Lasse Hoile

Lasse Hoile (born 1973 in Aarhus, Denmark) is an acclaimed artist of mix media, photographer, graphic artist writer, film-maker/director, and cinematographer. Recognized for his unique vintage style intertwined with a modern day twist, Hoile is best known for his close work with Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree and Blackfield. He has also designed live visuals for the US progressive metal band Dream Theater. In the mid-1990s he was the vocalist for Danish death metal band, Panzerchrist. Today, he continues to create various designs used for music videos, posters, and band photography.

Hoile had humble beginnings working as an editor and producing short films in 1993. Five years later in 1998, he decided to take up photography only as a hobby. The hobby grew into a passion and it is here Hoile claimed he “started doing art seriously”. Though having only started “doing art seriously” a few years ago, he has wasted no time in creating several documentaries, commercials, live show projections, short films, feature films, art installations, animation, grading, and post production/compositing to name a few. Though ridiculed every now and again for some of his controversial productions, he still refuses to sugarcoat “truth” such as nature itself, and the behavior of human beings.

Influenced by melancholic music, Francis Bacon, David Lynch, and Andrei Tarkovsky, Hoile continues to convey through his artwork, the world through his eyes and often realities people wish did not exist. One of his projects,“Recycler” (1999), which can be seen on Myspace TV on myspace.com, is simply a short film about humans and our “recycling nature”. Although prefaced that this film was graphic, hundreds of fans still continue to watch, fascinated with the idea, the “realness” and thought behind it. Many of his photographs, such as “Patient II” and “Girl in a Box” often depict, but are in no way limited to, anger, loneliness, melancholia, or emotional struggle. This can be shown through grain, distortion, color/tone variations, and noise usage, which set the mood of that particular photo. He states the reason why he favors those particular colors, is because they remind him of “old masters” such as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt.

Another piece by Hoile, which can be easily accessed through the internet or various photography sites, is “Mail Order Babies”. The photograph depicts new born babies placed next to one another; side by side in boxes. According to Hoile, this photo is meant convey "…the western arrogance way of getting kids. It seems nowadays one can almost design their 'dream' child through genetic preference or adoption."

Hoile has also been recognized for directing videos and creating a number of their album sleeves for Porcupine Tree since the release of In Absentia in 2002. Later in 2005, he was able to direct the recording of Porcupine Tree's first live performance DVD, Arriving Somewhere..., which took place at Park West, Chicago. He also directed Porcupine Tree's music videos “Fear of a Blank Planet”. The video has been viewed over 700,000 times according to youtube.com. Most of his visual work can be seen on YouTube and already totals well over a million views. Reviews of his artwork have also been mentioned on Forbes.com.

The music video, titled “Blackfield” for the band Blackfield, has been recognized for its crafty layering and vividness of winding photographs inside of photographs inside of photographs. It often has led its viewers feeling nostalgic yet intrigued. Not only has Hoile filmed music videos for Blackfield, but he has also played a major role in the recording, editing, and direction of some of their live shows, notably Blackfield Live in NY. The music video "Blackfield" has been viewed over 40,000 times and uploaded by many other fans of his work over and over again on youtube.com. Aside from Blackfield, he has had the opportunity to work very closely with Israeli megastar, Aviv Geffen on both live visuals and music videos such as Black and White shot at Abbey Road Studios in London, summer of 2007. He was also responsible for the visual projections for the Danish supergroup, TV-2 (band) for their tour of "De første kærester på månen" album.

Hoile has also been noted for editing and directing two music videos for Opeth. These music videos include Porcelain Heart (already viewed well over 800,000 times) and "Burden" from their new album, Watershed released in 2008.

Along with Opeth's music videos, Hoile has also designed mesmerizing visuals for the band—such as lush forest scenery—they are touring or performing live. Within the same year, Hoile directed a second music video, "Normal", from Porcupine Tree's Nil Recurring album also released in 2008.

Shortly after, Lasse began working on another piece - Insurgentes. The music project has received special attention from the media, but underneath all that, Insurgentes—the artwork itself—has caught the eyes and peaked the interest of many. This work has been noted particularly for its bizarre beauty, complexity, and uniqueness all of which can be seen in the special edition.

One Special Deluxe edition, limited to 3000 copies, contains a double CD along with DVD-A and some brief footage from the documentary “Insurgentes” underway.

Another special edition was also released. This one on the other hand, entails a 10-inch vinyl, limited to only 1000 copies. However, both include a sleek hardback book containing 120 pages of Lasse’s photography and visual stimuli to capture the mood, feel, and atmosphere of the entire work along with the journey.

Not much longer after editing, creating, and finalizing the entire Insurgentes project—including the documentary itself (which is to be featured at the CPH:DOX International Film Festival November 2009) Lasse Hoile commenced—which would be his latest of works—Porcupine Tree’s cover art for their latest album, The Incident (album released in September 2009).

There also is a Deluxe Edition of “The Incident” that contains a 116-page hardback book containing more of Lasse’s photographs. Not only did Lasse create and design the album’s sleeve, but he was also presented with yet again, another opportunity to compose and direct the music video for the Porcupine Tree's latest single “Time Flies”.

This music video, in particular, contains brighter and more lucid imagery than those previously produced, which has surprised and intrigued many (more of Hoile's featured work can also be seen on the film projections on Porcupine Tree's current promotional tour "The Incident"). After the "Time Flies" video was completed and later released for viewing on the World Wide Web, little time had passed until Lasse received feedback from loyal fans and other artists in the industry who were tracking his work. Upon receiving such raving reviews and attention, he was asked for an interview with Roadrunner Records UK on August 21, 2009. Shortly after the interview was conducted, "Time Flies" was the featured "Video of the Week" on iTunes USA (October 19–25, 2009)—a first for Hoile, a first for Porcupine Tree, and a first for any band under the Roadrunner UK Label.

Read more about Lasse Hoile:  Discography