Fact: It is mathematically impossible to replicate Kilian Holt, the photon samurai.

Several weeks ago I posted a blog entitled "Celebrating 3 years of the Haus a Dream built" where I talk about Alex Lauter and the party his team put together to celebrate the third anniversary of the record label, Lauterhaus. One thing that really made this party stand out for me other than the amazing music and energy in the room, was how much of a visual experience this party was. There were projections set up throughout the warehouse which allowed for live graphics to cover the entire room. It was a one of a kind experience (check out footage from the party below). Soon after the blog post with a little bit of luck and networking with the right people, I made contact with the artist behind the projections.

So in the spirit of continuing to feature the different roles that make up the Electronic Dance Music & Rave culture I would like to share this small interview with Lighting Director, electrician, systems technician and artist, Kilian Holt.

Where are you from and where did you grow up?

I’m a Houston kid, born and raised, though I’ve got a lot of nomads in my family and ended up being one myself, so I get around. I also lived in Phoenix for a while, as well as in Rio de Janeiro.

What would you say your title is and how long do you have in the industry?

I generally work as a Lighting Director or Visual Artist, but I’ve also been an electrician, system’s technician, rigger, and SFX/Cryo-Tech. I’ve been in the entertainment industry since about 2012.

What are some artists/events that you’ve worked with in the past? I was the lighting department head and assistant production manager at White Oak Music Hall in Houston for the first two years it was open, I was on the art install production management team for Day for Night all three years, and I designed for the AMF stage at Electric Zoo in New York. I’ve also toured around the world with acts including Cashmere Cat, Snakehips, Jauz, Normani, and Ruel.

When you started working in the industry what did hustle look like in the beginning? When I started, I was still in school for game development and working in a high-volume print center for the school. They were calling my hours, so I picked up a side gig from a job fair pushing cases for a corporate A/V company for about two years until I was able to impress the right guy on the right site. My mentor ended up taking me around and training me one on one for about two years learning everything I could about lighting. When the call came for to move into music instead of corporate events, I took it and ran with it.

How was your progression into bigger and more complex projects and what projects were they? Often very stressful, but exceedingly rewarding! There were a lot of sleepless nights and 80 plus hour weeks of steady grinding on shows, learning as much as a I could every step of the way. I remember one time in the early days of White Oak, we were able to stage a production with Avenged Sevenfold on 4-hour notice, and the energy in the room was unforgettable. Working in a venue that size was very nice as well because it was big enough that I got to work with and learn from acts like Sting, Tame Impala, and M83, but small enough that I still got to operate my shows often and hone my skills behind the desk.

What has been some of your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? Or the toughest project you’ve worked on? I think the toughest project I’ve worked on in my career was probably The Cure To Loneliness Tour with Jai Wolf. I was mapping lasers, doing cryo and SFX, and lighting systems technician, so I was BUSY. We did about a month of rehearsals prior to that tour, and I want to say there were 1000-plus cues our designer had programmed out. Very very tight show, and the result was pretty stunning.

What is your advice to anyone wanting to work in the industry or struggling to hone their skills? There is a lot of info available online to get started and don’t be afraid to ask people for help. One of the main reasons I love this industry so much is that so many people are so open to collaborative projects and sharing information with each other. But most importantly is to just keep at it. The momentum is tough to build but once you learn the skills and get involved, the knowledge will come with time. Networking is so important! Always be networking on site and never stop learning.

Check out some of the work that Kilian was kind enough to share and if you go a little deeper...youll be able to see footage of it coming to life!

DJs: Borel & XILLA

DJ: CAMARDA