What Does Double Exposure Sound Like? - A Chat with Louis Dazy about Connecting Arts

Louis Dazy is a photographer from Paris, who we introduced to you in a recent interview featuring his double exposures, which are the main focus in his analogue work. It was a lucky coincidence, that we came across Louis Dazy again a few weeks ago. This time, our paths crossed not through our mutual interest, photography, but through a similar taste in music. I stumbled upon a playlist on Spotify, which I personally liked and which caught my attention not only for its collection of great songs, but also for its cool title, The Double Exposure Playlist.

I found it very interesting that someone would name a playlist after this particular technique of photography, and even though I would not have known what kind of songs to expect in such a playlist, I was surprised to find them extremely fitting when listening through it. That's why I reached out to Louis Dazy again and asked him how this playlist came together.

Hello again Louis! How did you pick the songs for your Double Exposure playlist? And, in what way do you personally see a connection between music and this technique of photography?

I wanted to put together some songs that would fit my mood when I’m shooting and more generally the mood of my photos, melancholy and loneliness mostly. I started this playlist a couple of months ago and have been updating it almost every week since then. Music is a big part of my life, it’s what makes me creative. On a regular day, I’ve got music on at least 6 hours and it’s been this way since I can remember. The reason why it’s called The Double Exposure Playlist is only because I’m most known for my multiple exposures photos and wanted people to find the playlist easily.

Is this playlist something you exclusively listen to when you take pictures, or do you also listen to the same kind of music in other situations?

I’ve got about 10 different playlists, each one fitting a different mood or genre. The Double Exposure Playlist is mostly for when I’m shooting and when I’m feeling introspective or meditating. The songs you can find in it are really in touch with my creative side.

I noticed right away that we share the same taste in music as well as photography. Do you think these things often go hand in hand? Can you guess someone’s taste in music from his/her pictures or the other way around?

I’d say 90% of the time yeah, you can guess people’s tastes in music from their art. If someone takes photos with a melancholic or nostalgic vibe, it’s likely they’ve heard of Bon Iver, if someone paints psychedelic stuff, it’s likely they’ve heard of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

You previously told us in your first Interview, that you always listen to music while taking your pictures. Do you still remember what song you were listening to, in the moment you took a photo when you look at a picture now? If yes, maybe you could show us a photo and tell us about it and its connection to the song.

I do for some, here’s one that comes to mind:
Song: An Ocean In Between The Waves by The War On Drugs

I was taking a walk in the middle of the night with my pal Duane, as we used to do a few times a week. A couple hours of roaming in Melbourne’s streets at night, just for the sake of it and this song was playing out loud through my phone’s speakers when I shot this photo. This is a really good song, it starts ethereal, spacey, then the beat gets louder, the build of the song is super powerful and once the lead guitar comes in (around 5:00 ) it’s just pure bliss. It all comes together until the final burst but manages to keep that dreamy/spacey vibe. This song gives me the chills every damn time and this was playing while my pal and I were walking through one of these empty streets between Fitzroy and Collingwood. The silhouette in the photo is my pal’s, the teal/blue light is coming from the fish & chips that was about to close for the night. I made it double exposure with the COFFEE neon sign that was glowing in the dark 100 feet from there, the red light was striking on the sidewalk.

On your website, you also talk a lot about movies and paintings. It seems like you never really separate art forms (film, photography, painting, music) from each other. In what way are they all connected and how do you use them all in your own work?

To me, it all comes together in the end. We’re just expressing feelings, whatever the medium is, and I’m just working through all my feelings. I don’t set mood boards, I don’t work with visual influences, I’ve got my intricate feelings saved in my mind. Some movie scene can make me feel a certain way, I’ve never felt before, some event in my life, some painting, some situation, whatever it is it has it’s own very unique feeling. I’m keeping this in my mind for later, then I’m thinking about it, I’m getting the feeling back again and then I create with it.

Looking at all your Double Exposures in the city streets by night and the neon lights, Murakami’s novel “After Dark” popped into my head. Does literature influence you? Also: did you by any chance read After dark? You should, if you haven't ;-)

Unfortunately, I’m not that much of a reader, I used to for a while but I kind of stopped ages ago, I tell myself that I don’t have time to read anymore but it’s a bit of a lie. I’ve never heard of "After Dark" before, it seems interesting, I’m probably going to read it now that you mentioned it, thanks for that!

Maybe you can pick a few artists or songs from the playlist and talk about those specifically. Can you explain their meanings or the way of they inspired you?

I’m glad you asked!

There’s this song Shake by Cool Sounds , the melancholy in this is spot-on. I first heard this song in my local bar The Beaufort in Carlton South. It was a Sunday afternoon, I was waiting for a friend, sipping on a pale ale. It’s really dark inside the bar, even during the day, and this song came on. I have to say that I’m a huge fan of sax and this song starts with sax. The key is minor, it’s all dreamy and nostalgic and sweet. Within 10 seconds I had goosebumps and went to ask the bartender what band and song it was. It’s a local band, I had never heard of before and to this date, I’m still listening to this song at least once a week.

Dope Lemon is Angus’ band (from Angus and Julia Stone, kind of dreamy/psychic/pop band, I like the vibe a lot.

Seahaven is my go-to band when I’m feeling sad. I like their well-written lyrics with grunge/90s instrumentals, also Soto’s voice is simply out of this world!

Angelo Badalamenti is one of my favorites. He used to write scores for David Lynch’s movies and Twin Peaks, sax and dark moods.

It seems like you treat all different forms of art like your photographs. With different layers, mixing them together into something new. Would you agree to that comparison? Is that a coincidence or can you maybe explain it?

I actually never thought of it that way before, but I’d say you’re right about it! It’s what it feels like when I create, it’s a mix of things to create that one unique emotion that I want other people to feel when they look at my photos.

Find more double exposure magic of Louis and follow him on his Instagram, Flickr or his LomoHome

Next time you are taking your camera out into the world, put your headphones on and let yourself get inspired by Louis Dazy's playlist

written by birgitbuchart on 2017-11-18 #people