation of delicate yet oddly distorted feelings illustrates both musically and visually the talent that Sky_A has and how he is able to create a masterpiece that resonates with one on a physical, emotional, and mental level.
Listen to “Spider Silk”
