NFT Artist Highlight: @soundwavephotn & @laser_lew

Incredible combination of digital & analogue world

The sun is shining, birds are singing. Oh wow, can you see the fascinating holographic planets over here? @Artific just entered the planetarium in Somnium Space. Everyone can come and visit. Now we are crossing the park, heading to the studio. @Artific will be interviewing @soundwavesphotn and @laser_lew! Two guests this time. That will be double the fun!

@soundwavesphotn is a musician and psychedelic artist. “I love this new world of NFTs and virtual reality. It is just so wild, man!” he says. @soundwavesphotn has been playing music for twenty years. He started with classical acoustic guitar, went through a punk band, then a noise band, and after all the last five years, he has started making music just for himself. He creates vibrant colored psychedelic nature aesthetics and then pairs them with his music. “I’ve been doing that on Instagram. Just putting it out there because I like creating. But with NFTs, there is a huge opportunity to not only make money but build a connection with people all over the world. Build an awesome network,” he says.

@laser_lew is a laser hobbyist who started to make lasers about four years ago. He was building high-powered pointers. After one year, he focused more on optics and began to build lasers with mirrors that would run longer. “I wasn’t trying to be a laser artist. I wasn’t trying to be an artist at all,” @laser_lew says. He just thought lasers are cool.

How did they come together? @soundwavesphotn saw @laser_lew’s artwork on Instagram first. He was excited: “It is so wild, man! He got the room filled with lasers and glass and mirrors. It is super unique!” They were chatting from time to time, and once NFTs started, @soundwavesphotn wanted to hit up @laser_lew. So he did. “Yes, he kind of pushed me not forcefully, but very very kindly guided me into making my decision,” @laser_lew adds. They started to collaborate on a new album. All the music that he makes goes very well for @laser_lew. “I am lucky. This dude’s brain is like next level as far as where can we take this. He is just like a treasure trove of ideas,” @laser_lew says.

All platforms where guys are showing off their artwork have low limits of size. So if you buy any of their still collectibles, it unlocks the full album with FULL HD video + you get a printable AR (augmented reality) virtual card that plays the video. If you buy one of the video NFTs, you get all five videos + all five AR virtual cards. Each Kaleidoloop plays one instrument of the song. If you put them all together, they create a song. What do you think? Such a great idea! “Just the whole thought and concept of breaking those things apart and then trying to put them back together. It shows you how cool all these instruments are. It really makes you appreciate it. You know, the sum of all the parts is greater than they are together,” @laser_lew explains. I am impressed and have to more than agree, from both sides I look at it. Check OpenSea collection.

ONE KALEIDOLOOP WITH DRUMS & VIDEO SONG WITH ALL INSTRUMENTS in unlockable content

Let’s have a look at the artwork creating process. @soundwavesphotn creates a song. A whole one and a song with just an individual instrument. The one with all instruments he sends to his colleague and @laser_lew makes a video. How does he do that? @laser_lew has an actual laser lab. He has a bunch of different mirrors salvaged from rear-projection TVs, and he has a ton of glass. He uses chemistry stands to prop different mirrors and lasers up to get the right direction of every single laser beam. Then he adds in different optical elements like diffraction grading, glass lenses, small little crystal balls, periscope mirrors which make kaleidoscope effect, and first surface mirrors taped and hot glued together into a triangle shape. After all, he takes pictures with his cellphone. He doesn’t use Photoshop or any other program for postproduction. Then @laser_lew makes short video clips from different sides, which he puts into the app Kinemaster on the phone. He takes the song from @soundwavesphotn and starts lining pieces up that he thinks to belong in certain spots of the track. Then @laser_lew works on transitions, and after all, he puts effects over the top of it. “It is not rendered, so anything that I post that’s just a still photo is exactly that.” It is fascinating I think. @laser_lew has to set the physical lasers up to the beat of the music. He has to physically do the work. “I work on this almost every night. When kids go to bed, I come down to my laser closet, and I start playing around,” @laser_lew says. All in all, the creating process takes about 10 hours for one song. What a true art! @soundwavesphotn adds: “I love the combination of the digital world with the analog world.”

How does it work with safety? @laser_lew built these lasers quite lower-powered. Projectors run at 10 or 15%. “Anything over that you start overexposing, and you don’t get good pictures,” he says. That’s why he uses a water-based hazer, which puts water molecules in the air. These lower-powered lasers you can see with a naked eye. It is still dangerous, especially in some wavelengths, when he has to use a lot higher power because different colors are brighter than others when they are at the same power. “I do have safety googles when I am using higher-powered stuff.”

@soundwavesphotn sums up: “It was all a big experiment, and it’s been fun, even if we didn’t get any sales. I love what we did.”

The interview ends, and both guys are talking with @Artific about his shows and exhibitions. “I love the way you do this show. You are in virtual reality, just chilling on that couch playing our stuff. It is cool,” @soundwavesphotn says.