Hi there. I'm a New York-based technologist with a creative bent and a habit of making things across software, music, photography, and sound. My work life has mostly centered on product, platforms, teams, and tools, while the rest of my time tends to turn into music, photos, guitars, experiments, and side projects.

Below is a mix of professional work and the things I make for fun.

Work

I spend my workdays leading a team of Product Managers at focused on building platform solutions that serve customers, developers and agents. Prior to Squarespace, I led Product and UX teams at , where we built and operated impactful products powered by generative AI and automated workflows. Over two tenures at my teams launched new, ML-enhanced tools and grew platforms including Material Design and Google+.

Earlier in my career, I focused on UI development and led engineering teams at MLB's BAM Tech (which has since become Disney Streaming), Meebo and other startups.

Two Companies I Founded

, the "GitHub for music" collaboration platform, launched in 2013 with backing from Betaworks. We grew it to 500K+ music creators worldwide and launched a crowdsourced label, covered by Billboard, that distributed community-vetted releases to all streaming services. After ROLI acquired Blend in 2015, I established its web and cloud operations, then conceived and launched NOISE.fm through an exclusive partnership with Apple in 2016. Reflections on Blend's 2024 sunset here.

, was a photo management and sharing platform I bootstrapped in 2005 and ran for more than 15 years, serving photographers and their audiences on the web and, later, iOS. I shared some lessons learned from the experience on Medium.

AI Tools and Experiments

Lately, I’ve been using Claude and GPT to build experiments, creative utilities, and practical projects. A few are public if you’d like to try them.

For a closer look at my professional work, check out my profiles linked below.

Recreation

When I'm not building and shipping software with teams, I'm drawn to creating in other areas. While this is a good way to unwind, it also keeps creative juices flowing and satisfies my urge to continuously ship new things.

Here are some of my interests and projects.

Sound Design

Deep interest in audio has led me to a more intentional and structured approach to designing and publishing sounds. Below are links to original collections released through BandLab. Feel free to use these sounds however you like.

Contours - Volume 1

Edgy beats and effects, perfectly sculpted for hard-hitting electronic tunes.

Contours - Volume 2

An experimental collection of hypnotic, industrial vibes, hits and textures.

Glitchwave - Volume 1

A cyber-futuristic pack of spacy beats, effects, pads and melodic leads.

Prepared Guitar

Guitar sounds, plucks and strums processed through unconventional techniques.

Morph

Evolving textures and metalic glitches for otherworldly sonic explorations.

Glitchwave - Volume 2

Electrifying textures, fragmented melodies, distorted beats and mangled basslines.

Twist

Analog lines from the Studio Electronics SE-1, and a collection of crisp drums.

Crunch

Banger crunchy beats, hits and melodic loops.

Fragments

Razor sharp hits, gritty drum loops, and warped arps.

Spark

Hard hitting rhythms, vocal chops and gritty tones across tempos to spark your next idea.

Rift (Coming soon)

Fresh collection of sounds and ideas that can fit into a wide range of genres and productions.

Audio-reactive Promo Video

I am far from a TouchDesigner expert but am learning, and have enjoyed making audio-reactive promo videos for these packs. Here's one, made with only sounds from that pack.

Photography

Years of photography resulted in a diverse collection of images, some of which are available for licensed use on Getty Images, iStock and Shutterstock. A few faves are below.

For a more complete gallery, check out a recently published Squarespace site here: photo.ak.rs

A selection of photos are available for free use on Unsplash, including the ones below. As of August 2024, these images have collectively had nearly 3 million views and more than 60,000 downloads on that platform.

You can catch an occasional post on Instagram, and on Threads (which is somehow the best place to share photos online nowadays).

Music Production

AKRS and KOAL are separate projects that explore different styles of electronic music. From energetic club tracks to more experimental sounds, these productions can be found on various platforms, including Spotify and Beatport.

Additional, original productions are availble for purchase on Wavetick, an innovative open music marketplace that protects core artist rights and ensures a fair balance of revenue.

DJ mixes

An odd mix from my DJ days in the 2000s NYC club scene, along with newer mixes and productions, are available on MixCloud and SoundCloud. Here's a recent mix of original tracks. (Unmixed album is on Spotify.)

Guitar

A lifelong passion for music was fueled with guitar playing as a teenager. This included playing in various bands, notably Kill by Inches, a New York-based group that often performed in the city's music scene. (Check out that snap from a show at McCarren Park in Brooklyn. The guitar in the photo is still by my desk and I maintain a strong taste in headless guitars.)

David Gilmour once noted that sometimes you pick up a new guitar and "it gifts you a song". This phenomenon is something I can relate to. Over the years I've owned more than 30 guitars though most of them end up sold leaving a much smaller collection.

RiffsOnBeats

Sometimes a guitar riff comes to you and you just have to run with it. Drums, bass guitar and keys often complete the idea. And, a quick video captures the performance and makes it easy to revisit.

After a few of these, I challenged myself to make such a thing every week for a year, posting these creations on @riffsonbeats on Instagram. After a brief break, the series continued at a more sensible pace. Over time, that practice of capturing riffs and developing them into short compositions became the foundation for Steerco.

Steerco

Steerco is my latest instrumental music project, expanding those guitar-led ideas into fully realized compositions that combine neo-psychedelia and post-rock with cinematic electronics, ambient atmosphere, and degraded rhythmic textures.

The debut album, Intercolor, grew out of years of recording riffs, experimenting with guitar effects, and turning short musical ideas into more fully realized compositions.

Follow Steerco on Instagram or listen and purchase on Bandcamp.

A few years ago, I recorded a video of myself playing the Guns N' Roses classic Sweet Child O' Mine, on my son's mini Les Paul guitar. Surprisingly popular, that video has over 700,000 views on YouTube.

Guitars

Guitar tinkering eventually led to building them nearly from scratch. Now, the hunt is on for unique vintage parts that deserve a second chance. When something special turns up, it's a chance to get creative - preserving the old-school vibe while adding some modern magic. I'm branding these creations: Futro.

Futro #3

Born on September 7th, 2024, this guitar features a distinctive Japanese neck with scalloped high frets, showing signs of being well-played over many years before it found its way to me. After extensive restoration, I paired it with a custom-made body, stained with leather dye and finished in layers of Tru-Oil. Its soul lies in a unique set of second-hand pickups, arranged in a configuration I’ve yet to encounter elsewhere.

Futro #2

While some of these instruments are designed to highlight their age and mojo, the goal with this one was entirely different. Assembled in August 2024, this guitar is an old fantasy finally realized. Gloss black with light colored binding is my all-time favorite finish and it covers a carved top holding a set of Tom Anderson P90 pickups; the heart of this guitar.

Futro #1

This project kicked off with a vintage neck from the 1980s, which I sanded and refinished. Next up was leveling and polishing the frets - a first time endeavor. The body was built by Warmoth in Tacoma, and was stained with leather dye and lacquered in my backyard.

In August of 2022, I gifted this guitar to my father - my first guitar teacher - and it has lived in my parents' home in Belgrade since.

Futro #0

This stratocaster clone was spec'd and assembled in 2021 around an exceptional second-hand neck and vintage Fender pickups. The USA-made swamp ash body was finished and aged by MJT in Missouri. I assembled and lightly aged the rest to match its vibe.

Custom Guitar Pedals

Also on the DIY front, a couple of custom pedals have been soldered together - think tweaked circuits in custom designed enclosures.

Inspired by the Zvex Fuzz Factory circuit, Fuzzzilla's germanium transistor sounds monstrous.

Rise & Shine is a clone of the classic Ross compressor, and delightfully tames dynamics.

See you around

Originally from Belgrade (former Yugoslavia, now Serbia) I've spent most of my life in New York City, and live in Brooklyn with my wife and our two kids. Say hello if you spot me at a local music show, a Knicks game at the Garden, or at a coffee shop in the neighborhood.