"One time, I discovered that handling a plastic bag sounded like a campfire when recorded on my crackly old tape recorder. I think that moment had a definite impact on my later choices in life."

At age 20, Klok joined Adaptor, an experimental music studio in Copenhagen. He began working with a Fairlight (one of the first samplers) and has been a samplist since.

"I feel the line between sound design and music is very undefined," states Klok. "Every sound I use is measured in my mind as a musical instrument because of the nature of a sampler; you can play any sound musically. If you think of the sampler as a musical instrument just as you would a violin, it would help explain my point of view."

After eight years at Adaptor, Klok crossed the pond to work with Venice-based Machine Head. His first job in the US was Nike's "Barry Sanders" spot featuring Dennis Hopper and directed by David Fincher. The sound designer went on to cultivate relationships with directors Tony Kaye, Marcus Nispel and Tony Scott.

In 1997, Klok founded Santa Monica music and sound design company CHKW with fellow composers/sound designers Rico Conning, Johannes Hammers and Damian Wagner. When the principals parted ways earlier this year, Klok resolved to open his own shop in Santa Monica, which he christened Audio Lounge. He is joined by executive producer James Martin, formerly the head of production at the now-defunct Milk Bar and production manager at Seth Epstein's Fuel, Santa Monica.

For Klok, the art of noise is the manipulation of sound and creation of layered audio landscapes intended to invoke an emotional response. "I use a G4 with a host of applications such as Emagic's Logic, Digidesign's ProTools and Propellerhead's Recycle, among others, to log, mix, and alter sounds recorded personally or as part of an ever-growing library available on CD and online," explains the musical engineer.

He usually travels with a recording device, a modified version of a Sony DAT rig that he uses to capture happy accidents on set. "It is great when wild sound is recorded in addition to the scenes; they can add a dimension that is hard to recreate in some instances," says Klok, citing a recent spot for Chevy TrailBlazer out of Campbell-Ewald, Detroit.

"I did a Chevy spot with lions discovering the new TrailBlazer and I managed to get a lot of elements from a recording of the mother feeding her cubs. By altering the attack and release times of the audio snips and morphing them with other sounds from my library, I could use these to help explain the story of the spot."

Plum Productions' Eric Saarinen directed the Chevy "Pride" commercial shot on location in Kenya and Zimbabwe. The spot opens with a pride of lions and shows the TrailBlazer challenging the male's authority in front of the lionesses. When confronted by the TrailBlazer, the male promptly shies away. Recognizing the power of the vehicle, the lionesses approach the car and begin cooing.

"In fact, the lionesses were squeaking at the sight of their own reflections in the car," explains Saarinen who captured the sound on a DAT recorder. "We were telling the story from the lions' point of view so it didn't really make sense to have African rhythms in the spot.

"A sound designer needs to be able to tell a story," reasons Saarinen. Klok functions as both. "Whether it's sound design for "Diehard 2" or John Williams, the music or the sound can tell you a lot more than just seeing the picture. It signals suspense, change or any emotion."

With his portable rig, Klok is now free to work off a desktop anywhere in the world. "It's amazing how today's technology allows you to work without serious boundaries any more. After 15 years of being tied to a huge box with fans and cables, I must say I feel liberated."