The Background

I've been into electronic music since the mid-'90s, DJing, doing some bedroom production, and promoting underground techno events along with my buddies DJ Mednis, Maris G, Foro, Dr. Outsider, Gobio (RIP), Monocle, and others from the Aizkraukle electronic music scene. I never had the goal or, to be honest, the talent to become a professional DJ, and the concept of "underground" resonated most with me. Around the year 2000, I started working as a professional designer, and music became more of a hobby—spinning vinyl once every two years at private parties and playing with synths occasionally. However, the music was always there; the connection never got lost. Whether it was a motion design demo reel or some experimental shorts, I always used something from my own production. In fact, what I have always enjoyed the most is when my two great passions—music and design—meet.

BODY_IN_CLOSET

It all started in the summer of 2020, when traveling was not possible because of COVID. I went to the countryside for summer vacation and took some old synths with me just to keep myself entertained.

I spent three weeks jamming and then realized that I didn't want to stop. After returning home, I faced the problem of having no space for a studio in the apartment, except for one square meter in the closet. So, I decided to build a studio there—a studio desk and a couple of shelves at first, and then it kept growing and growing. That’s how BODY_IN_CLOSET was born.

52/52

There was a studio where I was jamming and recording stuff just for fun. Shortly before Christmas 2020, a lot of snow came down one day, and I took a walk in the forest with my camera. Upon my return, I realized that I had a ton of very similar photos, none of which were interesting by themselves. Then, an idea came to create a film from them. No need for a process description here, but in the end, this was the first time something from closet production was used. The old connection between motion and music was resurrected. It felt great.

Three months later, the 52/52 project was born. The concept was to create one audiovisual piece of art a week for a year. The 30-second format was chosen as perfect for social media—videos could be produced in a week, and the music didn’t need actual mixing; it’s always possible to find a good 30 seconds in a jam. It all started in March 2021 and successfully finished in March 2022, skipping one week in the heat of summer. The project was great training not only for acquiring new skills and polishing rusty ones but also for creative thinking. The fact that you have just a week (considering work and family time) for concept, music, and video production makes you think and act really fast and purposefully.