Leslie Keffer is an artist whose journey through experimental noise, spirituality, and self-expression has been anything but ordinary. After a decade-long hiatus, she has re-emerged with a prolific output, releasing six albums in just a year – a feat that speaks to her creative resurgence. Known for her ability to blend noise with meditative serenity, Leslie’s work captures the intersections of sound, nature, and the deeply personal.
In this interview, Leslie reflects on her early inspirations, from watching Madonna on MTV as a child to exploring the static of radio stations as a young experimenter. She shares the evolution of her artistry, her connection to nature in the Appalachian foothills, and how practices like Kundalini Yoga have transformed her creative process.
From collaborative noise experiments to channeling music in altered states, Leslie’s approach to art is as innovative as it is introspective. Her story is a testament to resilience, curiosity, and community’s power in experimental music.
Let’s dive into her fascinating world.
Chain D.L.K.: Hi Leslie! How are you doing these days?
Leslie Keffer: Hello Vito! I am doing well. I had a pretty productive year and feel good about it. I released 6 albums, 3 solo albums, and 3 collabs, one with Nyoka Shoje and 2 with Vinnie Paternostro as Anti-Industry.
Chain D.L.K.: You’ve mentioned that watching MTV in the 1980s and artists like Madonna were early musical influences. How did these experiences shape your journey into experimental music?
Leslie Keffer: Music has always filled me with joy and inspiration, even as a small child. It just gave me the feels, you know? MTV came out when I was 3 years old. I remember it being on a lot in the house. Back then it was all music videos and I would become entranced by them. When Madonna came out I was so fascinated by her look and style. I loved her voice and her videos. One time in grade school I learned the dance to the “Vogue” video and performed it in my music class. Then one year I got a radio Walkman and would listen to it all the time especially when I was going to sleep. Sometimes I would just listen to the static stations and I found them very musical. As I got older I got into more Alternative music such as Tori Amos Bjork and Nine Inch Nails. I enjoyed that these records were still technically Pop records but they had this Industrial thing going on that blew me away. All these neat tones and sounds. My parents got me an acoustic guitar in high school and I started taking lessons and writing songs.
Chain D.L.K.: What led you from mainstream musical inspirations to the experimental noise genre?
Leslie Keffer: I began making experimental music in college. I got a degree in Audio Production and in those classes, I was learning what to do to make a song sound great and what not to do so it would not sound bad. I got a mixer and at home I experimented with all the things I was being told were “bad” or not “musical”. I loved the distortion sound of having things in the red and stuff like that. So one day I was like I am gonna record radio static and make it musical somehow. I ended up buying 5 walkmans ran them thru 5 different channels and blended them to make a song. The only effect I used was pitch shifting on the radios to thicken them up. I recorded every time I played until I had 20 mini discs filled. Then I was like, I should edit these and make an album. That was in 2003.
Chain D.L.K.: After a decade-long hiatus, you’ve re-emerged with new music. Can you share what prompted your return to the music scene and how your creative process has evolved during this time?
Leslie Keffer: I went through a lot of health issues those ten years I was on hiatus. In 2019 I had most of it under control and I got the itch to express myself musically again. I didn’t have any gear anymore just 2 Korg Kaosillators and a Micro Korg synthesizer. I got them out and just started messing around and wrote what became “Human Inosculation”. This album was beat-driven. Then, Chocolate Monk asked me to put something out with them without beats in 2021. This album was called “Temple”, and was more of a meditative record exploring my spirituality. I enjoyed making this style of music. So my next few records on NO PART OF IT were in a similar vein. I am less noisy even though I still use some radio static in songs. My music now is more of a weird Industrial New Age sound.
Chain D.L.K.: You’ve cited nature and the woods as significant inspirations for your work. How do these elements manifest in your music and art?
Leslie Keffer: I live in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains in Southern Ohio. For the last 7 years, I lived on 600 acres of woods and was always hiking and exploring. I feel at peace and at home in nature. I connect to my spirituality when I am in it. Sometimes a spider web or a creek would inspire a song for me. I also can go in the woods and clear my chattering mind and come back and be in a zone where I can channel the music. I don’t feel like I write a lot of my pieces or songs. I seem to be a conduit just translating the downloads I am getting into songs. It’s a weird thing for me to talk about, but it’s what it feels like for me. I don’t even remember how I wrote some songs because I go into trance states while I am writing.
Chain D.L.K.: You’ve been creating AI-generated art focusing on the beauty of the human body’s interior. What inspired this direction, and how do you integrate technology into your artistic practice?
Leslie Keffer: I started integrating it when I started making AI art of the inside of bodies and manipulating them to deal with my PTSD. The PTSD affected my physical body in such an impactful way that I needed to find a way to express the pain, the sensitivity to touch, and the convulsions I was having. I spent a lot of time on it until I had finished my story with 30 images. I published them as a book on Amazon called “My Body, My Temple”.
Chain D.L.K.: Your latest album, “Veiled Matter”, was recorded in a series of trance states. Can you elaborate on this process and the themes explored in the album?
Leslie Keffer: I am really into altered states of mind whether through plants, breath work, or meditation. When I channeled this album I would go into trance states and compose and sing. Often I will not have any recollection of writing the songs. I think this is because I am acting as a conduit and channeling something that already exists from the Aether. I will listen back and be like, how did I do that? On that recor,d I would hit notes I normally can not hit. I can’t sing along with it in key. The themes of the record are very spiritually based as I felt I was channeling a female blue-veiled being. She teaches how to use plants as medicine and how to use minerals for healing. She also likes chanting and singing in her native tongue. I am not sure what the language is, but I think it is beautiful.
Chain D.L.K.: You’ve collaborated with artists like Thurston Moore. How have these collaborations influenced your work, and are there any memorable experiences you’d like to share?
Leslie Keffer: Every single collaboration I have ever done has influenced my sound and inspired me. Playing with other people brings out things in me musically that I may have never tried had I not performed or written with them. One of my favorite memories is when I played with Rodger Stella at No Fun Fest in the early 2000s. Right before we went on I realized there were so many of my favorite female musicians there to play and in the audience. So I asked Rodger if I could round them all up and at the end of our set have a dance party. He was all for it. So at the end of our noise set, I played “Where’s the Party (Dub Remix)” by Madonna and about 20 girls joined us on stage and we danced our hearts out as Rodger stood there holding his crotch and staring out into the audience for the entire 8-minute song. We even hit him in the head repeatedly with a stuffed dolphin!
Chain D.L.K.: How does your approach to live performances differ from studio recordings, especially in the experimental noise genre?
Leslie Keffer: My live sets had a lot of energy that I can only experience when I play live. I thrive on the energy of the audience and I try to channel it into my radios. So I never really knew what the mood of the set would be until I was playing it. It was fun to manipulate all this energy coming in through the radios. Sometimes it would be harsh and super loud; in other cities it would be contemplative and controlled. For my studio recordings, I have more control over the song’s tone and can manipulate and play more instruments at once by layering tracks. I am not able to play all the instruments at the same time when I play live so my studio recordings are much more intricate and thought out.
Chain D.L.K.: As someone who creates both visual art and music, how do these two forms of expression intersect in your work?
Leslie Keffer: All of my albums are conceptual so for me the art is the decoration on the cake. I try hard to make the art go with the concept of the record so people can maybe decipher it. I care about the artwork. I love working with other artists and also creating my own.
Chain D.L.K.: You’ve mentioned practicing Kundalini Yoga and meditation during your hiatus. How have these practices influenced your creative output?
Leslie Keffer: These practices have taught me how to go into altered states without drugs. Now I can go into these states while composing. It also made me realize that I am not writing the songs- I am channeling them. They are already there floating around and I just tap into them. I often wonder if other musicians feel this way. It has influenced the visual art I make because I often try to recreate things or colors I have seen in these states.
Chain D.L.K.: Having been part of the noise scene for several years, how have you seen it evolve, and where do you see it heading in the future?
Leslie Keffer: One of the ways I have seen it evolve is that people consider it music these days. When I was getting started and for years after people would tell me, “That’s not music! That’s just noise!”. It was distressing at times because it was hard to be taken seriously, especially by venues. I am happy to see that it is an accepted genre now and has a wider audience.
Chain D.L.K.: What challenges have you faced as an experimental artist, and how have you overcome them?
Leslie Keffer: I think not being taken seriously as a musician by a lot of people was always a challenge for me because I believed in what I was doing so much. I eventually got over it and kind of had a “Who cares?” attitude about it, and just knew I had to keep on doing my thing no matter what people thought.
Chain D.L.K.: What advice would you give to emerging artists interested in exploring experimental music and noise art?
Leslie Keffer: My advice is to experiment with anything you can! I think getting a piece of gear you don’t know how to play and just messing with it and twiddling knobs can create a unique sound or concept no one has come up with before. Also, I think it is vital to become part of a community or a scene if you will, so you have support and inspiration. I have so many dear friends because of that.
Chain D.L.K.: I heard many awesome releases forged by you on No Part Of It. Any word about this productive collaboration with this label?
Leslie Keffer: Thank you! Arvo Zylo is a dear friend who has supported me for years now and helped me out when I was getting back into making music by collaborating with me and releasing my new material. He worked hard to get me reviews and radio play which I appreciate so much. We also collaborated on the artwork for all the Blood Rhythms LPs which was super fun. He was the one who taught me how to use Gimp so I could make art.
Chain D.L.K.: Can you share any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re excited about?
Leslie Keffer: I am going to do a collab with Sick Llama sometime this year and a solo release on a new label out of Murfreesboro, TN. I recently finished 2 tracks for a Lathe 7″ Nathan Bowers of Tusco Terror is going to put out. I just got Ableton Live and I am beginning to learn it so I am looking forward to experimenting with that and stepping outside my box.
Chain D.L.K.: How has your artistic journey contributed to your personal growth and understanding of the world?
Leslie Keffer: I think it has enabled me to explore my spirituality and my purpose in this life. Nature and spirituality are what influence my music the most. Making music is no longer ego-driven for me- its almost as if I leave my ego at the door and step outside myself and objectively look at things. Everything becomes pure of heart when I can do that.
Visit Leslie Keffer on the web:
https://www.amerigerecords.com/leslie-keffer
https://lesliekeffer.bandcamp.com/