“She Had a Dark Side of Her”: How Sharlitz Web Developed Her Artistry After Losing Her Sister

By wazup on July 2, 2021 Comments Closed / 72 views

Fueled by the pain and beauty of her own journey, blossoming electronic music producer Sharlitz Web entangles listeners into her web of liquid basses and dark melodies.

Growing up playing the flute and having a musical background in sound design, the “young Black Widow” started experimenting with flow art and making her own bass mixes to dance to. The natural high of self-expression through movement and music allowed her to progress and unlock more of her creative potential.

But it wasn’t until her sister’s tragic death that she truly started developing as an artist.

“My sister truly was my best friend and most important person in my life. Carrying this pain is what molded me into the artist I am today,” Sharlitz told EDM.com. “Spiders molt out of their old exoskeleton when they outgrow it. I look at myself as a growing human and artist, shedding off old phases of my life and continuously growing into a better version than I was before.”

Conjuring past memories of watching Charlotte’s Web together, her persona as a black widow came naturally, she says, as she wove sonic textures to create haunting soundscapes.

“After [Charlotte] was gone, I started seeing and feeling her around me,” Sharlitz explained. “She had a dark side of her, which I think why my music can be so dark sometimes because I like to channel her dark side with mine. I call her my muse because when I’m working on a song and get into the ultimate flow state of making a beat, I feel her creative muse and guidance helping to shape the music.”

Sharlitz Web.Alex Varsa — Sharlitz Web.
Alex Varsa

The Los Angeles-based Chicago export first put herself on the electronic music map with her original tracks “7 Sins” and “Deep Dreams,” but quickly impressed the masses with her SSKWAN debut “Dark Places.” She then released her two-track debut EP, Spider Cider, shortly after on the label’s parent entity, WAKAAN.

Spider Cider moonlights as a metaphorical rise from the ashes. The dark, two-song concoction goes down easy with its subversive theme and offers refreshing hints of eerie vocals and swirling bass patches. Glitchy intros in the EP’s titular track precede spine-chilling drops and unearthly rhythms, while “Ill Will” expands the record via slicing basslines.

“I love the open interpretation when listening to music,” Sharlitz said. “Spider Cider is a playful and mysterious concoction that I conjured up and I wanted fans to listen to it and have it provoke their own sense of feelings. I want every person to feel something different with my music because people connect to music in their own way.”

After molting through the past phase of her life, Sharlitz is laser-focused on developing her own sound and expressing herself through music while staying connected to her sister.

“Spiders like to do their own thing. I felt like after my sister passed away that I was misunderstood, and spiders are very misunderstood,” she continued. “That’s me, working on my craft, weaving my web with my vision and passion. I was reclusive with my music in the beginning, but now I am able to focus on my music and sound as a way to stay connected to my sister and express myself.”

You can find Spider Cider on streaming platforms here.