FEUX by Mathias Delplanque

This sound work was composed for FEUX (Eng. Fires), a choreographic performance by Elise Lerat (Collectif Allogène), created between 2020 and 2021 and first presented on January 21, 2021 at TU-Nantes (Nantes, France).

Mathias Delplanque’s musical composition was developed in close dialogue with the dancers during rehearsals and performed live during the shows. The music seeks to translate the themes present on stage into sound: multiplicity versus unity, polyrhythm versus metronome, chaos versus order. An epic dimension runs through the piece, echoing the heroic figures embodied by the performers. Composed during the COVID-19 lockdown, FEUX also bears the imprint of that suspended moment in time, reflecting human, psychological, and social questions specific to that period.

"In this piece, the dancers explore the intensity of their movements. They try to harmonise the rhythm of the individual and that of their community, confronting themselves with the dream of a life both solitary and collective. Everyone perceives the world they are creating, fluid and fragmented, where humour, tragedy and sparkle meet. Their reality is a place of power games, of taking power, of emulation, of unison, of liberation. Each of them gives birth to heroic figures. The fiery evolution is rhythm: fires take their origin in a rhythmic friction." - Elise Lerat, choreographer

The pieces presented here were later recorded by Mathias Delplanque in the studio, without the dancers present. Detached from the physical performance, the music takes on a new autonomy, revealing its internal structures and emotional contours while retaining the intensity of its original context.

The album may be experienced either as a single continuous piece or as three distinct movements, offering different modes of immersion and listening.

FEUX teaser: https://vimeo.com/560766583


Mathias Delplanque is a composer, performer, improviser, sound installation artist, and composer for theatre and dance. He is also a founding member of several musical ensembles.

His work as a composer began in 1998, following his graduation from the Fine Arts School, when he chose to move away from sculpture and devote himself fully to sound creation. Since then, he has released more than forty records on international labels and collaborated with musicians across a wide spectrum of genres, as well as with visual artists, writers, filmmakers, photographers, and dancers. His installation works are regularly presented in galleries and art centers, and he performs frequently on stage, both solo and in collaboration with other musicians.

Delplanque’s sound work unfolds through several parallel identities. Under the name Lena, he produced electronic music influenced by reggae, African music, and German minimalist techno. Works released under his own name explore more hybrid and organic territories, blending electronic sounds, acoustic instruments, and field recordings, informed by traditions such as drone, noise, trance music, and African and Middle Eastern musical forms.

Initially produced exclusively in the studio, his work has gradually evolved toward more flexible, organic, and improvised processes. Deeply engaged with live electronic music, Delplanque has developed a highly personal approach to electronic improvisation, using multiple devices to involve the whole body in real-time performance. His live work typically combines electronic and acoustic sources, sampled and transformed in real time.

mathiasdelplanque.com
collectifallogene.com

A genre-agnostic label focused on odderworldly sounds

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