Let the Rhythm Takeover
It’s very intriguing the way students on our campus choose to express their creativity; it’s so different and unique. Some choose the more recognized forms of visual arts including painting, drawing, sculpture or photography. I see it all around campus or in my friend’s apartments, either they’re amateur artists and want to just express themselves in whichever form they desire or it’s something they choose to invest a lot of their time in.
I have seen those who love architecture unleash their creative slide through woodworking and make hand-crafted lamps, magnetic bottle openers, tables and bed frames. I have seen people who have found a love for dance, move their body harmoniously to music all night at Milk Parlor during salsa night. I have watched people perform comedies, one-man shows and classics as part of the theater program here on campus. Although, all of these are forms are captivating, one of the most beautiful things I have seen is people expressing themselves through rhythm and song. Here on campus, I have the pleasure to know some students who produce and write their own music, and one of those people is Christian Klein.
Christian is a senior here at Virginia Tech studying multimedia journalism. He took his creative outlet and turned it into something he wants to eventually call a career and even started producing music more seriously six months ago. “I spend a lot of time on it, about 20 hours a week, most of it happens past 11pm. It’s a really good way to escape and it’s a lot better than an addiction; it’s my outlet,” said Klein.
He recently reached out to Virginia Tech alum, Anna Luther, to ask if she would want to collaborate. Luther graduated a year early to focus on her music and has now been producing music of her own; her most recent song got over 100,000 streams. During her time here at Virginia Tech, she expressed herself through the acapella group, Mixed Emotions.
Recently, I got to sit and observe him as he did his thing; it was fascinating. Klein had his three stereos and a microphone along with all of the beats pulled up on his laptop. I had never seen someone do so many things in such harmony. He just let the rhythm completely take over everything he was doing. So, if someone were to ask you how you express yourself creatively, what would you say?