kaxel@ashland~ uptime: est. 1988 6 services · all running

composersince 1988 · 12+ releases lyricistpoetry, UW–Madison developer27 repos · since 2010 djKSKQ · Wed 9–11pm session6 credits · keys/piano design3 awards · Coroflot

~ whoami

Krister Axel

Ashland, Oregon · b. Paris, France · Technical Specialist, Herb Pharm

Six long-running processes, one machine: songs written and produced since 1988, lyrics shaped by a poetry degree, client software shipped since 1999, a Wednesday-night radio show on community station KSKQ, performances from all around the world, and an eye for visual harmony. Below is the status of each.

github/kaxel linkedin subvert.fm mastodon weeklycatch.org

composer.service

pid 1988 · active (running)

multi-instrumentalist · singer-songwriter

[1988] first_track.rec produced_with=adam_cohen

[1993-97] training composition under Joel Naumann, University of Wisconsin–Madison

[2006] tv.sync MTV — "Cheyenne" (performing, Los Angeles)

[later] tv.sync "Georgia Rain" + "Something Beautiful" → Friday Night Lights

Sometimes it feels like I am writing roots-pop in a vacuum, which is why it is a nice thing to get a little recognition from the local press.— Krister Axel

Chillfiltr ThemeThe River South

Illuminate the Skyplay

Go My WayThe River South

Georgia RainFNL sync

Something BeautifulFNL sync

Ordinaryplay

Pretty Liesplay

Just Another Loverwith Adam Cohen · vimeo

Weightless Heartfeat. Courtney Hartman, Shane Leonard & J.E. Sunde

Release	Type	Year
Weightless Heart	Track	2019
Follow the Light — The River South	Album	2018
Arms Around The River	Album	2007
Permanent Friday Night	Album	2005
Swexico	EP	2004

./open full-playlist on youtube ./open subvert.fm

lyricist.service

pid 1994 · active (running)

poetry, University of Wisconsin–Madison

[1997] training B.A., Poetry — UW–Madison

[ongoing] output lyric sheets for every original release above

FEATURED_LYRICS[00] = "Let's Remember" — "…the road will go straight into my heart…"
↳ Lyrics by Zoë Renée Roché & Krister Axel · Lonesome Dove 30th Anniversary Edition, Varèse Sarabande / Concord, 2019

FEATURED_LYRICS[01] = "Georgia Rain" — "…Georgia rain in my walking shoes, I've got nothing to lose…"
↳ Lyrics by Krister Axel

FEATURED_LYRICS[02] = "Something Beautiful" — "…I could grow into this love, sounds like something beautiful…"
↳ Lyrics by Krister Axel

FEATURED_LYRICS[03] = "Weightless Heart" — "…there's a weightless heart inside of you…"
↳ Lyrics by Krister Axel

credit.confirmed co_lyricist=true — "Let's Remember," a new Americana-styled vocal rendition of Basil Poledouris's Lonesome Dove theme, 2019 Varèse Sarabande 30th-anniversary reissue, performed by LOONER (Zoë Renée Roché & Angel Roché Jr.).

developer.service

pid 1999 · active (running)

Technical Specialist, Herb Pharm · founder, Black Lake Media

[1999] founded Black Lake Media — branding, CMS, custom web

[2010] github.joined 27 public repos to date

[now] chillfiltr.com Rails 8 + Postgres + TailwindCSS, deployed on Render

GMG Entertainment

Built the Pulse platform from nothing on Rails + MySQL for what's now Topps Digital Services — millions of transactions/month for Best Buy, Target, Walmart.

Zynx Health

2014 — first Rails iteration of Zynx for the Hearst Health Network, alongside ThoughtWorks, for hospital patient-outcome data sharing.

JobTrak / Monster

Migration specialist on the JobTrak acquisition: 8 months, 11M records, first Oracle experience.

CHILLFILTR

4-month migration from Ghost to Craft CMS: 1,500+ posts, RSS/podcast/AMP feeds, a Bonfire merch build.

rpncalRPN calculator CLI — Ruby, tested

chillonrailsPython

musicbotPython

weekly-songsRuby

spinitscrapeHTML

./open github ./open blacklake.media ./open linkedin

dj.service

pid 2025 · active (running)

The Weekly Catch — KSKQ 89.5 FM Ashland / 94.1 FM Medford

[2025-MAY] show.launched The Weekly Catch, KSKQ

[weekly] schedule Wed 21:00–23:00 PST

[format] genres Roots-Folk, Indie Rock, Electronica — sourced from CHILLFILTR® Radio

[2025] design.credit KSKQ Logo Contest — winner

Every week is a new catch — roots, indie, and electronica pulled in from around the world and set loose on Ashland airwaves.— The Weekly Catch

./tail latest-playlist ./open spinitron ./open kskq.org

session.service

background · 6 credits

Studio & Session Performance Credits

Keys and piano on other people's records — studio sessions, guest spots, and one film score, alongside the work under his own name.

Artist / Project	Credit	Detail
Shane Alexander — Stargazer (2006)	Piano / Keyboards	Full album credit · key track "The Moore Hotel"
Chris Pierce — Studio Demos	Piano / Keyboards	Session player
Whitestarr (Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter & Cisco Adler) — Studio Sessions	Keyboards	Guest session performance
Sunshine Allison — Recording Sessions / Releases	Keyboards / Piano	Studio session player
The River South — Recording Sessions / Releases	Keyboards / Piano	Studio session player
Hate Crime — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2005)	Soundtrack Keyboards	Featured performer

design.service

background · 3 awards

Photographer, Designer & Solutions Architect — portfolio on Coroflot

[2025] award Winner — KSKQ Logo Contest

[2023] award Runner-up, Photo of the Year — Town of Clayton, NY

[2020-NOV] award Honorable Mention, Photojournalism — ND Awards, "Talent, Oregon - 10 Days Later"

KSKQ Logo Contestwinner · 2025

Entered the local community radio station's logo contest — and won.

Clayton, NY — 2022runner-up · 2023

Clayton, NY, 2022 — photograph by Krister Axel

Runner-up, Photo of the Year 2023, Town of Clayton, NY.

Talent, Oregon — 10 Days LaterND Awards · honorable mention

Talent, Oregon, 10 days after the Almeda fire — photograph by Krister Axel, ND Awards Honorable Mention

Documenting the Almeda fire's aftermath in Talent & Phoenix, Oregon — Honorable Mention, Photojournalism, ND Awards, November 2020. View on ND Awards →

./open coroflot