New York synth artist Antenes on the importance of staying connected

New York-based DJ, producer and electronics artist Antenes talks about the importance of staying connected to oneself at every stage of the creative process. 

What do the scientist’s laboratory and the artist’s studio have in common? They are two of the best places for open-ended experimentation, for learning by a perpetual feedback loop of thinking and creating. It’s fitting, then, that New York-based DJ, producer and electronics artist Antenes draws parallels to both of these spaces when describing her music.

Instead of test tubes and Bunsen burners, Antenes’ laboratory is full of self-made sequencers and synthesisers built from vintage telephone equipment. Instead of clay, she sculpts emergent patterns, textures and percussion layers in sound. The result is an inventive and eclectic mixture of acid-laced techno, shimmering electro and shadowy ambient – concocted, crafted, in the name of sonic and spatial exploration.

Among a long line of accomplishments, the Brooklyn resident has been featured three times in FACT Magazine‘s Best Mixes column, while her otherworldly debut EP The Track of a Storm, released on LIES Records, appeared on the 2015 best-of lists of Juno and FACT Magazine. Her label affiliations are set to only expand further with forthcoming releases with The Bunker New York and Silent Season. Somehow, Antenes also finds time to lecture and lead hands-on DIY synth workshops.

We were lucky enough to experience exactly this when Antenes, real name Lori Napoleon, dropped by to Catalyst for a Guest Session. She gave us an inspiring window on her process, including building the Telegraph Key commissioned for Rewire Festival and her current residency at New York’s Issue Project Room. Keen to learn more about this amazing musician, we asked her to share her the one thing that fuels her creativity.

“The medium has changed over time; from painting to holography and now DJing, synth construction and production. What fuels my creativity is to remain connected, mentally, to what and who were most important to me at an early age, including and especially those departed. If you have a strong sense of loyalty, dedication and love from within, fluctuating outside forces are not as strong as the impulse to create.”

Follow Antenes on Facebook and SoundCloud.

Learn about the one thing that fuels our students’ creativity.