Interview with Tom Stuart aka Occams Laser
Sometimes wonderful things come as a nice surprise. I invited Tom, my fellow islander to speak about his music which he produces under moniker Occams Laser.
1. There is a moment in almost every musician's creative life that is and will be remembered as some
sort of critical point when you move towards some area that you are able to express yourself. An
inspiration that makes you think: I might want to try it and do it. What was it for you?
For me I would say the pivotal moment for making music was in my first week of university where
my flatmate introduced me to my first piece of music software; ‘FL Studio’ which funnily enough I
still use for every piece of music to this day. The moment they showed me what you could do and
that I could create music similar (but nowhere near as polished) as the artists I had been listening to
for years. Knocking over that first barrier of entry really opened up a lot of possibilities and in a way
introduced a new way to look at music.
Music was now a puzzle that could be worked out, sometimes using very jank methods but fun
nonetheless.
2. How did you start your relationship with your instrument(s) and compositions? You seem to be
creating your own instruments /set ups and combinations of acoustic, electronic, instruments, and
also there have been phases and periods where you used certain ones.
When I was a kid I was forced into piano lessons which I wasn’t keen on for a long time. This then
turned into self-learning the guitar, electric guitar, bass and sometimes being forced to become the
vocalist when my friends and I would play instruments. I was never very good at any instrument to a
high enough level, however the knowledge and sense of key, time signatures and general music
theory really translated into the digital workflow of modern music software.
Almost all of my music has been created using VST’s (Virtual Instruments) which have varied
massively over the years. Experimentation and the endless possibilities that virtual instruments
provide makes it almost too hard to narrow down what to use sometimes but I will always have a
few favourites such as the Arturia collection which is a set of VST’s based on a lot of iconic 70’s & 80s
Synthesizers.
3. You are active as a solo artist - how did it start and what lies ahead?
Casually I was making music back in 2007 under various terrible pseudonyms, and at this point it was
purely just as a hobby.
I started creating music under the name ‘Occams Laser’ in 2014. With over 40 Albums & EP’s over
the last 12 years; it’s been a busy time!
However I actually had to create two other aliases to release music under as sometimes due to
experimentation I accidentally create something which doesn’t necessarily fit with the general gritty
sound I want with Occams Laser.
This led to Mac Lacrosse (an anagram of Occams Laser) in 2019 which is a more vaporwave style
project which has had 5 main releases.
And more recently ‘Infinite Luxury’ in 2025 which is my Liminal Ambient side project which I’ve really
been getting lost in with 6 full albums already released and many more planned.
Creating music is almost an addiction for me in some sense. Climbing the mountain and learning new
things every day but never reaching the summit! The endless pursuit of music knowledge.
So the future... For Occams Laser: There’s a lot more music planned for 2026, with volumes V & VI of
my Odyssey of Noise series set to launch in the next few months. After they launch there are 2 other
albums which are currently underway that I may also finish this year.
4. What are your inspirations when it comes to style and creative process in your own work? Music
wise and beyond.
Over the years I’ve found a lot of inspiration in a massively wide variety of ways. Sometimes
something as simple as a symbol or photo can inspire the concept for an entire album! Other times
such as with my Divine Trilogy of albums I’ve been inspired directly by older historical texts which in
this case was Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Obviously when it comes to inspiration with music, other artists will always play a big role. There is a
long list of artists that I will always return to listening to but some of the main ones would be Nine
Inch Nails, Justice, Daft Punk, & Gesaffelstein. These artists have all directly influenced how I
appreciate and very likely how I write music.
Other influences and sources of inspiration come from films and video games. Specifically the Tron
series of films which has inspired a whole set of albums. The entire Dark Souls series as well as Doom
(2016) would also be influential titles for both their soundtracks and world building. All having a very
dark chaotic feel to their worlds which I definitely resonated with.
5. Could you tell us about your influences in art, in a general sense as well as philosophy or theory of
what you are doing and where it stems from? How and to what extent it has been an
influence/inspiration on your latest albums?
I’ll address the philosophy based elephant in the room; My name of ‘Occams Laser’ is a play on the
philosophical term ‘Occam’s Razor’ – the simplest answer is usually the correct one. When I started
out making music my intention was to try and make quite simplistic music but that definitely went
out the window... I would like to still think that there is a glimmer of truth though where I try not to
polish my music too much and leave it some ways in a more simplistic state. If nothing more than to
preserve a slice of humanity. Something hard to achieve when creating music inside a computer.
With my music often being of a slightly dark, menacing and aggressive tone; I tend to be drawn
towards artworks that are vibrant, red, flaming, biblical, grand, demonic and generally intense!
I have tried to replicate these often gothic kind of ideas with some of my own album art (to various
degrees of success).
Album art specifically can be very powerful, and in the simplest sense if the album art isn’t
interesting or eye-catching enough to warrant someone picking it off a shelf or clicking it on a
screen; then your music may as well not exist. The music is the rod but artwork is the hook.
Art is a pure form of expression, and to me sometimes that can lead down a slightly selfishly
controlling situation. I create all my own album art and don’t let anyone listen to tracks before they
are released. This insular approach might seem harsh in some ways but to me it is the best way I can
ensure that the music I release is purely ME. One vision, one slice of my soul on the plate.
5. How do you find composing for games
Composing music specifically for video games is a relatively new world for me. I have licensed a lot of
my music over the years for small indie titles but it was always pre-existing material.
In 2024 the developer of the game ‘Bloodthief’ approached me and commissioned a few tracks.
After a few demos and revisions it was clear we already had nailed the tone needed and I got to
work on the next batch. This ultimately led into a full 22 song soundtrack.
Creating music for someone else’s vision is a tough task! Something fully out of my comfort zone but
a needed step to grow.
I could not have asked for a better dev who was very clear and with a solid base of communication
we really figured out what the game needed.
There are a few more game soundtracks that I am currently working on and I really hope to get the
chance to work on more in the future.
6. Where is the line between your own prose and theory of what you do and academic pursuits?
How does your own academic education affect what you do artistically? What and who influenced
you at different stages of your life?
For me the line between my own thinking about music and academic theory is pretty fluid.
Intuition plays a big part at least initially, emotion and gut feelings can often be your best tool.
Theory can then polish up some of the rough-edges and fully communicate ideas, rather than
determining it from the beginning.
My academic education has influenced my work mainly by giving me tools and context.
A lot of the theory I learned back in my piano lessons which I had until the age of 10, but all
subsequent knowledge was learned through a lot of trial and error plus a sprinkle of dumb luck.
Sometimes instinctive decisions and especially those that end in failure can often be the best ways
to learn.
My influences have definitely changed over the years.
Early on, I was mostly shaped by the music I grew up with and artists I had on repeat for my first
years of university.
As I slowly focused more of my attention and time to writing music professionally I tried to branch
out and sample different styles and types of music to pick and choose new elements and sounds to
try and recreate myself and broaden my scope.
More recently, my influences come as much from collaboration and other art forms as from music
itself. Conversations with other artists, new technologies, the ever changing music-landscape;
everything continues to shape the way I think about sound and composition.
7.. How do you feel in an ever changing world of musical distribution? How difficult is it at the
moment to promote your own music?
Time and attention are the modern day currency and sadly almost all platforms where artists may
try to promote their music have some sort of pay wall. Even if you’ve built a fanbase over the years;
places like Instagram will limit how many of your own followers see any post.
Social media platforms don’t want you leaving their apps, so getting your audience to follow the
bread crumb trail can be tough.
A more recent development is almost all of the music distributors are being bought by major music
labels and giant conglomerates. Conflict of interest has never been subtle when it comes to big
labels.
The one shining bastion of hope is still Bandcamp. A platform I have loved from day one. They also
have been traded about over the last few years but no scummy behaviour in the backgrounds as far
as I can tell even with a new company umbrella shading us from the mafia-esque big labels.
So yeah... It’s rough.
The best way to survive is to embrace and enjoy the struggle.
8. Plans for the future?
My plan right now is to continue writing a lot more music.
Music that tells stories, hopefully inspires others to create music themselves, and if I’m lucky; create
music that others can use as the soundtrack to their lives.
Twitter : @occams_laser_
Instagram : @occams_laser
Youtube : youtube.com/c/OccamsLaserOfficial
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