Metamorphosis is a 25-minute-long improvisation in 3 consecutive movements rooted in ego death and estrogen. Riley plays flute and utilizes a harmonizer and delay pedal. Sean plays an electric keyboard and utilizes distortion, flanger, tremolo, and ring modulation effects. Not a single part of Metamorphosis was notated, and the only aspect planned was the title of the piece taking effect as our “prompt”, and that Sean would start it and Riley would end it. Besides that, it was completely and spontaneously improvised. We didn’t even plan on releasing it at first, but we have a policy of recording everything we play. When we listened back to it afterward, we both wanted it to be our debut release. Metamorphosis outlines the process of gender transition and affirmation. It scores the most agonizing pits of dysphoria, the eventual release of that dysphoria, and everything before, after, and in between. Movement I: Conception begins with an eerie and uncomfortable keyboard solo. Many effects are piled on each other, obliterating any discernable tones and replacing them with a harsh soundscape. The flute enters with a particularly non-western style, repetitively bending notes in a desperate response to the tortured sounds surrounding it. These bird-like calls settle into a melodic motif, yearning for something more than the paradoxically static chaos surrounding it. This motif develops into Movement II: Transition, as some discernable pitches emerge from the keyboard, albeit incredibly distorted and dissonant. The call and response between the two heavily estrogenized voices morphs into something slightly more tonal yet timid in its new direction. Despite this apprehension, the motif continues forward through wavering pitches and unstable chords. As the second movement nears its conclusion, confidence begins to grow. The call and response becomes more grounded and open. In Movement III: Emergence, a new harmonic language develops, one that is wistful and blooming from what was wilting. The sonic texture also morphs into something full and warm, starkly contrasting the piercing shrieks of the first movement. The keyboard eventually fades out while the melody in the flute carries on without skipping a step. This solo fully develops the original motif, breathy yet consistently rhythmic. The call and response is miraculously still present, now with the flute's voice answering itself. Echos of doubt emerge but are responded to with a resolve that far outweighs them. The solo concludes the piece with newfound comfort. Metamorphosis is fully achieved, and while the old disgust is remembered and sometimes even resurfaced, it is no longer a self-sufficient cycle in this new body, and the shackles that choked forward motion are broken. What was is dead, and reminiscently feeding from the remains is you.

III. Emergence

II. Transition

I. Conception

MANIA :., suicide.,

I Breathe Too

Lethargy

Excerpt #1

Excerpt #2

July 30th, 2025

credits:
riley. - Bass Guitar
Sean Hoss - No-Input Mixer

Spirit Assembly

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