Born in Vanuatu, Karl’s content creation journey began early in life while growing up in the Solomon Islands after falling in love with music through The Lion King and any tunes played on the local radio.

A close friend of Audio-Technica and our inaugural Creator Community “Creator of the Month”, The Lyrical is an incredibly hard working and multifaceted content creator who streams a variety of gaming, music and art on Twitch all while recording with the Game Train podcast and being a full-time gigging musician.

To officially welcome The Lyrical to the Audio-Technica family and figure out how he got started in content creation (and how he puts all his A-T equipment to good use ?) we asked him a few questions!

Music obviously runs in your veins, but when did you first decide to channel your creativity into streaming and what was it like at first?

I started (attempting) streaming back in 2017 simply for the love of the videos games and sharing moments with friends and strangers alike. Back then I used the PS4 camera (even for the audio) and just streamed from my couch. I had maybe 2 or 3 people there with me for hours and I had a BLAST! I did that for about 4 months and then got caught up with my music career and just kind of forgot about it.

I never actually thought to stream my music until I (and the rest of my music professional peers) was forced to by the pandemic in early 2020. Most musicians I knew were jumping on Facebook and Instagram to do it, but I saw it as the perfect time to dust off the old Twitch account – but this time on the PC - and just 'see what happens'. Needless to say, I fell head over heels in love with that community and the sheer possibilities of what I could do with things like audio and visual options and software like OBS!

I decided to just do everything I loved on there: Music, video games, art, podcasts... building lego! And it has been an incredible adventure since.

Your music streams need to be seen to be believed, but with the songs, tempos and styles chopping and changing so often, how do you prepare for it?

I wish, so much, that I had a deep and insightful answer to this... But the truth is, most of the chops and changes are just made up on the spot. I play a song and while I'm in the middle of it, if something new strikes my mood, I simply take it there and see what happens. Usually it's something fun, sometimes it all falls apart, but that's all just part of the adventure of creating, I think.

Side note: I think the ability to just switch up on the fly was from busking on the streets for 7 years, before ever being on stage, and learning that I only ever had about 30 seconds to impress passers-by. So changing direction mid-song was just an instinct you HAD to develop in order to stop people long enough to throw some money in the case. The style simply carried through to my professional years, I guess.

When we first met you at PAX a few years ago you recorded an episode of the Game Train podcast live at our stand, and in 2022 we were lucky enough to have yourself and Callan back to record another episode – how have you managed to keep the “train” going for all these years and what is your favourite thing about podcasting in comparison to your other creative ventures?

Callan and I have been friends for over 20 years and have built that friendship mostly through the love of games, especially learning about our similar love for the Final Fantasy/Metal Gear Solid/Fallout franchises, so that helps. Like many podcasts, we have had dips and peaks of consistency (currently on a peak, I might add, haha) and we were so proud to have made it to and pass the 100 episode mark! But basically, our love of games and love of talking (read: arguing) about them just never goes away, so it never really feels like work once we are there doing it. Plus it has lead to so many wonderful opportunities like covering PAX and other expos, working with GenerOZity and even flying to L.A. to cover E3!

My favourite thing about podcasting is the beauty of being able to create opinion pieces that are JUST that! Because it's pure audio, you don't have to be thinking about visuals, and how you and your room look, and what fancy graphics to put on screen while you record. You are simply free to open up about the things you feel about whatever subject you are there to discuss. And because they are usually long-form episodes, we don't have the rush of the 10 minute radio segments either! It's very unique in that way.

Not gonna lie though, I also really like making the picture for every episode on Photoshop too – it's a real highlight of the whole thing for me.

You’ve done an incredible job at diversifying what you do and I’m sure it keeps things interesting and yourself very busy, but what advice do you have for other content creators looking to diversify what they do?

To be honest, if you already do something you really love,and have fun with, my advice would be to NOT diversify, haha. Certainly don't do it just for the sake of it. I do it because I simply love doing so many different things and can never just be satisfied streaming and sharing just one. But if you are happy doing JUST music, or JUST minecraft, or JUST painting pictures of animals, then I honestly think you are so much better off sticking with just that and becoming a place people learn to love and go to for that very thing.

But if you are like me and can't pick a lane, then my advice (If you are able to) would honestly be to PLEASE get more than one mic and one camera for different activities. It makes the change ups more dynamic and just much nicer quality which, I think, makes for much easier viewing.

Trying to shoehorn different things (live music/digital art/podcasting with friends/making lego/etc.) all with the same setup can become tedious and frustrating and kill the interest real fast. But being able to switch and change with your mood, makes for a much nicer experience all-round.

OH! And make a clear timetable, haha!

Sound quality is obviously a top priority for you and we know you’ve got a variety of Audio-Technica microphones and headphones to help get the job done, so what is your history with the brand and what are you currently using?

The AT2020USB+ kickstarted my love for Audio-Technica, mostly due to its versatility, ease-of-use and high-quality sound! I’ve been able to use it up-close and personal in solo streams, or in the middle of a room to record and stream multiple musicians and guests. It’s able to capture the silliness and fun of creating music with friends but still produce professional quality results.

It’s what has led to my deep appreciation and love for the AT4033A and its INSANE CLARITY! It picks up my beat boxing like nothing else - it's easily my favourite mic to use when I’m streaming.

I also originally got the BP40 for streaming and broadcasting, but it’s since found a home in front of my Fender deluxe amp and it does an incredible job capturing my Electric guitar or Banjo no matter how loud I’m cranking it!

And I now use the new AT2020USB-X for when I switch to my keyboard and vocals – on a completely different side of the room!

Lastly, where can people hear and see your latest creations?

I stream on twitch.tv/the_lyrical on Tue/Wed/Thur from 7pm AEST:

Tuesdays - Multiplayer games with friends and chat

Wednesdays - MUSIC STREAM!

Thursdays - Creative endevours (art/lego/colouring in) or more games!

As for the other stuff, find the rest here:

Check out The Lyrical's favourite A-T gear below!