Jackson Free Press

Jackson musician Eli Bettiga is the sole member of Lost Puppet Society, an indie-electronica project that he admits started from being "the geeky computer kid with too much time on his hands."

But that combination gave birth to an evolving interest in music. As LPS, Bettiga likes to slip his creations under the table quietly, preferring to let his listeners discover the music for themselves. Bettiga, 16, decided to follow that route with his first full-length record as LPS, "Life Amongst the Fallen Leaves," which he released in May of this year.

Before there was LPS, though, Bettiga released an album called "As Long as My Eyes Will Let Me" under the name Playing in Parks.

"That was more dance, and I'm not really into that anymore," he says. "I was really into that when I was (younger), but I listen to it now and its like, 'Eh.'"

Bettiga released "As Long as My Eyes Will Let Me" Friday, October 28, 2014, through Bandcamp, a free and easy-to-use website for artists to stream and sell their music online. Only one day after its release, he began working on "Life Amongst the Fallen Leaves," which he recorded over the course of seven months.

As he continues to grow and develop his sound, he is also making many changes in the way he presents his music, including teaming up with other musicians to improve his performances.

"No one wants to watch a kid and his keyboard live," he says. "I'm (thinking of) getting with a buddy who's a guitar player, ... and maybe I'll start a new project with that."

"Life Amongst the Fallen Leaves" is almost entirely instrumental except for the songs "Warm Horizons" and "The Spaceman." While artists such as Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, John Coltrane, Gorillaz and David Albarn influenced the album, Bettiga says that Jackson soul artists, including Dorothy Moore, also played a huge part in creating a signature sound for LPS.

As with many modern electronic artists, the "808" sound is one of his main platforms. The backing beats found in LPS songs are often based on those of the original Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, a programmable drum machine that premiered in the early '80s. He also uses a "little (Korg) MS 20 plugged into a box, and it makes my voice sound like a robot. It's the same thing that Daft Punk does," he says.

Bettiga says this effect was the beginning of "Life Amongst the Fallen Leaves," which he created to be viewed as a whole, rather than having singles pulled away from it. The storyline and music meld together into what he describes as "a trip."

"It's really earthy sounds, and then the second half is way more space," he says.

When not making music, Bettiga's life as a Jacksonian includes going to his favorite local venue, Duling Hall, a few times a month, visiting the Mississippi Museum of Art and hanging out in Fondren. While on the music-making grind, he works to pull inspiration from his own "teenage angst" to discover the next stage of Lost Puppet Society.

Lost Puppet Society's "Life Amongst the Fallen Leaves" is available now at lostpuppetsociety.bandcamp.com and soundcloud.com/lostpuppetsociety.