There are some things you and your loved ones can do that AI simply can’t, at least not yet: catch a laugh from a friend, surprise somebody with a spontaneous visit, wake a lover up in the middle of the night for an unplanned adventure. You can gather with other humans, inspire their curiosity and creativity, feel their unspoken emotions, and be transformed as a result. In this minisode, Lou and Kimi highlight the complexity of the topic of AI, reminisce about a gathering space of yesteryear, and remember that community sparks creativity in a way that AI doesn’t and perhaps never will.

*Note: Kimi sounds a little funny in this episode. We had an audio glitch, but we still wanted to share the content. Thanks for listening.  

Mentioned in This Episode:

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

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• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Cheramie Johnson
• Editor: Alexandra Covey
• Music: Kieran Kerwin
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

It’s three o’clock in the afternoon. I’ve just arrived home from another sophomore day at a new high school I started attending only a few weeks earlier. Melding into this new society as an outsider isn’t going poorly, but it has its challenges. On the turntable of my father’s hi-fi is the just released album Moving Pictures from Rush.

The opening song Tom Sawyer, a song about individualism, personal autonomy, and refusing to conform to society's expectations becomes my guide and my light during this awkward time of transition. It encourages me to hold onto my integrity and keep things on my terms as I integrate into the new school. I could’ve never guessed this experience would ultimately become a template for my life.

I’ve often wondered if Tom Sawyer would have had the same emotional resonance if I listened to it on sonically inferior ear buds. Given my recent experience into the audiophile space, I don’t think so.

The word audiophile conjures a sense of elitism. A rarefied club for obsessive people with healthy bank accounts who have arcane knowledge of specialized audio gear.

Our next guest thinks that’s the wrong way to look at things. He believes anyone loves music and cares how it sounds is an audiophile. Through his YouTube channel, A British Audiophile, Tarun offers expert advice in a remarkably approachable way. He conveys guidance to people like me who are just starting their audiophile journey but have a limited budget. That said he also appeals to the fanatics who do invest in top end components. The stuff that will make you drool with envy, but also admiration owing to the exquisite engineering driven by a fervor for sonic purity.

In a phrase: Tarun’s passion is for maximizing the listener’s experience through a combination of practical advice and knowledgeable guidance about gear. He believes that sometimes listening to music is a spiritual experience, as it was, however unknowingly, to me back in high school. An experience that shaped my life as I’m sure music in someway does for everyone reading this.

Mentioned in This Episode

• A Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond
• Check out Tarun's suggestions for the beginning audiophile.

Want More Chaos & Creativity? Subscribe!

Be cool, be classy, subscribe to email updates. You'll be the first to know when a new episode drops and you'll also receive our quarterly newsletter Memos to the Chaotic & Creative.

Subscribe now.

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Cheramie Johnson
• Editor: Alexandra Covey
• Music: Kieran Kerwin
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

In this week’s minisode: Lou offers to write a treatment for a screenplay with a spectacular premise and a really good story. Kimi randomly gets cast in a short film and is relieved when it gets canceled. Drawing on decades of experience as creative professionals, Kimi and Lou share how to ask the right questions when given the “opportunity” to work for free, when trade feels like a valuable exchange, when saying yes is stupid, and how to say no when it needs to be said. 

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Cheramie Johnson
• Editor: Alexandra Covey
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

Until I met three time academy award nominee Tom Myers, it never crossed my mind that a blank page to a writer is total silence to a sound designer. That something as subtle as a dog barking in the distance in a movie is as intentional a choice as the more conspicuous murmuring of a populated cafe underneath the dialog of actors in a scene. The deeper Myers and I dug into what he does for a living at Skywalker Sound, the more I realized that sound design and sound mixing are forms of aural magic performed by wizards. Subtlety is art, ethos and praxis in this enchanting world. A world where the latitude between not enough and too much is shockingly narrow and requires good ears, a rich imagination and clever, clever instinct.

Links:

The Wilhelm Scream

The Last Kings of Hollywood

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Cheramie Johnson
• Editor: Alexandra Covey
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

Close your eyes. Listen. Which sounds are soothing? Which ones drive you up a tree? Currently, outside my house there’s a mocking bird that’s making me a little crazy. But in the distance the sound of a freight train whistle is eliciting feelings of happiness. No doubt because of an experience I had around trains when I was 12. Bring that train sound two miles closer, it would probably annoy me to no end. Close, far, types of birds, types of trains, all of nature—this is Dr. Stéphane Pigeon’s world. And he’s built a way to bring it to the public on his site MyNoise.net.

From his days as an eighteen-year-old sound engineer for Roland synthesizers to recording the subtle voices of the natural world, Dr. Pigeon reflects on the art of crafting complex soundscapes, the beauty of silence, and how his work can invite you into the deeply personal search for the perfect sound.

Links:

https://mynoise.net/

https://perthirtysix.com/how-the-heck-do-synthesizers-work

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Cheramie Johnson
• Editor: Alexandra Covey
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

Big changes are afoot at Chaos & Creativity, as our long time producer and good friend Claire Duncan moseys down the road of life to her next big thing. We wish her nothing but the best.

Lest Kimi and Lou be left alone too long without supervision, we’re excited to announce the arrival of our new producer Cheramie “CJ” Johnson. We’re also thrilled to welcome Alexandra Covey to the podcast editing bay. She’ll be cutting together Chaos & Creativity as well as our sister podcast Mothers of Creativity.

In this episode: Everything Feels Legit—everything ends up on the nose as Kimi and Lou utilize an outline to attempt episode cohesion. What results is an extra dose of chaos, with Kimi and Lou covering everything from fellating a lightsaber to Y2K fashion and Facebook regrets to the reflecting pool and beyond. Come for the disastrous segues, stay for the synergy, and listen closely for hints of a 2-part series on the art of sound, coming soon.

Mentioned in the episode:

The Chaos and Creativity blog

The Chaos and Creativity Instagram

The reflecting pool debacle

The Last Kings of Hollywood by Paul Fischer

Silo on Apple TV

The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Documentary, Part 2

In this episode, Lou shares about a do-it-yourself project that flopped, revealing that 1) acoustics is an art form, and 2) he's terrible at acoustics. 

So Lou and Kimi talk about which skills are worth learning as creative professionals, and what's important to delegate out. Reflecting on their younger years, they wonder what happened to the time and energy they once had to learn new skills from scratch. Ultimately, they discover that creative maturity brings the very-punk discernment to know what's worth learning and what's best left to the experts.

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Cheramie Johnson
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

This week on Chaos & Creativity, we’re joined by photographer and visual artist William Waterworth. His work feels like scenes from an old film — dark, cinematic, and full of emotion. We talk about why he prefers shooting out in nature instead of a studio, how literature and art inspire his photography, and why he looks for real character over the “perfect” model.

We also get into film vs. digital photography, creating timeless black-and-white images, and what it means to make art that actually feels something in a world full of content. If you’re into photography, fashion, creativity, or visual storytelling, this is a really good one.

Check out more of Will’s work:

• Instagram: @willwaterworth
• Website: William Waterworth 

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Claire Duncan
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

Do you have to choose between being cool and being rich?

In this episode, we talk about what it feels like to be creative right now. There’s so much content everywhere, and it can feel like you have to turn everything into money. But does that take away from what makes something cool?

We get into whether art is really valued today, how social media has changed things, and if you can actually make a living from your creativity.

Can you be both cool and successful? Or do you have to pick one?

A simple, honest conversation about creativity, money, and where we’re at right now.

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Claire Duncan
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

In this episode, Kimi and Lou sit down with Annicka Ekvall, a Swedish-American DJ and producer making major waves in the minimal melodic house scene. Closely associated with Insomniac, Annicka has performed on the world's biggest stages, including EDC, Coachella and Burning Man. She joins us to discuss the magic of staying grounded while playing for thousands and why her newest role, being a mom to a baby girl is her greatest blessing and inspiration.

Key Highlights:

• The Power of Presence: Why being grounded on stage is the secret to creating a truly transformative experience for a crowd.
• Connection Over Impression: Shifting the focus from playing a set to connecting with the soul of the audience.
• Storytelling in Music: How Annicka uses house, soul, and funk vibrations to tell a narrative of love and inspiration.

Connect with Annicka 

• Instagram: @foreverannicka
• Stream Her Sets: https://youtu.be/vbyIioz2yfE?si=MmklxMZXqGUQ15xf 

Connect with the Show

• Hosts: Kimi Recor and Lou Lesko
• Producer: Claire Duncan
• Instagram: @chaosandcreativitypodcast

How do you handle criticism when you are deeply connected to your work?

In this episode, Lou and Kimi talk about what it really feels like to receive feedback as a creative. Whether you are an artist, producer, designer, writer or entrepreneur, learning how to take criticism can be the key to growing your ideas and your confidence.

Creatives often become emotionally attached to their work, which can make it hard to know if something is actually good or needs more development. Lou and Kimi share how they personally deal with criticism and why honest feedback has become an important part of their creative process.

They also discuss how preparing yourself mentally can make a big difference when receiving criticism. Being grounded, well rested and open can help you respond thoughtfully instead of reacting emotionally.

If you are a creative trying to grow, build confidence and make better work, this episode is for you.

Stay tuned for more Chaos & Creativity on Instagram. And remember, always act a little cooler than you feel.