My path toward creating interactive musical works hasn’t been a straight line. Between guitar, electroacoustic music, and digital technology, it’s a journey made of determining encounters and sometimes unexpected discoveries that led me to explore these new artistic territories.

The Determining Influence of Francis Faber

Francis Faber, my former teacher, planted the first seeds of my fascination with interactive art through his installation “Totem”. This revolutionary work made me understand that music could transcend the traditional concert framework to become an immersive and participatory experience.

“Totem” already proposed this revolutionary idea: the listener no longer endures the work, they shape it through their presence and gestures. This discovery profoundly marked my conception of musical creation and opened my reflection on the possibilities offered by interactivity.

From Guitar to Electroacoustic Music

My journey began with guitar, with several albums produced in collaboration with Thomas Demarle at Musicopré. This traditional studio experience gave me a solid technical foundation, but I aspired to explore other sonic territories.

The transition to electroacoustic composition happened naturally, nourished by my curiosity for contemporary composers and new musical technologies. Pure Data became my tool of choice for developing musical algorithms, while Ardour allowed me to structure my multichannel compositions.

The Revelation: Smiles from Ear to Ear

The decisive moment came during the first public presentations of Musique & Moi. I expected a polite but distant reception - after all, interactive acousmatic music isn’t exactly mainstream.

Reality stunned me. The users, though novices in electroacoustic music, displayed smiles from ear to ear. They discovered with wonder that they could “play” music without prior knowledge, experiment with acousmatic phrasing through simple manipulation of sound objects.

An Unexpected Contagious Joy

The enthusiasm was such that I had to postpone the exhibition’s closing time. Visitors didn’t want to leave! They chained sessions, moving from solo to duo, then trio and quartet, progressively discovering the richness of acousmatic polyphony.

This reaction deeply marked me. It revealed that interactivity could make accessible a music considered difficult, create bridges between contemporary art and the general public. The interface becomes mediation, the playful experience opens doors to aesthetic discovery.

Understanding This Enthusiastic Reception

Why such success with novices? Several factors explain this reception:

Learning through experience: Rather than theoretically explaining acousmatic composition, Musique & Moi allows living it directly. Users intuitively understand concepts through manipulation.

Pedagogical progression: From solo to quartet, the work naturally guides toward complexity, never losing the user.

Absence of judgment: Unlike a traditional instrument, there are no possible “wrong notes.” Each interaction generates sonic beauty.

Toward New Horizons

These enthusiastic responses confirmed the relevance of my artistic approach. They encouraged me to continue with Ascendance, this time exploring spatialization through genealogical exploration.

Each interactive work thus becomes a laboratory of human as well as musical experiences. It reveals unsuspected listening potentials, creates moments of shared joy around sonic discovery.

Interactive Art as Revealer

My journey taught me that interactive art possesses this unique capacity to reveal everyone’s musical sensitivity. It democratizes access to complex aesthetics while preserving their artistic richness.

These smiles from ear to ear remain my most beautiful reward. They confirm that technology, serving a clear artistic vision, can create profoundly human and joyful experiences.

Discover my interactive acousmatic works on jcploquin.itch.io and live your own musical creation experience.