ecologist, map-maker and creative soul, leif olson aka lokey the baselayer has been creating and performing weird, glitchy bass music, lush downtempo soundscapes, and odd techno explorations for over a decade, using an ever-evolving custom-crafted ableton performance rig to conjure new and original music from the world around him. based out of calgary, he regularly contributes to the habitat studio social, performing live improvised music at unique events of all forms. his recent work is up at http://lokey.bandcamp.com and http://soundcloud.com/lokey I perform on an ableton live based rig, using a behringer mm1 midi mixer, an ableton push2, and a linnstrument melody controller. I will require a 4'x3' table space, and a single power plug, and provide a stereo 1/4" output. Although i do not come into the realm of music from a formally trained trajectory, music and sound have been a profound influence on my life. I lived my first years on the Bighorn Sheep Wildlife Sanctuary; a remote home filled with natural texture, from my mother’s humming to the howl of the wind. Adventurous parents brought me to Kenya by age five, a profound exposure to the diversity of experience. Introduced around the turn of the century to granular resynthesis, turntablism and the joy of collaborative creation, my interest in electronic music grew, inspired by the likes of Kid Koala and Amon Tobin. In 2005, i began producing using ableton live, releasing my first album in 2007. A cut and paste exercise combining and rearranging familiar sounds, more out of a meditative practice than with any intent of public release.The following year i discovered the monome, an open source button and light grid, and the concept of an adaptable performance interface made great sense to me. Rather than composition through a linear sequence of events, the ability to freely trigger and realign hosts of sounds allows a spontaneity of creation. Open control adapted to specific purpose. From a limited palette, new interpretations brought to life through the recomposition of human motion within a constrained environment. I strive to bring this approach into my creative process, repurposing found material on a personal and local scale, exploring and communicating my own essence using the context which surrounds me. Concurrently, i felt the need to pursue research which lead to my PhD in conservation ecology, and an active involvement in landscape planning in Alberta for the past 5 years. Since returning to Calgary, i found myself focused more on studio production and instrument design, while taking every opportunity to perform in a live setting. I have had the real pleasure to work with musicians, poets and artists of all shades, playing in live improvisational acts, collaborating in support of charity events, and reaching out to support or recognize local artists. I cherish the opportunity to incorporate my own sounds alongside enthusiastic performers, a practice which has grown my awareness of harmony and dissonance.