New York-based percussionist, composer and sound artist Lesley Mok will perform at Tampa's Far Forest on Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. as part of a tour supporting their solo album, transient. Known for blending jazz, improvisation, electronic music and environmental sound, Mok has gained international acclaim for their innovative approach to composition.
Mok's debut album, The Living Collection, earned the 2024 Deutscher Jazzpreis for International Debut Album of the Year and established them as a leading voice in contemporary experimental music. Their work explores emotional complexity and the relationship between composition and improvisation, creating music that balances structure with spontaneity.
At their upcoming Tampa performance, Mok will present music from transient alongside new material. The solo show will feature electronic textures, beat-driven passages and immersive ambient soundscapes with room for improvisation and experimentation.
What drew you to sound art?
I think I've always been inspired by sounds from the natural environment like ambient sound. Just the idea of stillness of diegetic sounds as well. You know, watching movies where the atmosphere isn't always composed of music.
I love the quote on your website. It's a desire to capture emotional dissonance and complexity, and I feel like your work really instills that philosophy.
I think for a lot of my favorite musicians and artists, that's something that they do whether or not it's intentional. It feels like there's a rich tapestry of sounds and that, you know, having a pleasant sound or producing a “nice sound” isn't always the intention that there is complexity and a wide range of emotions that it expresses. So I try to embody that in my own work.
There's a power of storytelling here through sound.
I think that the idea of narrative can take shape in so many ways. Sometimes that narrative can be more abstract, or just follow kind of a general progression from utility to futility or something becoming more resonant or more colorful. I'm drawn to this idea of narrative and progression that might not fit into this idea of narrative just being like a story with characters or a plot that develops in a specific way.
How do you write or compose a piece when it comes to sound art?
Sometimes it's a specific artist whose work I'm influenced by. Like, at the moment, I've been listening to a lot of beat makers, a lot of footwork from Chicago. And so, you know, recently when I sat down, it was to kind of make a beat in that vein.
But then other times it might just be something I'm thinking about that day. It might be a movie I watched, or it might be a more specific melodic idea that I'm hearing. So it kind of changes from moment to moment, but I try to let that inspiration guide my process.
Can you talk to me about what audiences can expect from your show at the Far Forest?
Totally. So this show is going to be part of a release tour that I'm doing. I put out a solo electronic and drum record out in July called transient, and I'm going to be playing material from that record, as well as new material that I've been working on.
Yeah, there are a lot of synths and I would say sort of ambient territories that I explore on the record and in the live show will probably call back to some of that material as well.
How does a live solo show work in that regard?
That's a really good question. I feel like I'm still chewing on how a lot of how recorded material can be translated, and also how much I want the material to be the version that is on the recording and how much I want it to be improvised. I always want to make sure that I'm leaving room in my live sets for current ideas and for things I'm currently inspired by.
So it's a lot of trial and error and, you know, experimentation with gear as well. Some of my setup has changed since I recorded the material. So I'm learning kind of how this new gear responds and how I might make space in the live set for some of those ideas and gestures as well as creating different versions of the recorded material.
Learn more about Lesley’s upcoming show at the Far Forest.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
