#59: Spare the Spiders
Let the little guys live and learn a thing or two from them while you're at it
Currently listening to: フィジーSunburst by Webinar™
Hello, friend.
Before jumping into today’s reflection, another quick update on my new album…
dyschronometria Limited Edition CDs are here!
I’m super excited to share the first images of my limited edition CDs for dyschronometria! Only 50 available at launch, these CDs are packaged in a jacket case (a thick paper sleeve, more eco-friendly than the traditional plastic jewel case) and feature extended album artwork as well as art printed on the disc. All art designed by me.
You can pre-order your CD here, which will also include the digital version of the album when it drops September 5. CDs will ship out around then, too. Right now, pre-ordering gets you an early download of the opening track inertia.
ICYMI: I also just shared the first chapter of the timeless tale of dyschronometria, a new series that accompanies the album. This one is paired with the opening track.
dyschronometria, chapter 1: inertia
You open your eyes to the sound of the rickety train. Wiping the sleep away, you scan the rest of the car and see a few other souls aboard—kept to themselves, hollow.
By the way—if you use Apple Music, Tidal, or a few other streaming services, you can hear an exclusive first listen of a second single, carnival above the cavern, by pre-saving the album via Tribly.
Finally, a reminder that you can also join our Discord community to get updates first on the new album and all things HB&H!
P.S. If you’re a fellow music writer, I’d love to share the full album with you early—let’s chat! Also, a reminder that this album will NOT be on Spotify, due to many issues that I have with the platform, but all other streamers will have it.
Hello again, friend.
Are you an arachnophobe? Meaning, are you scared of spiders?
Spiders are some of those creatures that simultaneously skeeve me out and fascinate me. They are, generally, quite gentle and harmless, and they serve quite a monumental purpose within their ecosystem as pest controllers. That role is crucial in helping us humans stay less exposed to diseases, as well as less exposed to other creepy crawlies and buzzing bastards.
Despite my knowledge of this, some biological response in me must still be stifled every time I see a spider, so I don’t end up stomping on the poor little guy. Maybe it’s the thought of them sharing my space and being creeped out by the idea of not knowing where exactly the little bugger will end up (like skittering across my body while I sleep??)
I was in the small gym in the basement of my apartment building earlier this week and I nearly walked into an itsy bitsy spider dangling on a line of silk from the ceiling. As soon as I noticed him, he seemed to notice me, as he started frantically retracting up toward the low ceiling in retreat. (Side note: I don’t know why, but I always think of spiders as male for some reason—”little guys”—even though some of the most infamous spiders are known for their female cohort like the Black Widow. This is similar to how I typically think of some other species as females first, like deer and cats, or males first, like dogs and dolphins. Brains are weird and I could probably write a whole other post about why we preconceive gender like that, but that is truly far and away from the point of this newsletter.)
Okay, returning to the gym now—and I promise this will be related to art and music by the end of this story. The spider made it halfway up to the ceiling as I was starting my first set. Then I noticed he seemed in distress—he was sort of shaking around on his line. I realized that the air conditioning unit jutting out of the wall just below was blowing cold air directly up at him. I put down my dumbbells and found the control knob to turn off the air. My spider friend settled.
He eventually made it up to the ceiling and wandered around a small area of a few square feet for the rest of my time there. I eventually said goodbye and forgot about the encounter.
A couple days later, I returned and saw, to my surprise, what I assumed was the same spider in the same spot as where I’d left him. Indeed, he looked the same, a very small, thin, brownish-gray guy wandering around the low ceiling space. Throughout this session, I observed his wandering, occasionally seeing him hang off the ceiling an inch or two. This time, I noticed what must have been his web up in the corner of a small window. This patch of ceiling was like his front yard.
The following day, I watched him again. I found myself feeling oddly excited to have a little friend with me in the lonely gym so early in the morning. I imagine we watched each other going about our business, me with the free weights and him with his, uh, ceiling hang.
I thought back to my first encounter with him—how I had almost walked face-first into him while he was rappelling. I imagined in terror how I probably would’ve knocked him to the ground and then, either in a fit of abject horror or by complete accident, stepped on him and ended his little life.
There is always something bigger than us, capable of snuffing us out like that. Us humans have just gained control of our environment to the point of avoiding those bigger creatures well enough. And the fact is—that spider plays a crucial part in our environment. If anything, he only really contributes a net positive through his pest control, merely asking in return for a tiny corner of a window to build his webbed home.
Can we say the same? The answer is a resounding no. Many of us step on spiders and other little guys without thinking, just because they found their way into a space we’ve claimed that has plenty of room to spare. Sure, they may be a bit creepy, but they are helping us, not hurting us. Their life is just as meaningful as ours, despite our god complexes as conscious beings who’ve molded the world to our whims.
What is our route to net positive? How can we earn our place in the ecosystem we share with the spiders? First, we can avoid killing the poor fellows. But beyond the spiders, we can also be more gracious with our spaces. We can share without asking for too much in return—just enough, just what we need. We can go about our business and let our neighbors do the same.
Let’s apply the spider’s logic to our art practice now:
Do no harm—whatever we create, whether it’s dark ambient or dream pop, let it be a free expression of emotion and thought that aims to inspire rather than attack. Unless it’s punk music aimed at nazis or something. Fuck those guys.
Share the space—art is a communal act as much as it is an independent one. Share your work without fear and doubt but also work first to (holy shit I can’t believe I’m about to use this phrase but it truly fits here) hold space for the works of others. Create communities and lift up the voices of your fellow artists.
Take only what you need and give it back—artists are known to borrow and steal, but remember that giving credit where credit is due is also important. Likewise, offering up contributions to the community for free can make a meaningful impact in an economy that does not allow for artists to make a living from their work. There are many great creators out there making things that help artists for free… what could you give away to start a chain reaction?
Go about your business—keep on keeping on. At some point, you may find yourself blowing in the wind on a thin string. Don’t let go or give up. A friend may come and turn off the fan for you. Things will settle (and then probably kick up again). Hold on and keep creating through it all, good times and bad.
The Living Music List
Hello again (again), friend. I hope you enjoyed today’s reflection. Sorry if this made your skin crawl a bit, but I hope even you arachnophobes have at least a little appreciation for our eight-legged friends. Now, it’s time for another round of new music recommendations.
Happy listening.
Ambient
FIRST 3:
Without Mind by Six Missing (album / meditative, electronic) [Nettwerk]^
Heads up: I’ll have a full interview with composer and sound designer TJ Dumser (AKA Six Missing) about this record coming out in the next few days, so I’ll save most of my commentary for that letter. But until then, I highly recommend giving this beautiful 12-pack of tracks a listen. Originally composed as improvisations made for ketamine-assisted therapy, Without Mind is a cerebral journey that will take you to places both far away and close to home, all while you’re sitting still and listening deeply. Eurorack modular synth loops and and chilled out, spacious drones are the stars of this show.
Drone Oracle by A-Sun Amissa (longform single / drone, post-rock) [Gizeh Records]
This piece was first performed live at a festival back in 2024 but is now getting a wider release. It’s a long, dark work of drone that has the fuzz of distorted guitars that makes it feel like something you might hear in a modern film score. I first thought of vikings or some other men on ships, then thought this might fit well in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey adaptation. Emotive, grand, and at times bone-chilling, Drone Oracle is like the sea ready to swallow you whole.
My Light, My Massage Parlor by Cassandra Jenkins (album / ambient jazz, field recordings) [Dead Oceans]
I first fell in love with Cassandra Jenkins’ music when I heard the track The Ramble on her 2021 record An Overview on Phenomenal Nature. That track was a beautiful piece of summer ambient that brought her field recordings to the forefront, with bicycle wheels spinning forward on the sidewalk, kids playing, sprinklers going, and a peaceful world captured on an afternoon walk (a “ramble”). Here on My Light, My Massage Parlor, Jenkins assures listeners that she’s Still Rambling, bringing field recordings to the forefront once again—this time with even more jazz. While saxophone played a tender part on The Ramble, it’s very present on the later tracks of this record, only outshone by the piano—the true star of this new record. Quiet insects, woodwinds, wind chimes, and many other manner of sounds create the peaceful atmosphere atop which Jenkins’ plays her melodies with joy. And while those melodies are diverse and maybe a tad more than the ambient label typically allows, I’ll allow it in this list purely for the mindful space this record creates.
All Genres
FIRST 3:
AIN’T NO DAMN WAY! by KAYTRANADA (album / dance) [RCA Records]
Hints of retro 70s flavor deliciously infect these dance beats from the now iconic producer and frequent hip-hop collaborator. KAYTRANADA’s signature swing-style drums and crisp samples propel this record constantly forward with a playful sway and bounce. This is music that’ll put a spring the step of even the least willing dancers. One of my favorite things about KAYTRANADA’s dance music is that it’s as at home in a dark nightclub as it is in a backyard summer BBQ.
w w w . d e e p d i v e . c o m by Webinar™ (album / webcore) [Whitespace]
I adore the aesthetics of the early internet—movements like Frutiger Aero, vaporwave, and the general webcore/internetcore genre just appeal to a certain nostalgia in me as a late 90s baby. It shouldn’t be surprising that this brand of music and the overall Y2K resurgence is popular with Gen Z—it’s like a vague memory of something not entirely true made tangible and real again. This album is like the background music you’d listen to while on hold waiting for a phone call with a really cool doctor’s office to answer, except the phone is an old Nokia and you’re sitting out by the pool on a hot summer day, and everything feels slightly liminal and unreal. Soon, you’ll have to go inside and cool off by browsing the web on your chunky family desktop. Anyone want to hop on Club Penguin after school?
Comafields / Imaginary Festival by Burial (EP / electronic) [Hyperdub]
Want a fun activity? Go find Burial’s album Untrue on YouTube and read through the comments under each track. Some fun examples of the impact this British producer has had on his fans: On Burial, Archangel, someone said, “over a decade of listening to this song regularly and i'm just now hearing new sounds in it for the first time. wow.” On Burial: Near Dark, someone else commented, “Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”
Now, thank the Hyperdub gods, Burial is back with a 23 new minutes of music. On the new dual single, there’s transcendent trance vibes, vocals that feel like a profound moment at a music festival (“you put your arrrrms around me”), and a low-hanging kick drum combined with washed out ambience that makes the whole thing feel like it’s being heard from another part of a cavernous venue. Throughout, there is still the unmistakeable little flicks, clicks, and twitches that have scratched the itches inside every Burial fan’s brain for (officially) 2 decades.
IN THE QUEUE:
STAR LINE by Chance the Rapper (album / hip-hop/rap) [Chance the Rapper LLC]
HYPERYOUTH by Joey Valence & Brae (album / alt hip-hop) [RCA Records]
Double Magic by Sunbeam Sound Machine (album / pysch pop) [Dot Dash Recordings]
Music List Reminders: Bold and ^ denote reader-submitted work. Bandcamp links provided for every record that is available on the platform. If an album is not on Bandcamp, YouTube or other streaming links are provided. List format: Title by Artist (release type / genre or subgenres) [Label].
That’s all for this week’s issue. Thank you for reading. Until next time.
Your friend,
Melted Form
Remember to listen to the hum, buzz, & hiss of the world around you—there is music to be heard there.
Read the previous issue of The Living Music List:
Afterword—Let’s Get In Touch
Are you an artist, a label owner, or a member of the press? Want to share an in-depth feature of your upcoming release, an advertisement, or a guest post for a future Hum, Buzz, & Hiss issue? Get in touch with me at meltedform@gmail.com or join our Discord Community. As always, I would love to hear and recommend your music, especially if it’s new and ambient/electronic/experimental.
