Alex Augier is an electronic musician based in Paris. His work focuses on hybrid digital aesthetics in a musical and transversal perspective, including sound, visual and formal elements. These elements interact with the stage space and take mainly the form of singular audiovisual performances. He defends an overview of the creative process where design, programming and technology are an integral part of the artistic project. His works have been presented at international festivals including Ars Electronica (Linz/AT), Media Ambition Tokyo (Tokyo/JP), Festival de la Imagen (Manizales/CO), Scopitone (Nantes/FR), Open Source Art (Gdansk/PL), KinoBeat (Porto Alegre/BR), Athens Digital Arts (Athens/GR), Nemo (Paris/FR) …
FACTS:
1: To know that you do not know anything makes it possible to progress
2: Learn, learn and learn
3: To create stories and to believe them
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
Organic aesthetic in architecture, design, visual and sound…
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I play drums, piano and compose music since my childhood. Later, I got interested in electronic music and with the use of the computer I embraced the visual part. Computers have screen and loudspeakers, stimulating the eyes and the ears at the same time, and the bridge between both became obvious with languages like Max and Processing. Of course, it’s not a coincidence. I like visuals, design, architecture, objects, multimedia expressions. My AV performances allow me to come up with something more personal.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
It’s really impossible to answer at this question ! But I can try to give 5 names.
With the term “albums”, I think of studio works, which excludes orchestral pieces (Claude Debussy / La mer, Gyorgy Ligeti / Lux Aeterna…)… it will be easier but really incomplete.
Radiohead / Kid A – Amnesiac
Alain Bashung / L’imprudence
Paul Jebanasam / Continuum
Roly Porter / Third law
Pink Floyd / The wall
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Until now, I never visited or worked in Berlin. However, it make me think about culture, especially both orchestral and electronic music, European project and a great place for artists from all over the world.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
I love the Pere-Lachaise graveyard. It’s such a really beautiful and quiet place in Paris where I like walking. And it give me some inspiration and energy. It’s about life ! It remind you that you have only one life to make something that makes sense. Seeing the tombs of great people (artistic, scientists…) and feeling all the wonderful works they made in only one life help you to focus on the good way.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
It’s really impossible to imagine this situation. It’s like talking about a world without langage. People communicate from ever. So, probably, making music is the first thing that people did (before langage).
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
Franck Vigroux / Barricades. And I really enjoy !
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I would like to collaborate with « no music » artists, like visual artists… in the order to focus on my musical side. I’m currently collaborate with Alba G. Corral, visual artist based in Barcelona. I love her work and I’m really lucky and glad to make an immersive audiovisual performance with her.
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
It’s really hard to try to remind every gigs I saw, heard or did ! However, recently, I really enjoyed « Hamlet je suis vivant et vous etes morts » directed by Wilfried Wendling, in collaboration with Milosh Luczynski, Pierre Henry and Serge Merlin. It’s a great musical and visual approach of some texts of Schakespeare !
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
I’m a “digital” artist working on audiovisual, immersive projects… So, technology is important in my work and I like it. However, I keep focusing on the aesthetic result. I have an idea of what I want to propose to the audience, kind of music, kind of visual, kind of stage design and I use the technology to reach my aim, not the opposite. I take care that my projects doesn’t become technology demonstrations.
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
I have one sister. I don’t know what she feels about my artistic work.
To listen his first solo EP: soundcloud.com/dautres-cordes/sets/alex-augier-germination-dac2017-1
