At its most fundamental level, all the creativity in any artform is limited by the physical means of sensation. The Mona Lisa is profound only because we have sight – we are able to make sense of light and perceive it as form, color, and depth.

Post-rock/ambient composer Jason Keisling not only seems to readily grasp the marriage of science and art – he embraces and pursues it. And while such a prospect might seem difficult in a context devoid of lyrics, Keisling’s use of visuals has proven apt at conveying fine details about his music.

On the tail of his WAVES EP, he is preparing for a more chaotic counterpart titled Particles. Get a first listen below to “Particle Accelerator” and read on for some more background of what to expect on this release.

“Particle Accelerator” is the first song released off your upcoming Particles EP. Tell us a bit about how it developed and why you chose it as the first one to release.

“Particle Accelerator” actually developed while I was writing the WAVES EP, but I didn’t feel like it fit the overall vibe of that release. I was experimenting with a lot of noise samples and glitchy percussion during WAVES and this one just kind of got out of control and became a lot heavier and more chaotic.

You mentioned that Particles and WAVES represent a dichotomy. What inspired this dual-nature approach to songwriting – and was it more serendipitous or planned from the start?

I had an idea early on in WAVES sessions that I might release some additional tracks as “particles”, but I didn’t plan on that being a certainty. At the time I was mostly focused on WAVES, but as I accumulated more ideas that didn’t fit that EP, I started thinking more and more about doing a “Particles” counterpart. The duality is inspired by the double slit experiment, where at the quantum level light behaved like waves…and particles…and changed behavior based on whether it was observed. It’s a cool experiment that I highly recommend checking out!

Both EPs pretty overtly relate to matters of physics. In general it seems like there’s not much overlap between art and science but Benn Jordan of The Flashbulb really taps into how powerful the confluence can be. What is your relationship with science like and how do you think science and art can better inform each other?

Benn Jordan has some great videos, though I haven’t seen this one in particular! I have a deep curiosity for learning about the world around me and appreciating how everything works. I think there is a lot of science behind music and the psychology of how we perceive music. Likewise, the world around us makes sound and I think of nature a lot when I’m writing. There’s a fantastic Richard Feynman quote on this topic:
“I have a friend who’s an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don’t agree with very well. He’ll hold up a flower and say “look how beautiful it is,” and I’ll agree. Then he says “I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing,” and I think that he’s kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I believe. Although I may not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is … I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it’s not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there’s also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colors in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; it means that insects can see the color. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don’t understand how it subtracts.”

On a similar note, the teaser videos for the EP thus far have been a nice change of pace from what many artists are doing. Where’d this idea come from? Any future plans to expand on this unconventional marketing approach?

I had the first single scheduled a month out so that it could be pitched for Spotify playlists. I didn’t want to promote it a month away from release because there’s nothing for people to hear yet and by the time there is, they’ve probably forgotten the promo. What I decided to do instead was continue promoting WAVES EP, but have the promos glitch out to some vague particles visuals. This way there’s music for people to listen to (Waves), but it’s giving a hint of something lurking beyond. It was sort of a “Particles” promo disguised as a WAVES promo for a couple weeks and then it was close enough that I could announce the new one. It all fit in with the theme of “Particles”. As I mentioned above, these songs all came out of WAVES sessions, but were too chaotic for that release. It only made sense to market it as uncontrolled chaos that was isolated from WAVES but is now beyond my control and releasing into the world.
As for future plans, my next album is a very different concept and I’m sure the marketing strategy for that will be something more tailored to that concept. But in the meantime I’m having fun with all of the teasers for this EP.

Tell us about your experience with the Post-Everything Collective.

I can’t overstate how much that group means to me. In addition to being amazing musicians who I learn so much from, they’re also great friends. I’m very proud of the collaborative songs we’ve put out and I have taken so much inspiration from various PE members. Plus having people to listen to songs and give feedback has been helpful. We also have a lot of discussions over recording and production and other music related topics. Some have provided instruments for songs (At the Grove and Atonality both contributed to a song in WAVES). Nick (Oldernar) mixed this track and Jed (Lumastora) mastered it. I’ve also had the opportunity to help out other artists and play parts for their songs. Overall it’s just a lot of fun to be a part of this group.

https://thepost-everythingcollective.bandcamp.com/

Anything else you’d like to share?

I hope everyone checks out “Particle Accelerator” and my other releases. Follow me on IG @jasonkeislingmusic to see when the next tracks from Particles will be released. There’s more to come!