TUNES // Sky Mata – Temple Sky Salt

When I was very young, three or four, I was sometimes babysat by one of my parents’ friends who was a painter. One afternoon he went to go make us sandwiches or something and rather unwisely left me alone in his studio where he had a still-life drying. It was simple enough – just a vase with a bundle of big pink flowers exploding up towards the top of the frame – but something about it, perhaps the wetness of the image, drew me in magnetically.

The smear my finger left when it touched a petal jolted me out of my reverie. I’m not sure what I was expecting, maybe to go through to the other side, discover a new world, that sort of thing.

I have a similar experience while listening to this song. Being drawn in closer and closer until you’re nose to nose with a perfect scene, only to discover that it is liquid, meltable, slippery. 

Upon discovering me next to his compromised work of art, my little fists balled up to hide the evidence, the painter was untroubled. He painted falling petals where my fingers had left smudges.

Sky Mata is the project of Japanese artist Mashu Haya. His newest album, Dye Xanh, is out now via Citrus City and Like Spinning Tapes. Catch their release show tonight (Oct 19) in Montreal at the Like Spinning Tapes HQ – details here! Buy the newly minted cassette release here. Sky Mata also has an upcoming show for you NY dwellers on Oct 29 at Secret Project Robot. Details here.