FEATURED RELEASES
— Climat avenir
— Simon Chioini
— Anòmia, 2021
Climat avenir depicts a series of meticulously crafted electronic soundscapes. Comprising four concert pieces and a postlude, the album’s environmental approach is made explicit by the artist’s note: “This work cycle is an imagined world voided of any human presence, or succeeding it. It is a prismatic composition: a vibrant landscape, a topographic map, an exploded geode.” Here, nature comes as a structural model where the complexity, diversity and connectedness of ecosystems are transposed into sounds. The cohesiveness of materials and their variations delineate a singular terrain, rendered by the intricacy of the artist’s sophisticated sound design. But these aestheticized compositions also reflect on the negative impact of the human presence on Earth. The fact that all sounds are synthesized—fluorescent, abrasive, corrosive—makes for a sound palette that foreshadows a hostile climatic future.
Despite its sobering message, Climat avenir still shows signs of beauty in its contemplative stance. Sections evolve slowly so the attentive ear can grasp every microsound, every accident on the frequency spectrum, every recurring motive. Now and then, the austerity of the soundscapes gives place to what could be called the transcendental aspect of music. This is best manifested in the finale of “Representation (précieuses)”, the first and most substantial piece of the opus, which culminates on an expanding synth chord after exploring various degrees of noise and harmony. Overall, the whole album presents a highly sensory experience and Chioini’s reflection on nature shows a balance of sorrow and admiration.
Despite its sobering message, Climat avenir still shows signs of beauty in its contemplative stance. Sections evolve slowly so the attentive ear can grasp every microsound, every accident on the frequency spectrum, every recurring motive. Now and then, the austerity of the soundscapes gives place to what could be called the transcendental aspect of music. This is best manifested in the finale of “Representation (précieuses)”, the first and most substantial piece of the opus, which culminates on an expanding synth chord after exploring various degrees of noise and harmony. Overall, the whole album presents a highly sensory experience and Chioini’s reflection on nature shows a balance of sorrow and admiration.
— Amour détritus
— S. Chioini
— S. Chioini, 2020
“Overworked nous transporte aux origines du label Warp [...] en évitant de sombrer dans la nostalgie grâce à la minutie des arrangements, faits d’une multitude de sons et d’effets de textures calibrés à la perfection.”
- Philippe Renaud, Le Devoir
His background in electroacoustic music wastes no time in making itself felt. The background textures he skillfully weaves open the way for percussion of a rare quality that gingerly approaches drum & bass. If they’re applied sparingly on the introductory “Wasteland (the wish)”, let’s just say that the follow-up gives us our money’s worth. “Metallic Sheen” and “Overworked” trigger an irresistible urge to move and could make anyone get up from their seats.
- William Paulhus, PAN M 360
Following his logic of alloyed sounds, S. 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.”
- Philippe Renaud, Le Devoir
His background in electroacoustic music wastes no time in making itself felt. The background textures he skillfully weaves open the way for percussion of a rare quality that gingerly approaches drum & bass. If they’re applied sparingly on the introductory “Wasteland (the wish)”, let’s just say that the follow-up gives us our money’s worth. “Metallic Sheen” and “Overworked” trigger an irresistible urge to move and could make anyone get up from their seats.
- William Paulhus, PAN M 360
Following his logic of alloyed sounds, S. 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.”
— +4 Degrees
— S. Chioini
— Humidex, 2019
“High tensile IDM-electro groover”
- Resident Advisor
S. Chioini brings in the humidity with his broken percussive number “+4 Degrees”, a bass-driven track built upon crystalline sound design, sweeping envelopes and moody pads. Its precise structure, micro-edited cuts and syncopated drums relate to the composer’s electroacoustic background as much as to roots in contemporary music and a dedicated taste for experimental sounds.
- Resident Advisor
S. Chioini brings in the humidity with his broken percussive number “+4 Degrees”, a bass-driven track built upon crystalline sound design, sweeping envelopes and moody pads. Its precise structure, micro-edited cuts and syncopated drums relate to the composer’s electroacoustic background as much as to roots in contemporary music and a dedicated taste for experimental sounds.
— Compositions 012-015
— Simon Chioini
— Where To Now?, 2016
“A micro/cosmic excursion, pointillistic beauty that creates a world fathoms deep. Each composition melds into the next despite appearing to have been made over the course of 3 years. Feels like following ever changing mechanisms in their process. Very particular soundscapes.”
- ULTRA///
Compositions 012-015 is a collection of Simon Chioini’s work during his first years studying electroacoustic composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
- ULTRA///
Compositions 012-015 is a collection of Simon Chioini’s work during his first years studying electroacoustic composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
— Dumbledogs
— DJ Voilà
— Noumenal Loom, 2017
“As if DJ Stingray mixed two samples from Delroy Edwards into one track, cracked open a live show DJ Sprinkles forgot to attend, so the local jockey popped her SoundCloud on random and got ice cream sandwiches around the corner before getting into a three-on-three ball game.”
- Tiny Mix Tapes
DJ Voilà follows up his 1080p debut, Aimless Summer, with this club ready house EP.
- Tiny Mix Tapes
DJ Voilà follows up his 1080p debut, Aimless Summer, with this club ready house EP.
© Simon Chioini 2021-2024
