Lasse Hoile’s Magical Musical Melancholy

Published August 28, 2014
Updated October 2, 2018

Borrowing from European cinema and the Renaissance, Lasse Hoile's work is truly in a league of its own.

Lasse Hoile Art

Danish-born visual artist Lasse Hoile may not be a household name, but he’s carved himself quite the niche in the progressive rock/metal scene as a virtual set and album designer. His ability to disturb, enlighten, and entertain us is an accomplishment that many in his line of work can only strive for.

This talented multimedia artist produces a type of ‘modernized vintage’ imagery whose ominous beauty has been likened to Francis Bacon, H.R. Geiger, and David Lynch. Though he often focuses on complementing music artists with his work, his talent is standalone.

Lasse Hoile Red Headdress

Source: Blogspot

Trained Eye Portrait

Source: Blogspot


In musical circles, Hoile is well known for his myriad skills, but his collages and prints are available for us all to discover, and let us crawl inside the mind of one of today’s most dynamic talents. Hoile has a passion for European art house films and renaissance paintings, which breathe classical nuances into his offbeat signature style.

Awake Portrait

Source: Blogspot

Arm Face Portrait

Source: Blogspot

Lasse Hoile Figure In Dark

Source: Blogspot

Lasse Hoile started out wanting to eke out a living as a special effects artist, but a photographer lie just beneath the surface; “I bought a Nikon F3 one day because I had some ideas I wanted to do and it just did something with me. I felt I finally knew what I had to do and I just kept on doing pictures and everything else was not important anymore…I had to do art. I have to do it. Everything else is not interesting to me anymore.”

Lasse Hoile Cracked Back

Source: Blogspot

Telephone Line Portrait

Source: Blogspot

Tire Kid Portrait

Source: Blogspot

Hoile’s big break came in 2002, when he designed the album sleeve for In Absentia, an album by the band Porcupine Tree. From here, a valued working relationship and friendship evolved between Hoile and the band’s front man, Steven Wilson. They have collaborated on many projects since then, cementing themselves a very distinct place in the ranks of artists that bring out the best in each other.

Lasse Hoile Absentia Cover

Source: Blogspot

Visual art and music have always gone hand in hand; can you imagine the band Yes without conjuring up a Roger Dean illustrated album cover? How about Journey without Jim Welch’s winged artistry? The Hoile-Wilson duo has produced numerous album covers, live-show visuals, music videos, and even an acclaimed documentary on the making of Wilson’s solo record, Insurgentes. There’s really no question why Hoile’s artistic visions have become a Wilson trademark: tonally, they are pieces from the same puzzle.

Lasse Hoile Road Creep

Source: Blogspot

Lasse Hoile Harmony

Source: Blogspot

Lasse Hoile Red Harmony Two

Source: Blogspot

The video Hoile produced for Wilson’s “Harmony Korine” from the Insurgentes album is the pinnacle of their moody and somewhat unnerving style; it’s a mix of fantasy, myth and folktale:

When Wilson was asked how he and Hoile collaborate and why it works, he cites an area of inspiration that is common to both artists;

“Sometimes I would be playing the song, talking to him, and I’d say: “You know that scene from that Tarkovsky film from 1972, you know that scene from that Fritz Lang movie?” And he’ll know exactly what I’m talking about, straightaway. That’s important; we kind of have a dialogue through our shared knowledge and love of European cinema. So there’s a lot of references to European cinema in the videos and the work, which some people pick up on, and some people probably don’t. To us, that’s a very fertile area to be inspired by.”

Lasse Hoile Victim

Source: Blogspot

Blue Headdress

Source: Blogspot

Creative endeavors were destined to be a part of Hoile’s life from the very beginning.“I’ve always been fascinated with looking at vinyl albums ever since I lived with my parents…so that’s probably why I am doing this today. I just figured it out a little later than most people I guess. I did a lot of different things from taking a make-up class because I wanted to do special effects for film, and then I wanted to direct films and videos so I started to get into that.”

Lasse Hoile Head Mechanics

Source: Blogspot

Lasse Hoile Jokers

Source: Blogspot

Industrial Vision

Source: Blogspot

Part of a movement aimed to reintroduce music and its packaging as a complete concept, Hoile muses on the bleak future of one particular facet of his work:

“The only problem is that this art form is dying, I think. If you look back on vinyl covers, especially from the 1970s, you will find something you won’t see anymore. There are some truly unique pictures on those covers that you just can’t do or see now. Of course it also has to do with the fact that people are downloading music today – covers are becoming very small icons on an iPod or a cell phone… it’s very sad to see. People are starting not to care about packaging and cover art.”

Levitating Kid Portrait

Source: Blogspot

Lasse Hoile Madness

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Lasse Hoile Dust Bubble

Source: Blogspot

Apart from classic paintings and European cinema, Hoile unsurprisingly finds inspiration in music. Says Hoile, “Music is the number one influence, I can’t live without it. I listen to music every day and all kinds of music. My love for film and art also, of course traveling, experiences in life, traveling is important too…I keep being curious in life, trying and discovering something new as much as possible. I take in as much as I can.”

Lasse Hoile Picture This

Source: Blogspot

Regeneration Portrait

Source: Blogspot

Hoile has just wrapped up a road trip in the US and is currently working on another documentary. The vast amount of work that he has made available can be found in several places, including his blog, YouTube channel, and his Instagram account.

author
Erin Kelly
author
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers in her career as a graphic artist.
editor
Savannah Cox
editor
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.