Music, Media & Creative Technology

Clients & Partners

Industry partners that Dr Kirsten Hermes has worked with.

Services

Open the drop-down menus to find out more.

Creative Tech & Research
  • Human-in-the-loop (HITL) evaluation of generative AI tools for creatives
  • Prototyping & product shaping for sound, video & 3D
  • User studies: listening tests, surveys/interviews, statistical analysis
  • More detail below
Consulting & Workshops
  • Strategy sessions for creator tools & workflows
  • Bespoke creative / technical workshops (see Speaking & Research section for detail)
Music Production & Composition
  • Original composition and artist production
  • Songwriting, recording, mixing, mastering
Sound for Picture (Music & Post)
  • Film/shorts: score composition
  • Sound design, foley, edit & mix to delivery spec
Sound Design
  • Synthesizer presets, samples, loops, and demo production
  • Product launch assets (audio demos, performance videos)
Live A/V & Show Systems
  • International live performances using custom audiovisual performance setups
  • Live show design, performance operation and technical direction for artists
Visual & 3D
  • Blender, Adobe Creative Cloud, mocap, AI
  • 3D graphics and motion design
  • Audio-reactive/real-time visuals
Virtual Artists & Music Video
  • Virtual performer/avatar pipelines
  • Music-video workflows
Writing & Editorial
  • Book authorship
  • Peer review (book proposals, books, journals)
  • Industry/insight reporting

Selected Work & Projects

Nyokee _ Chiptune, Pop and 3D Worlds Collide in International Music Shows

Learn more about Nyokee

Nyokee is the live electronic music and audiovisual project of Dr. Kirsten Hermes. Entirely self-produced under her company Mini Mod Clip, Nyokee fuses retro video-game aesthetics and contemporary electronic art-pop with lush vocals and immersive 3D visuals. With a background in psychoacoustics and audio production, Kirsten builds her own performance rigs and visual systems, integrating interactive elements into every show.

Nyokee has performed internationally on main stages including MAGFest (USA), Pixel Heaven (Warsaw), Develop:Brighton, Hyper Japan, and Comic Con, with her debut self-organised London headline show selling out.

A true DIY artist, Kirsten writes, records, produces, mixes, and masters her releases; directs and animates her videos; and designs every element of the stage experience, from the music to the 3D environments it inhabits.

For Nyokee, music and visuals are inseparable: each track is a multi-sensory exploration of colour, emotion, and technology, transforming Kirsten Hermes’ personal synaesthetic experience into shared performance.

Check out Nyokee →

Aya Eltheron _ Immersive Storytelling Through Audio, Music and Animation

Learn more about Aya Eltheron

Aya Eltheron is a virtual artist and story universe created by Dr Kirsten Hermes and Joseph Smith through Mini Mod Clip. The project combines music, immersive audio drama, and animated storytelling, centred around Aya, a mischievous, time-bending alchemist witch exploring surreal multiverses with her companion crow Peg.

Blending 3D animation, original music, and narrative world-building, Aya Eltheron bridges electronic music, anime aesthetics, and British fantasy storytelling. The series has evolved into a multimedia platform featuring electro-swing originals, cover songs, and short-form comedy, all produced and performed in-house using cutting-edge tech workflows.

Aya Eltheron represents a new model of independent, music-driven virtual entertainment: a space where storytelling, sound, and science meet to create playful, emotionally resonant experiences.

Watch Aya Eltheron on YouTube →

Performing Electronic Music Live _ A Book for Artists, Educators, and Innovators

Learn more about Performing Electronic Music Live

Performing Electronic Music Live (Routledge/AES Presents) is Dr Kirsten Hermes’ award-winning guide to the art and technology of electronic music performance. Drawing from years of research, teaching, and stage experience, the book bridges academic insight and practical know-how to help musicians turn studio productions into powerful live experiences.

It explores performance setups across hardware and software, including DJing, DAWs, MIDI controllers, modular systems, and audiovisual integration, showing how technology can support genuine expression on stage. The book features artist interviews, creative exercises, and step-by-step walkthroughs of real performance workflows.

Accompanying the book is a video tutorial series that expands on its key concepts. Performing Electronic Music Live has become a valuable reference for artists, educators, and researchers worldwide.

Explore the book →

Chiptune Bubblegum _ Immersive Storytelling Through Audio, Music and Animation

Learn more about Chiptune Bubblegum

Explore the playful world of Chiptune Bubblegum, a signature sound-library created by Dr Kirsten Hermes for ROLI. This pack unites bright, retro-inspired timbres with modern performance flexibility, offering musicians a fresh toolkit for melodic, expressive electronic music.

Explore the sound pack →

Speaking and Research

Research Themes: Creativity & Technolgy

Generative AI for Music, Sound Design and Audiovisual Content

  • Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) Evaluation of Creative AI Tools
  • Authorship and Agency in Creative AI

Audiovisual Media Practice

  • Sound for Film
  • Music Video Production
  • Virtual Identities

Music Performance Using Technology

  • Electronic Music Performance
  • Virtual and Immersive Environments
  • Creator Communities and Platforms

Sound Perception and Psychoacoustics

Automatic Mixing and Intelligent Production Tools

Selected Talks & Panels

An Unbiased View of AI. Music and Gaming Festival (MAGFest), Washington, January 2023.

Machines on Stage: Approaches to Performing Electronic Music Live. Audio Engineering Society Workshop, May 2022.

Parameters of High-Quality Mixes: EQ and Spectral Clarity. London and Hamburg Ableton User Groups, 2017.

Panel: Creative Collaboration in the Recording Studio. 154th Audio Engineering Society Convention, May 2023.

Blender for Musicians. Westminster University CreaTech Conference, London, June 2024.

Randomisation as a Means of Improvisation in the Live Performance of Popular Electronic Music. MuPaCT, July 2020.

Teaching Areas

Dr Kirsten Hermes has taught hundreds of students across 5 UK universities and beyond.

  • Music Production (songwriting, composition, sound design, recording, mixing, mastering)
  • Music Performance Using Technology (Ableton Live, DJing and more). Video Tutorial Series here.
  • Advanced Research Methods (MA and PhD Level)
  • Music and Sound for Film
  • Music and Sound for Games
  • Video Production
  • Artist Development

Publications

Book

Hermes, K., 2022. “Performing Electronic Music Live”. Routledge, New York.

Book companion website and video tutorial series here.

Book chapters

Hermes, K. (2025c) ‘Generative AI as a tool to support film composition and sound design – an industry case study’, in Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Hodgson, J., Paterson, J. and Toulson, R. (eds.) Innovation in Music. New York: Routledge. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Hermes, K. 2025 ‘Augmented creativity: using AI collaborators to make a music video’, Dancecult Journal. (in press)

Hermes, K., 2025. Augmented creativity: does AI help or hinder musicians’ creative processes?. In: Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Hodgson, J., Paterson, J., Toulson, R. (Eds.) “Innovation in Music”. Routledge, New York (accepted for publication).

Hermes, K., 2024. Creative Cyborgs: virtual 3D characters as artist identities for musicians. In: Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Hodgson, J., Paterson, J., Toulson, R. (Eds.) “Innovation in Music”. Routledge, New York.

Hermes, K., 2024. Research methods in live electronic music and audio-visual performance. In: Dylan-Smith, G., Dines, M., Rambarran, S.  (Eds.) “Popular Music Research Methodologies”. Intellect, Bristol.

Hermes, K., 2023. Levelling up chiptune: nostalgic retro games console sounds for the ROLI Seaboard. In: Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Hodgson, J., Paterson, J., Toulson, R. (Eds.) “Innovation in Music”. Routledge, New York (accepted for publication).

Hermes, K., 2020. Creative Considerations for On-Screen Visuals in Popular Electronic Music Performances. In: Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Hodgson, J., Paterson, J., Toulson, R. (Eds.) “Innovation in Music”. Routledge, New York.

Hermes, K., 2019. Optimizing vocal clarity in the mix. In: Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Hodgson, J., Paterson, J., Toulson, R. (Eds.) “Innovation in Music”. Routledge, New York.

Hermes, K., 2019. Enhancing creativity through automatic mixing research: testing spectral clarity predictors in the mix process. In: Gullö, J. O. (Ed.), “Proceedings of the 12th Art of Record Production Conference Mono: Stereo: Multi”. Stockholm: Royal College of Music (KMH) & Art of Record Production.

Peer reviewed conference papers, blogs and journal papers

Paterson, J.L. and Hermes, K. (2025) The Emergence of AI in Music. United Kingdom: RT60 Ltd.

Hermes, K, 2022. 8-bit Music on Twitch: How the Chiptune Scene Thrived During the Pandemic. Dancecult, Vol 14 No 1.

Hermes, K., “Factors influencing the spectral clarity of vocals in music mixes”, 146th Audio Engineering Society Convention, Dublin, Ireland, March 2019.

Hermes, K., Brookes, T., Hummersone, C., “The harmonic centroid as a predictor of string instrument timbral clarity”, 140th Audio Engineering Society Convention, Paris, France, June 2016.

Hermes, K., Brookes, T., Hummersone, C., “The influence of dumping bias on timbral clarity ratings”, 139th Audio Engineering Society Convention, New York, USA, November 2015.

About

Dr Kirsten Hermes is an interdisciplinary creator, researcher, and educator working at the intersection of music, technology, and visual media. She is the founder of Mini Mod Clip, a studio dedicated to bridging creative practice and emerging technology through sound design, composition, audiovisual performance, and research-led innovation.

With an EPSRC-funded PhD in psychoacoustics and over a decade of experience in creative production, Kirsten’s work moves fluidly between industry, academia, and live performance. She has collaborated with partners including Sony, Pixomondo, ROLI, FXpansion, Sample Magic, and RT60, delivering projects that range from immersive film sound to experimental AI-driven workflows for musicians.

Performing internationally under the name Nyokee, Kirsten creates vivid, electronic performances that merge music, storytelling, and 3D visuals — appearing on stages from MAGFest (USA) to Develop:Brighton. She is also the creator of Aya Eltheron, a virtual 3D artist world combining original music, animation, and immersive audio drama.

Kirsten is the author of the Routledge book Performing Electronic Music Live and more than twenty peer-reviewed publications on AI-assisted creativity, perceptual modelling, and digital performance design. As a Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster, she leads research and teaching on music technology, sound design, and creative AI.

Mini Mod Clip represents the meeting point of Kirsten’s worlds — a space where art, science, and innovation converge. From concept to execution, the studio’s projects embody a belief that creative technology should empower human expression, making new tools, new sounds, and new stories possible.

View showreel →

Contact

Let’s create something extraordinary.

I work across music, sound design, visual production, and creative technology research, collaborating with studios, artists, educators, and industry partners worldwide. Whether you’re exploring an idea, planning a project, or looking to integrate new creative tools, I’d love to hear from you.

📩 Email: kirsten.hermes@minimodclip.com
📍 Based in: London / Surrey · Working internationally and remotely