Name: Travis Egedy aka Pictureplane
Nationality: American
Occupation: Producer, singer, songwriter, visual artist, fashion designer
Current Release: Pictureplane's new album Sex Distortion is out now via Music Website.
Recommendations: The video for "Autobahn" by Einstürzende Neubauten. That's it.

If you enjoyed this Pictureplane interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Soundcloud, bandcamp, and facebook.



Fashion and music are often closely related to ones identity. Can you please tell us a bit about your own sense of identity – and how it motivated you to take a creative path?

My sense of identity was always deeply tied to music. From a very early age.

I became obsessed with music in elementary school, buying cassette tapes and recording songs I liked off the alternative radio stations. Later, that grew into a huge fascination with underground Hip-Hop music, which I think was a big part of my identity in high school.

I think part of my interest in that scene was that it was all totally independent and DIY, something that was very motivating for me to follow my own creative path. A cLOUDDEAD lyric that sticks out in my had from that time was "fuck the fashion show."



I also knew I wanted to be an artist from a young age as well. Long before I ever started making music.

I just knew in my heart that I was going to be an artist. I always knew I wanted to make paintings.

In which way do you feel your identity concretely influences your creativity?

I honestly don't know? I guess I don't think about that too much.

There are some core tenets of my identity that probably come from living in a DIY warehouse for so long in Denver and from being an almost stubborn independent solo artist forever.

I have pretty strong ideals and ideas about what I think good art and music is, that I'm sure influence my own creativity. I keep it wild, free and raw.

Describe your personal style, please, and how your choice of fashion allows you to express it. Which fashion brands or style icons do you personally find inspiring - and why?

Oh man, there have been a lot of different eras of Pictureplane fashion haha!

I used to only wear clothes from thrift stores, crazy bright colored trash fashion style. A real rainbow rocker acid punk. And I'd ironically spraypaint the word "Prada" on the jacket or something.

I never had any money, so I didn't really even become aware of real fashion designers or "high fashion" stuff until much later. My style icons were people like Genesis P Orridge and Blixa Bargeld, noise artists and punks.

I was attracted to people who were creating their own style and looks, not people wearing designer clothing. I think it's much more interesting to have your own style rather than just be decked out in the latest trends and designers.

Fashion can embody ideals that extend far beyond aesthetics, reaching into ecology, politics and social issues. Does this apply to you as well, and if so, in which way?

Of course. I've always been really politically conscious. Passionate about things like the environment and human rights.

One of the tragedies of fashion I think is the waste it produces.  It's actually insane when you look at the numbers and statistics. Running my own brand, Alien Body, I'm really trying to be more conscious about stuff like this where I can.

I'm at a point now, where even just printing 100 T-Shirts seems wasteful. Like, does anyone need another t-shirt?

What was the relationship between music and fashion for you like personally?

They will always be so deeply intertwined. Forever.

A big part of music is that it is a performance art. People will always want to look cool and interesting on stage and in photos. Even no "fashion" is still a fashion statement.

Clothing is the ultimate way to express yourself externally to the world, it is a statement for sure. And that goes hand in hand with music.

When was the first time that you became aware of the connection between fashion and music?

Probably from being obsessed with Nirvana at a young age.

What does music add to your perception of fashion?

I'm super interested in all types of sub culture. I do find it really interesting how fashion is a huge part of music sub culture, like, depending on what you are wearing, you can be identified with totally different groups of people.

Fashion is amazing in that way. It can be a uniform or a disguise.

What can fashion express what music can not – and vice versa?

Music is the ultimate. It is the purest and realest art form, and hits people directly and emotionally.

A lot of times, I think fashion is just trying to capture the feelings of what music does to people.

It seems obvious that fashion and music are closely linked, but just how that influence works hasn't always been clear. Would you say that music leads fashion? Is it the other way round? Or are they inseparable in some ways?

I think music definitely leads fashion. At least nowadays.

Maybe I am biased because I am a musician. I mean shit, didn't Marc Jacobs famously do a "grunge" runway show long after the Seattle bands had already been doing their thing?

Fashion and music can be expressions or celebration of identity, but they can also be an effort to establish new ones or break free from them. How would you describe your own approach in this regard?

I have never really paid much attention to trends in my own music and art, I really believe in total freedom of expression. Raw vision. Listening to your inner spirit and heart and letting those guide you.

"Breaking free" is a big part of what my art is about.

Does the music you listen to change your personality – and thus the designs you create?

Sure. Music is all vibes. If I'm listening to a brutal and crusty lo-fi black metal album, my mood and feelings are going to reflect that.

I don't think it changes my PERSONALITY haha ... it just changes the mood and vibe. And that can influence the creative process.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though designing a fashion item or even putting together a great outfit for yourself is inherently different from something like composing a piece of music?

Yes, I think music comes from a very different place that is hard to explain.

Design is a lot more cerebral, music is more intuitive for me.

There is a fine line between cultural exchange and appropriation. This true both for music and fashion. What are your thoughts on the limits of copying and using cultural signs and symbols and the cultural/social/gender specificity of art and design?

Sampling has always been a huge part of my art and music. I am a student of rap music and Andy Warhol! My most well known song is based on a Fleetwood Mac sample.



That being said, sampling or collage is very very different from straight up copying something. Using samples, you are taking a piece of something that already exists and using it to create something entirely new. It is like alchemy.

Anyone that is just straight up copying another artists work is weak. it is great to be influenced and inspired, but use that to create your own beauty. I think if you are using symbols and powerful signs from different cultures, you should really know about them and their history - or be able to articulate what you are trying to say by using them.