BIO

Emerging from Montréal’s vibrant community of experimental artists, Simon Chioini creates a hybrid of new music aesthetics and genre-fusing electronic sounds. Through long-form electroacoustic pieces and sharp technoïd productions, his exercises in abstract composition tied with club elements have honest roots. Drawing from a considerable academic background and a self-driven study of the past decades’ outlier electronic music, the diversity of his influences is manifest. Innovative labels such as Rephlex, Warp and Planet Mu, or the pioneering musique concrète of the GRM come to mind as primary examples of that scope.

Following this logic of alloyed sounds, Chioini’s last title, Amour détritus, focuses essentially on club-oriented genres like drum & bass, electro and breaks while blending in a distinctive penchant for sonic experiments, lush ambiences and avant-garde tropes. “Wasteland (the wish)” sets the atmosphere with a landscape of postromantic harmonies and cinematic sound design inspired by the deep emotional journeys of Tarkovsky’s science-fiction films. This spans the range of an EP ambiguously dealing with climate change and a discomforted love of modern civilization. Reflecting on the thematic of Amour détritus, Chioini mentions: “I had this image of the world built on trash. A network made of scraps, too complex to understand fully, beautiful and bright and truly terrifying.”

Although the EP stands together as a fluid narrative, flowing from experimental tones to electro-style beats and an almost pop finale, an emphasis has to be put on the seven minutes “Overworked”. With its iterating synth lines, washed-out breaks and pumping kicks, the track develops as a rough piece of machinery, glowing near the flames of the coal furnaces on which it draws its power. It is pure force, propulsion and production, intensively processed and culminating in a precise drum solo that justifies numerous replays in itself.

The S. Chioini alias was introduced in July 2019 with “+4 Degrees”, a single that also nudged at the issue of climate change and that got the attention of DJs for its angular rhythms and refined sound design. Coincidentally, the release marked the launch of Humidex, a label Chioini cofounded with friends Absurde and softcoresoft to promote the local techno scene.

Previously, his music appeared under the name DJ Voilà on Noumenal Loom (USA, 2017) and the defunct 1080p (Canada, 2016). Closer to his present projects, Compositions 012–015 was published by Where To Now? (UK) in 2016. The album compiles Chioini’s work during his first years studying electroacoustic composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

Chioini performed for intimate venues such as Montréal’s Datcha, Société des arts technologiques (SAT), and Eastern Bloc or New York’s The Gateway, Bossa Nova Civic Club and Trans-Pecos. On the international level, he participated in festivals such as Mutek (Montréal 2018/2016, Buenos Aires 2018, Mexico 2017), Sight & Sound (Montréal 2019/2016), Akousma (Montréal 2018/2016/2015), and L’Espace du son (Belgium 2015).

Finally, he hosts Acte musique, a show featuring new electronic music of all kinds and focusing on the most forward-looking outputs from artists around the Globe. Acte musique airs twice a month on n10.as (pronounced Antennas), an internet radio station broadcasting from Montréal since 2016.

FEATURED PERFORMANCES

12.09.2020 : Mutek, Montréal
26.10.2019 : Sight & Sound, Montréal
19.08.2019 : Exposé Noir, Montréal
(SPFDJ)
19.10.2018 : NVA Off-site, Montréal
(Karen Gwyer)
16.09.2018 : Mutek, Buenos Aires
26.08.2018 : Mutek, Montréal
(Acid Pauli, Charlotte Bendiks)
04.05.2018 : SAT, Montréal
(France Jobin, Robert Normandeau)
25.11.2017 : Mutek, Mexico
(Squarepusher, Telefon Tel Aviv)
21.10.2016 : Akousma, Montréal
(Antwood, Hans Tutschku)
01.10.2016 : Sight & Sound, Montréal
(RAMZi, ADR)
02.06.2016 : Mutek, Montréal
(Peder Mannerfelt)
27.02.2016 : NVA Nuit Blanche, Montréal
(Joey Anderson)
16.07.15 : Akousma / Festival de Lanaudière, Joliette
(Keith Fullerthon Whitman)
04.10.2013 : Akousma, Montréal

S. Chioini

✶ Fenêtre... assemblage — performance installative dans le foyer de la Salle Claude-Champagne