“I get really intense feelings, not emotions”: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith on how synaesthesia shapes her creative process

Synaesthesia is an uncommon but harmless condition in which the stimulation of one of the senses triggers a reaction in one of the other senses. For example, a person with synaesthesia might see specific colours when they hear a certain sound. It’s thought to affect around 2 to 4% of the population.

And one of them is composer and producer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, one of our recent guests on the MusicTech My Forever Studio podcast. As she explains, synaesthesia forms a strong guiding light when it comes to her creative process.

“I usually just let my synaesthesia lead me,” she tells hosts Will Betts and Chris Barker. “It’ll tell me when it’s wrong. It’ll tell me what I need. And then I just know how to do it.”

The most common perception of synaesthesia is that it makes those who experience it see colours or shapes when they hear music. But the condition can manifest in various forms.

Smith explains that her version of the condition is such that it’s more connected to her feelings.

“I get really intense feelings, not emotions,” she explains. “Physical sensations, where my shoulder feels like it’s grated. It’s really specific feelings. And it’s not limited. My imagination  is very connected to that part, so it’s not like that sound will always create that feeling.”

“Maybe because of my synaesthesia, my emotions don’t connect that much to music. So there’s no good or bad feeling for me in music. It’s just feelings.”

MusicTech’s My Forever Studio podcast – created in partnership with Audient – finds artists, producers and engineers designing their fantasy Forever Studio, in which they can select six items with no regard for cost or limitation to build their dream creative environment.

However, hosts Chris Barker and Will Betts impose some strict rules: they must only choose six items for their studio, and must do so wisely. There will be nostalgia. There will be anecdotes. There may be gags. But there will be no bundles!

Subscribe to My Forever Studio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and check out all episodes so far via MusicTech.

Sam is the Associate News Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Thoroughly immersed in music culture for the majority of his life, Sam has played guitar for 20 years, studied music technology and production at university, and also written for the likes of MusicRadar, Guitar World, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer.