Synesthesia: A Conversation with Iris Voss

Last week, Youtube did me a favour in recommending me the channel of Iris Voss. A multi-disciplinary artist; Iris designs, composes & also creates educational synthesis videos. However, for me as a neurodivergent person, it is Iris's synesthesia-informed Audio Reactive Art that interests me the most. I chatted to Iris about this gift and how it influences her creative output.

I've seen it mentioned that you are blessed with synesthesia; when did you first discover this gift? Does it inform your work? Actually, is it a blessing – or are there downsides?
I first noticed my synesthesia as a child when I realised I could see music - colours, textures, and movement. When I started learning the violin, I instinctively relied on these visual cues to memorise pieces, but it wasn't until much later that I discovered there was a name for it.
This experience has profoundly shaped the way I create. Sound and imagery have always been deeply connected for me, so working with audio-reactive visuals felt like a natural extension of that relationship. When producing music, I treat the DAW as a canvas rather than following a rigid, linear structure - I prefer to approach it like a painting, layering sounds and textures intuitively, much like brushstrokes on a surface.
Is synesthesia a blessing? Most of the time, yes - but it can also be overwhelming. Certain sounds can trigger intrusive or unsettling visuals, and I'm highly sensitive to noise. Busy environments can quickly become overstimulating, so I often wear earplugs when I'm outside to reduce sensory overload.
I also believe that the synchronisation of auditory and visual perception is more common than we realise. Research in neuroscience suggests that cross-modal associations (connections between different sensory experiences) are present in most people to some degree, even if they're not as pronounced as in synesthesia (Spence & Deroy, 2013). However, modern workflows and creative tools often encourage a compartmentalised approach, focusing on one sense, one software, or one process at a time. Unfortunately this conditioning may often lead us to overlook the natural interplay between sound and vision that exists within us. 

Looking is not the same as listening but seeing is the same as hearing.

You've named your approach "audio-reactive art" – could you talk a little about your workflow and perhaps describe what a viewer might expect when encountering your work for the first time?
I use sound to shape visuals in real time, allowing audio to influence the composition rather than just syncing imagery to music. 
Although I'm a graphic designer my background is rooted in traditional, non-digital mediums: drawing, painting, and collage. I've always been drawn to the process of transforming handmade work into digital rather than working purely digitally, especially in a time of AI-generated excess. My process often begins with hand-drawn sketches or physical textures, which I then bring into animation using point clouds, generative techniques, and audio-reactive systems in TouchDesigner. This approach preserves the organic, human quality of traditional media but allows sound to reshape it in unexpected ways. 

You have made a collection of YouTube videos that, in an accessible manner, aims to teach the principles of synthesis/sound design. What was the motivation behind wanting to teach others?
I launched my synthesis course on my website last year, initially offering access to women and disadvantaged groups who are often marginalised in music production. The response was incredible - thousands of beginner students shared how it helped them get into music, including non-musicians, classically trained players exploring modular for the first time, and even school kids experimenting with synthesis. One of them even built their own module!
This year, I wanted to make the course even more accessible, so I've moved it to YouTube, where anyone can learn the foundations of sound design. It's all about making learning playful, hands-on, and accessible - especially in a time when creativity feels more vital than ever.

Where should we go to experience your work?
You can find my experimental audio-visual work on Instagram: @ritesofsinmusic.
My YouTube channel is all about synthesis, sound design, and creative audio experiments: @irisvoss.
For music, my solo project Rites of Sin leans into a darkwave, 80s-inspired sound, built mostly on vintage analogue gear - check it out here: ritesofsin.bandcamp.com/music.

And for everything else, head to irisvoss.co.uk

Thanks again to Iris for chatting to us, see you next time!

Posted by MagicalSynthAdventure an expert in synthesis technology from last Century and Amiga enthusiast.

• VC-01 Voicecrafter: Vocal Synth & Sequencer 09-Oct-26
• Bubblegum: Free Pitch Editor 08-Oct-26
• DestroyFX Buffer Override 08-Oct-26
• Oxygene 50th Anniversary 07-Oct-26
• The Great Debate: Firmware Hacking 07-Oct-26