Image courtesy of KLSR, shared with permission
KLSR, is an audio-visual artist whose creative vision seamlessly weaves together soundscapes and captivating visuals. His artistry dives deep into the exploration of light and textures, employing real-time processes to craft mesmerizing compositions. KLSR’s unique approach harnesses the power of audio reactivity, merging auditory and visual realms into a harmonious whole. This dynamic technique not only infuses his creations with an unparalleled essence but also acts as a catalyst for crafting immersive and distinctive experiences. In his world, the distinctions between sound and image blur, forming a seamless, multi-sensory tapestry.
What an honor it is to be able to chat with KLSR about his mind bending audio visual work! It can be said that his art is otherworldly and abstractly immersive. KLSR, please give us a couple fun facts about yourself so we can dive into this interview.
Thank you! I’m from the midlands in the UK, but have been living in Brighton for the past 10 ish years. I have been making music for probably over 10 years, studied music production at uni, and am obsessed with Michael Mann films, specifically Heat (1995).
Now, we want to know about your humble beginnings. Where did your artistic bone come from? Can you describe your first experience with creating something you felt proud of?
I’m not sure where the bone comes from, but I think I’ve always had something, I’ve just always loved music and cool visuals and films and anything creative that evokes emotions. The first thing I can remember really being proud of was the music I started making with a band when I was younger. That was probably the first expressive, creative outlet I had. Since then I started getting into producing my own music and experimenting with loads of different things, and over the past few years the visual elements to my work have been really great to explore. I love combining both visual and audio to make something new and interesting.
We are so mesmerized by the relationship you cultivate between the sound and visual. Which comes first when you’re creating the audio or imagery? What does that process look like?
I always start with the audio, I have always been obsessed with film scores and cinematic music so adding the visual elements to this feels like I’m making my own little worlds for the music. My music consists of real world elements like string instruments, piano and orchestral instruments etc and I try and find ways of messing with the sound to make it sound unnatural, like a hybrid of natural and digital elements. I use a lot of granular synthesis to rework sounds from life into these messed up ethereal atmospheres.
Once I’m happy with the music I then start the visual programming. With the visuals, I always try and adapt and improve on previous work. It’s hard to explain the thought process, but I always think ‘this should look how the music sounds in my head’ – a lot of people comment on my videos about synaesthesia, so maybe that’s the best way of describing it.
Can you tell us what audio reactivity means? What elements of it do you enjoy working with?
Audio reactivity is the elements of visual art reacting to what certain elements in the music are doing. There are some elements I always implement, such as the low end in the audio driving the brightness, or a snare sound controlling the level of feedback, but there are always happy accidents when experimenting by connecting elements together to create different effects.
There is an indescribable nature to viewing your work that is unlike any other, it feels unfamiliar but also alluring in that same vein. What do you do to achieve this level of abstraction?
There is usually a sense of progression in my work – I like to start with a subtle sound and small visual element and let this build into a final section of noise and culmination of everything before it. I love feelings of nostalgia and emotional connection through art, and there is a mix of this but I feel like I am being authentic with whatever I make and that comes out in the work. All I can really hope for is people feel a genuine emotional connection through whatever I’ve made and it evokes some form of emotion.
What has been some of your best work to date? Can you tell us some details about how you brought it to fruition?
My favourite work and one I am most proud of is ‘Bliss’. This was inspired heavily by cinematic pieces (Hans Zimmer, Ludwig Göransson). You can probably tell by the visuals that I like Christopher Nolan films. There are some parts of Interstellar and Oppenheimer where we see things that shouldn’t be possible, like the particles moving around at the beginning of Oppenheimer or the scene in Interstellar where Matthew Mcconaughey is flying around the space bookshelf. That’s my favourite part about programming visuals – coming up with these ideas and scenes that look familiar and could be part of the world but don’t really make much sense.
Tell us about any challenging times or learning curves you’ve had to go through during your artistic journey.
Working with technology and software for the visuals is always a challenge because I always try and come up with new ideas, and a lot of the time they don’t work. I don’t think I’m a very technologically minded person so there is a lot of trial and error.
Music has been my main outlet for years and years so that is less challenging, I have been using Ableton Live for so long it’s like a second language. I’m very comfortable with it and the experimenting is always part of the fun.
Where do you picture yourself as an artist in 5 years? 20 years?
At any point in the future, I hope I am still able to create and make art that I am proud of. Although hopefully in 5 years I will be making some more money from it! I also really love collaborating with people that inspire me. I’m really proud of the connections and collaborations that have happened so far, so hopefully there is more of that to come.
KLSR website: https://klsr-av.com/
