Collaborations
Light Chimes Installation
An interactive exploration of synesthesia, this whimsical installation (a collaboration between little hexes and the Portland multimedia agency Sticky Co.) mashes up light and sound with an 18-foot-wide matrix of lights that respond to movement to create a vibrant and ever-changing harmonic experience. Light Chimes has delighted attendees at the Portland Winter Light Festival, the Pickathon Experiential Music Festival, and the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. You can see more on the Light Chimes here.
Kim Oanh Nguyen
Kim Oanh Nguyen is a photographic siren with an uncanny ability to inspire latent Charlie’s Angels poses. (Even the most camera-shy of hexies feels comfortable when she’s behind the lens.) An award-winning photojournalist and freelance photographer, Kim has a keen eye for catching the moment, as demonstrated in our EP release show and band pics. You can see more of her work on her site.
Molly Sokolow Hayden
Molly Hayden literally put the hexes in little hexes…for without her we would not have the wonderful “hex sign” icons that accompany many of our songs. In the Pennsylvania Dutch folk art tradition, hex signs are circular emblems featuring colorful symbols and are often painted on the side of barns, as talismans and decoration. Molly concepted and illustrated a system of emblems divined from the music and lyrics of little hexes songs. Each one unique and a thing of art in and of itself, these little “hexes” have made their way into our album art, props, tattoos and more. Molly also created the collage for the cover of our album which combines her hexes with the photography of Mike Zaugg and typography of Jen Kilcoyne. More of Molly’s illustration work can be found at her website, and please check out her ongoing serial comic of the past several years Lay of the Lacrymer, too. Molly describes her illustration work as a labor of love and catharsis: the thing that she has gone back to time and again in her life. We understand completely, as we’re drawn to making music for similar reasons. We love that our collaboration with Molly has brought the visual + musical together in a decidedly hexy way.
Jen Kilcoyne
Little hexes owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jen Kilcoyne, a talented designer who lives, works + loves in Portland, OR. Since 2010 Jen has handled art direction for our record cover art, logo design, and special events, as well as most of our posters. She lives up to her motto (a quote from Ray Nichols): “If you’re going to make it visual, make it worth seeing.” Indeed Jen has been instrumental in visually conveying little hexes’ imagination. We love how she embraced the Chernobyl-in-Portland picnic for our EP cover concept. She combined assets from Mike Zaugg’s Chernobyl trespass and Molly Hayden’s collage with her own sense of whimsy and detail to create our very hexy album package and stage design. (One of our favorite touches: our song lyrics rise like steam from nuclear cooling towers.)
Jen earned her B.S. in Visual Communications from the University of Delaware and started her career in New York before moving to Portland in 2000. She worked at the Portland firm ID Branding until the poor economy pushed her into the freelance/independent contractor world in 2003, which she counts as the best move of her career. We’re thrilled to call her our collaborator and friend. A link to hexes work Jen has up on her site.
Michael Zaugg
One of our earliest collaborators, Michael Zaugg helped concept and capture little hexes’ picnic through the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation for our In the Garden album cover. In addition to taking our the band photos for the EP, he donated for our use his haunting images of the abandoned amusement park and grade school on Chernobyl grounds, as well as photos of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant Recreation Area. You can see more of his work on his site.
Dave Hayden
Dave Hayden is little hexes’ resident inventioneer. He built a mock Geiger counter (pictured above with a fan) for little hexes’ EP release show, so everyone was run through a “scan” at the ticket booth, sounding out their level of radioactivity. We’re still known to test the audience…and for the record, the Geiger always says you’re all incredibly hot!
A year later, little hexes mentioned how much we envied Konono No. 1’s electric kalimba, and next thing we know, Dave has made us one. We find the little hexes’ kalimba provides perfect distort to AC/DC-Juice Newton mash-ups. {We’re currently working on a spell for a theramin…}
Sam Isabell
Sam Isabell makes cool art, and sometimes likes to make some for little hexes.
Mike Russo and Trevor Jacobson
Michael Russo and Trevor Jacobson created ultimate atmosphere with hexology animations for our In The Garden EP release show.