With his recently released “PHOTOPHORE,” Frequent takes us on a journey where light, sound, and nature converge.
Drawing inspiration from diverse natural environments, from Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to California’s coastlines, the US-based music experimentalist has crafted a multi-sensory experience that transcends genre boundaries while maintaining deep connections to specific moments and memories.
“PHOTOPHORE” represents a significant artistic evolution: sound as a medium to emit, capture, and manipulate light in auditory form.
Today, we embark on his illuminating journey with a mix that captures the influences behind this remarkable album, complemented by an in-depth conversation exploring his inspirations, creative evolution, the current state of electronic music, UPSCALE’s vision, and much more.
Enjoy this new Adrenaline episode!
How have things been going for you lately, Nolan?
In spite of the state of the world, things are good! Musically, I’m feeling very inspired.
Your new album ‘PHOTOPHORE’ has just been released. What does the title mean, and what inspired this project?
Well, the word photophore itself refers to the light-producing organ in many bioluminescent creatures. The visual side of the project is all about emitting, capturing, and manipulating light, and the music is sort of an audio equivalent of that process. I wanted to develop a music experience that lets the listener sink into a space – to capture and manipulate the essence of a place or feeling.
How do you hope listeners will experience this album?
If I’m honest, the biggest takeaway I’ve had in the process of writing this album is to let go of any specific hopes I have in regards to how my art will be experienced or interpreted. I’ve spent a lot of time worrying about these things, but it is ultimately out of my control. This project is deeply tied to my life in such a way that nobody else could possibly experience it in the way that I do, and that’s ok. I actually welcome it this time. It’s there for everyone to build their own associations with.
What sparked the connection between photography and your music on this album?
I’ve been messing around with photography on the side for many years. In a lot of ways, I pursued it specifically to have a creative outlet that was private and wasn’t tied to my career. It was also sort of aesthetically add odds with the Frequent project and branding anyway, so it felt like an escape from my usual artistic headspace. As time went on, I started to become more creatively ambitious with photography and grew increasingly jaded to my place in the music world. I had spent years accumulating these beautiful glowing images and mellow songs… There was a natural convergence between these things, it just took me a while to realize it. I’ve wanted to do this subconsciously for a long time, I just needed to let go of how my project is perceived.
Which natural environments have most strongly influenced your sound design?
The sounds are inspired by such a wide range of landscapes and specific places, but the natural wonders of my travels are certainly my favorite. The lush green vistas of the Rocky Mountains coming to life in Colorado, bright yellow skies kissing the coastline of California, crystal clear pools spilling from neon rock formations in Utah, padded raindrops cleansing the rainforest canopies of Vancouver and Washington… I could go on and on. I am fortunate enough to find myself in beautiful places quite regularly, and the landscape here in Colorado alone is never lost on me.
Beyond your own work, how do you see the relationship between natural spaces and artistic creativity?
I think everyone is internalizing their environment, whether they’re aware of it or not, so a person’s exposure to nature will almost certainly affect their creative output. Similarly, experiencing live music outside is a very different thing than going to a venue or club. Being out in the wilderness is just inherently a different feeling than being in a town or city, regardless of the context. It’s not necessarily better or worse. For me, being out and away from people kind of forces me to be more introspective, and I imagine that’s similar for others. There’s a real sense of isolation when you fully leave society. You start to appreciate how big the world is and how separated we truly are from these natural systems. It is a strange feeling to look out at a vast, jaw-dropping landscape knowing there’s not another human being as far as the eye can see. It’s hard to shake this feeling. I imagine anyone who has an experience like this carries it with them in some way, though it is hard for me to say how it affects creativity in other people. All I can say for sure is that the places we find ourselves in do affect us in some way, and for me, natural environments have been very calming and humbling. It prompts me to write more mindfully.
When did you first become interested in photography, and what drew you to it alongside music?
I got interested in photography when I was in high school, not too long after I started making music. I was just doing amateur landscape and astrophotography, it was something fun to do when travelling or camping with friends. I could capture these moments in ways I couldn’t before, and there was something endlessly compelling about that. A piece of art tied to a specific moment and place. For the longest time, the way I would make music was completely counter to that. I would toil away endlessly in a dark room for months over a single song. It was only when I started making music on the fly in different environments that I started to realize there was a connection. The song “Elapse”, for example, was started on a Bluetooth JBL speaker in my living room, surrounded by all my friends from out of town. I made the main structure of that song on the fly and then tucked it away on my hard drive, and I remember the feeling of stumbling across it months later very vividly. Even still, I am teleported back to that moment when I hear the song, it is intrinsically attached to that memory. Every song and every photo on the album is like that for me. It took me a long time to understand the connection, but once I started working towards it, everything just made sense.
Do your photography and music-making processes inform each other? If so, how?
I think subconsciously, yes, but up until this project, I have always thought of them as completely separate. I think going forward, I want to kind of cross-pollinate the things I like about both mediums. My friend Sebastian Vydra has shown me endless ways of approaching photography with more creative intent and planning without compromising the spontaneity and joy of shooting, and I think there’s a lot I could do to push my photos further. On the other end, I want to keep making music on the fly without hesitation or attachment. I want to capture moments and then expand on them later. I’ll always have songs in rotation that take ages to complete, but I want to keep this other kind of writing in my life as well. In short, I think I’ve learned that in both mediums, it’s important to have both low-stakes in the moment sessions and more drawn out high-effort sessions. It’s also important to figure out how to find joy in all of it, even the more tedious parts.
The tracks on PHOTOPHORE resist conventional arrangements and genre classifications. Was this a deliberate choice or something that emerged during creation?
Hmm.. Well, I think it really depends on how specific you’re willing to get with genre classifications, because if I’m honest, there aren’t many original ideas on the album. In fact, that’s part of why I am excited about this mix, because I think it sort of contextualizes PHOTOPHORE sonically. I could point to so many points in this mix that directly inform a given section or entire song on the album, and then it becomes a question of whether all of these songs also defy genre classifications. Maybe they do, I’m not really sure anymore, but I’m fairly certain someone has at least tried to categorize all of these styles, it just gets very niche.
Could you share a story behind one of the tracks that holds special significance for you?
The song Tessellate was written quite a while ago with one of my oldest music friends, Alden (Evoke). I started my label UPSCALE with him back around 2013, and he stepped away a few years later to focus on his own projects. The track was part of a series of sessions back around 2017 when we reconnected to work on music together for the first time in many years. I actually don’t think we’ve been in the studio together since then, so it was a very special thing for us to meet up like this. The track reminds me of the chemistry we will probably always have when we collaborate, we’re able to tap into our mutual tastes from a bygone era. There’s endless nostalgia when we write or even when we catch up about the state of the music world. I don’t think anything I’m doing now would be the same without Alden, and in many ways, the track is an homage to him and everything we started over a decade ago.
What typically kicks off your creative process when starting a new track?
It really depends, but I’d say it usually starts with the urge to evoke or capture a specific feeling. That feeling could be anything, so the process always starts very differently. For example, the song “Wet Concrete” was started in a hotel room in LA while it was pouring rain outside. I wanted to establish a very loose, almost random-sounding groove inspired by the raindrops pounding against the window in my room. From there, I started scattering around some sloshy textures and drums, I’d loop random lengths of samples over each other until these drunken rhythms started to emerge – that sort of thing. I don’t always take inspiration from the environment either, a lot of times I just want to make something similar to the songs I’ve been enjoying. I usually try to sketch out the primary obvious elements of a vibe I’m going for first, and then take it from there.
What’s been the most significant evolution in your production approach since you began making music?
Definitely the shift away from technical processes. I used to overthink and over-prioritize sound design specifically, but I was also very caught up in knowing all of the latest techniques and innovations when I was younger. I thought knowing things about music would make me better at creating music, but after a certain threshold, this simply is not the case. At a certain point, creativity becomes the bottleneck of all music software, and your knowledge surrounding it becomes less important than the way you use it.
What’s the story behind Upscale, and what’s your vision for its future?
Alden and I started UPSCALE back around 2013. At the time, genres like neuro, neurohop, and halftime were barely established and effectively did not exist in the US. We looked up to labels like Inspected and Caliber, who were ushering in all of these new sounds, and we wanted to be a part of it. When we started UPSCALE, it was co-run by an Australian label called Adapted Records, and our goal was to be on par with these other outlets we looked up to. Keep in mind, I was like 16 back then, and we had no idea what we were doing.
By around 2015 or 2016, Alden had stepped away to do his own thing, the owner of Adapted had been outed for stealing everyone’s money, and I was faced with essentially starting over on the whole project. This is also when I met Hudson through a one-off online lesson, and it was clear to me even then that there was something special going on. They picked up everything I had to teach instantly, and we even ended up finishing the song from our lesson together (our remix of Télépopmusik – Breathe). Hudson also has an uncanny ability to source and connect talented people, so there was a natural progression from student to co-partner in the label and now one of my closest friends.
The vision for the project has changed so much since Hudson got involved. The scope of everything is so much wider now. We work with so many different artists across so many different styles, we bring people together both online and in person from places all over the world. The idea of being a “label” doesn’t even make sense to us anymore. UPSCALE is an empty vessel that we can use for whatever creative endeavor suits us in the moment. It is a logo you can slap next to a release, or an event, or a piece of art, or whatever – but that’s all it is. What really matters is the people behind it, the name is just something all of us can rally behind. Going forward, we will continue to follow our ambitions, there are endless events and releases on the horizon. The next big thing for us is a compilation / VA, which we are wrapping up this month 🙂
When considering new artists for the label, what qualities do you look for?
This is tough because we aren’t actively looking for anything. It truly feels like there is no shortage of talented artists around us; everyone I could ever dream of working with is a degree or two of separation away at most, and many of my favorite artists are already involved. It’s never lost on me how connected this scene truly is, and there’s endless potential in these connections. As a result, we typically end up working with new artists through osmosis – they organically find our community and likely know many of the people in it already. The line of being “part of” UPSCALE is also very blurry, we work with so many people in so many ways beyond the releases. At the end of the day, anyone who does cool shit and is involved in our community is already very much involved. We aren’t looking for anything specific, but we certainly notice when people we want to work with appear. It’s usually as simple as being friendly and creatively motivated.
Have there been any particularly challenging moments in your artistic journey, and how did you navigate them?
Yes, of course, the music industry will test everyone involved in it eventually. So many perverse incentives, strange social dynamics, middlemen, issues of identity, issues surrounding substance abuse, cartoonishly evil guys… The list goes on and on. You’d be crazy not to question being part of it sometimes.
In spite of all these things and many more, I am inevitably forced to reconcile it all against the reality of my life, which is admittedly and undeniably pretty fucking awesome. The vast majority of people I know through music are actually great, many are my favorite people in general, and I get to travel the world to perform my art alongside them. Electronic music as a whole is this novel art form that I get to be part of and interact with on so many levels… I think back to the goals of my younger self and how utterly unattainable all of what I’m doing now would have seemed. I think about how many times I’ve had to set new goals simply because I was able to achieve the things I set out to achieve. In moments of doubt, or jadedness, or exhaustion, or even sheer resentment, I do consider walking away from it all, but in the end, I never can. I have built my life around music since I was a child, it is part of my identity. There is no decoupling these things, so I have to see how far all of it goes. Beneath all of these uneasy feelings is an immense sense of pride in what my friends and I have managed to accomplish. That’s what I hold onto.
Who are some of your most influential collaborators, and what have you learned from working with them?
This one is tough because I have made music in passing with SO many people over the years. In terms of sheer influence, Hudson, Mr Bill, and Evoke have probably had the biggest impact. I’ve learned far too much from them to really quantify, they have all played a huge role in shaping my career and values. The only consistent thing I can say I’ve learned from collaborating with people is how to approach the process of collaboration itself. I’ve learned how to be more adaptable and detached in those contexts.
Looking ahead, what projects or directions are you excited to explore?
I’ve never felt more liberated creatively, and I plan to pursue anything and everything that feels exciting stylistically. Right now, I’ve been having a lot of fun with bass music again and I’m working on a big-ish project for that side of things. I also have a bunch of evil experimental stuff I want to do something with eventually. The UPSCALE compilation should be ready very soon, so I’ll get back to releasing solo stuff once that drops, and then Hudson and I are always slowly chipping away at our collaborative project behind the scenes as well! There’s so much coming up in terms of shows and releases, and I’m excited for all of it. I’m just going to chase whatever is most inspiring and try to get as much music out as possible.
For listeners tuning into this Adrenaline episode, is there an ideal setting or moment to experience it?
I’m not sure, all I’ll say is that it’s pretty mellow. It’s something to sit with, nothing too flashy, while remaining engaging and vibey. I personally like to run it somewhere pretty outside or in the car, but it could work in so many contexts.
Is there a particular track in this mix that you’re especially proud to include?
The Tipper song definitely feels a bit special in this context. He’s been one of my biggest influences for the last decade, and I’ve been lucky enough to get to know him a bit over the years, so there’s been this perspective shift around him and his art.
Music feels very different when it’s made by someone you know, and it’s difficult not to entangle someone’s personality with their sound. I talk to SO many artists in my niche, so all of the music around me feels intrinsically linked to the people that created it. As a result, I often find myself making a completely different type of connection to music made by strangers. It feels more personal, more “mine” in some way, because there is no person on the other end to associate it with.
I’m only now realizing that I don’t know a single other artist on this mix, just Dave, and that’s kind of wild. I notice it when I listen back, his track jumps out, and I immediately think of him and all of the memories I associate with his shows and community. They say to never meet your heroes, but Dave is a real one, and I feel a true sense of pride in being involved with what he’s created. That feeling adds a dimension to his music that I can’t really describe, but I feel like we share it in some way now. I’m invested in it personally in ways I couldn’t be otherwise.
What would you like to say to the community that has supported your work over the years?
There are so many people to be thankful for. I can’t even quantify how many people have helped me or supported me, and I am endlessly grateful for it. The dream is already here, and we are living it. If I’m honest, I didn’t think it would be possible to create the infrastructure around this niche in the way that we have. All of the artists have ended up connecting, a real demand for new sounds continues to emerge, people continue to book lineups and buy tickets to shows – everything keeps falling into place in so many ways. None of it would be possible without this gigantic network of musicians, listeners, visual artists, promoters, sound engineers, agents, concert go-ers, managers, press writers, lawyers, investors, and so on and so on.. We have had help from so many people in so many ways, and I’m thankful for all of it. From the person on the other side of the world who streams all of our releases on day 1 to the person who spends 10 hours setting up the completely overkill Funktion Rig before the show. We need everyone, and that network extends so far beyond me or my immediate community. It’s difficult for me to put into words how grateful I am that all of this exists, because it really doesn’t have to.
With that said, I, of course, have to thank all of the people who have stuck with my project specifically over the years. Because of you, I can continue to do what I love, and knowing you connect with my art makes me feel complete in some way. It gives all of this a sense of purpose. I don’t care much about my legacy, but it is fulfilling to know that I can leave behind something in this world that brings people joy. It inspires me to create as much as I can. I appreciate all of you more than you know. Thank you for keeping the dream alive!
TRACKLIST
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- Galen Tipton – Prickly Pufferfish
- – Outlook Remains Untouched
- Audialist – Poke Poke
- Ivy Lab – Merlot Moody Good – Rizzlateef
- Muta – Wanderers
- Jacob Collier – Light It Up On Me
- Jacob Collier – Butterflies
- Baths – Lovely Bloodflow
- Dauwd – Murmure
- Tipper – Shelled
- Spoon – Inside Out (Tycho Remix)
- Youandewan – Be Good To Me Poly
- Takeleave – Bedroom Eyes
- Tom VR – Soared Straight Through Me
- Tom VR – Partner
- YGT – Eleventh Century
- |||||||||||||||||||| – Why She Is Hiding in the Other Man’s Eyes
- Pharoah Sanders – Greeting To Saud
- Burial, Four Tet, Thom Yorke – Her Revolution
- Badun – The Man With The Fine Hair
- Jon Hopkins – C O S M
- James Blake, Bon Iver – I Need A Forest Fire
- Swardy – Submersiverse
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Listen to the previous episode by ET Finger here.
