Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is an American composer, performer and producer, originally from the Pacific Northwest and currently based in Los Angeles. Her work prominently employs Buchla modular synthesizers. She received acclaim for her albums Ears (2016) and The Kid (2017). She has collaborated with Suzanne Ciani and Emile Mosseri. Smith grew up and was home-educated on Orcas Island, Northwestern Washington. She left the island to study composition and sound engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston, before returning to the island after her graduation. Smith performed in the indie folk duo Ever Isles while still at Berklee. It was after returning home that Smith discovered synthesizers, when a neighbor who shared her interest in Terry Riley introduced her to the Buchla 100 Synthesizer. Having originally intended to use her voice as her primary instrument, and then moving to classical guitar and piano, Smith switched to the use of synthesizer after being lent and experimenting with the Buchla 100 for a year, explaining, "I got so distracted and enamored with the process of making sounds with [the Buchla's] that I abandoned the next Ever Isles album." She also frequently uses the Buchla Music Easel. Smith contributed sound design work to the music video for Panda Bear's "Boys Latin" in 2014. In 2015, she signed to independent record label Western Vinyl and released her first official album, Euclid. In 2016, she received acclaim for her 2016 album Ears and collaborated with synthesizer-based composer Suzanne Ciani on a RVNG Intl. release entitled Sunergy. Her album, The Mosaic of Transformation, was released in May 2020. Smith also released Let's Turn It into Sound (2022) and Gush (2025). Smith and James Daniel founded the record label Someone Special in 2026. Her album Ruin: It’s Not Just Music is scheduled to release on October 2, 2026. Smith's music makes prominent use of Buchla synthesizers, specifically the Buchla 100 and Musical Easel. She stated that "there’s a lot of room for happy accidents with a Buchla synthesizer because it’s not very predictable. If you turn on a light in the room that you’re working in or if the grounding isn’t properly grounded or if you plug in something else, all of a sudden something will change. That gives me this feeling of working with a life, and that there is a biofeedback, more so than a predictable synthesizer." She has stated that "I try and blend in as many different tones / timbres as possible […] I like to imagine what that sound would feel like if I were to touch it and vice versa." Cows Will Eat the Weeds (self-released, 2012) Useful Trees (self-released, 2012) Tides (Western Vinyl, 2014) Euclid (Western Vinyl, 2015) Ears (Western Vinyl, 2016) Sunergy (with Suzanne Ciani; RVNG Intl., 2016) The Kid (Western Vinyl, 2017) The Mosaic of Transformation (Ghostly International, 2020) I Could Be Your Dog (Prequel) (with Emile Mosseri; Ghostly International, 2021) Let's Turn It into Sound (Ghostly International, 2022) Gush (Nettwerk, 2025) Thoughts on the Future (Nettwerk, 2025) "Swan" (2012) "Milk" (2012) "Anthropoda" "Riparian" (2016) "An Intention" (2017) "To Follow and Lead" (2017) "I Will Make Room for You (Four Tet Remix)" (2017) "Expanding Electricity" (2019) "Lagoon" (2019) "Log in Your Fire" (with Emile Mosseri; 2020) "GTP!" and "Ruin" (2026) Fortraits DIY TV Cabin Porn Reggie Watts - Brasilia City of the Future First People Elf Help Google - The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks Omni Loop "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith". kaitlynaureliasmith.com. Retrieved September 22, 2022. "A Sensation of Breath: an Interview with Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith". AdHoc.fm. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2016. "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith's Existential Synthesizer Music". pitchfork.com. March 15, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016. "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - About". kaitlynaureliasmith.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2016. "Interview: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Buchla Master". redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved July 28, 2016. Desautell, Parker (October 21, 2021). "KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH DISCUSSES RECORDING WITH EMILE MOSSERI AND THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP". PopMatters. Retrieved January 18, 2022. Moodie, Shaelyne. "Listen To Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith's Enchanting New Single "Arthropoda"". The Fader. Retrieved January 15, 2022. Minsker, Evan (March 12, 2020). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Announces New Album, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 20, 2020. Hussey, Allison (June 15, 2022). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Announces New Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 8, 2026. Corcoran, Nina (January 28, 2025). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Announces New Album Gush, Shares Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 8, 2026. Monroe, Jazz (May 22, 2026). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Launches Label With New Album Ruin: It's Not Just Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 11, 2026. Jackson, Noah (April 22, 2016). "STEP INSIDE KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH'S FUTURISTIC JUNGLE". Nylon. Retrieved January 14, 2022. Walsh, Michael. "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: Carving the Wall of Sound". Ableton. Retrieved January 14, 2022. DeVille, Chris (December 2, 2025). "Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Announces New Album 'Thoughts On The Future': Hear "I Miss The Way You Swim"". Stereogum. Retrieved December 3, 2025. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith (October 25, 2016), Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Riparian, retrieved November 1, 2016 "Cabin Porn Book Trailer". Vimeo. Retrieved July 28, 2016. "Brasilia from Reggie Watts on Vimeo". kaitlynaureliasmith.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016. "Explore The Hidden Worlds of our National Parks". Explore The Hidden Worlds of our National Parks. Retrieved November 1, 2016. "Spectrolite (Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Remix) by Bayonne". soundcloud.com. Retrieved July 28, 2016. "The Field - Reflecting Lights (Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Mix)". soundcloud.com. Retrieved July 28, 2016. "Love Me Again feat. Anna Calvi (Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Remix) by The Invisible". soundcloud.com. D.D Dumbo (September 28, 2016), D.D Dumbo - Walrus (Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith remix), retrieved October 31, 2016 Catching Smoke - Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith Remix, January 21, 2022, retrieved January 21, 2022 Official website Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith on Western Vinyl Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith on MusicBrainz Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith on Discogs Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith on Bandcamp