Interview with S8JFou

May 2024

S8JFou is a highly-regarded, young French musician and composer.  His passionate pursuit of computer-assisted music precision has led him to build his own synthesisers on which he masterfully breaks down and manipulates repetitive and rhythmic melodic variations layered with harmony and dissonance.   He has produced several well-received albums and performs regularly around Europe.

 • What prompted your musical journey ?

I believe that if I hadn't found a way to create sounds, the constant noise in my head could have led to mental illness. I searched for a tool like a pen for a notebook. I need tools to express myself and the more skillful I become using these tools the better I'm able to express myself, and it's what keeps me alive.

• What important lesson have you learnt from other musicians ?

There have been many times when I've been at a gig and seen someone perform something purely experimental and initially thought “that's daring!”, only to see a hugely positive reaction from the audience.  Music is an endless experience, a continuous journey and there is always something new to learn from other musicians, whether it is technique or theory.. When I was a teenager, I used to say "this artist was better before," but now, as a musician, witnessing artists radically change thrills me because it means they are still experimenting, evolving, and discovering. They are like kids, continuously exploring life.  I've learned that no matter what you do, there is always someone who will like it and support you. Over-analysing how people might react is counterproductive.

• Is the music you’re making right now easily understood by audiences, or does it need clarifying ?

I would answer "no" to both questions. My music has become harder to understand over the years, but that's okay. There is no need to understand it. You can just listen and try to feel something. Music is my language and I create sounds because words can't express what I want to convey. There's no way to clarify that. For example, you can read a book and feel nothing, whilst the person next to you reading the same book might cry. The same applies to my music..… Just give it try, a open yourself up, and maybe you’ll feel something, maybe not.

• Describe the creative process, intruments & equipment that you will be using for this project ?

My plan is to enable Cedric to use found objects to drum on, thus producing a unique sound source. To achieve this, I have created 10 small metal microphones used in electro-acoustic guitars to capture vibrations from the surface they are attached to, and developed various computer programs to utilise the audio data to control additional sounds. The rest of the project will involve experimentation, and we may even attempt to compose some tracks using this setup.

• Can you name 3 current or up-and-coming artists whose concerts you would like to go to ?

Autechre, Skee Mask, Lanark Artefax.

• How would you like to see the music scene developed ?

- I believe that for live performances, we should break down the barrier between the stage and the audience because it feels like we're historically stuck in a comfort zone. There should be more than one way to present live music, with more creative use of lighting and spatial sound iin place of the typical frontal stereo sound and colored LED spotlights. Let’s have more stage and performance experimentation.  Computers are the most powerful instruments of our time and utilising them more will lead to more exciting, original and creative live music.  Musicians should not feel they have to impress by using huge hardware synthesizers.  In terms of composition, I hope it continues to evolve in unpredictable ways;  a musical performance can simply be an auditory experience; it’s okay for the audience not to understand it as such.