The Village Voice’s Simon Reynolds visits synth wizard Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith at her home in Glendale, California.
“Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s wondrous new album, The Kid, was hatched in a sound garden attached to her home in Glendale, California. A compact chamber that appears to be a converted garage, the studio is crammed with vintage analog synthesizers. There’s a Prophet 5 and a Eurorack, but the pride of place goes to a Buchla, the modular synth that first sparked her passion for electronic sounds.
Alongside technology, the room teems with vegetation. Smith has often talked about how her creative process requires the presence of “a plant nearby.” Look closer, though, and the tendrils of ivy strewn everywhere turn out to be plastic. So are the plants in little hanging pots. “I’ve tried to put real plants in here,” says Smith, sighing. “I even tried pretending I have this ‘pet plant’ that goes everywhere with me and I’d bring it in here from outside. But plants just don’t like it in here.” Her other artistic prerequisite, natural light, is also poorly supplied by the near-windowless space. So Smith came up with solutions: Fairy lights pulse through a translucent sheet tacked to the ceiling, while foot-level bulbs flicker, creating an effect like light reflecting off water.”
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith treats Rewire 2018 to her synth wonderland on Friday, 6 April. Listen to ‘An Intention’ for her latest album, The Kid, below and learn more about her performance at: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith.
Rewire 2018 Festival and Day passes are available at:Tickets.