ELIANE RADIGUE

Celebrating her 90th birthday in January, Eliane Radigue has had a long and influential career, pioneering tape techniques and the sound of Drone music along the way.

The year was 1955 and Eliane began her study of musique concrète with French music composers Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry at the Studio dʼEssai in Paris. Having studied piano prior to hearing Schaefferʼs recordings, she had begun to compose music of her own. However, while at Studio dʼEssai, she was introduced to the idea that sounds could be considered music and she began training in tape music techniques. During this time she assisted Pierre Henry, creating some of the sounds that would appear on his works. Eliane left Studio dʼ Essai and pursued classical composition but, in 1967, she reconnected with Pierre Henry and started working as his assistant at Studio Apsome. There she began developing techniques for using microphone feedback and tape loops. These techniques allowed her to create music with slight changes over the length of the composition. This laid the foundation for what would become her signature sound. A sound that she continues to create to this day. Electronic years

After years of learning and developing tapebased musical experiments, Eliane began experimenting with synthesizers. She created her first synthesizer music on the Buchla system at NYU, in a studio she shared with Laurie Spiegel. She also experimented with the Moog modular before discovering the ARP 2500, the instrument she would use for the next 25 years. Unique to the instrument are the sliding matrix switches at the top of each module. Instead of patch cables, these switches allow the moduleʼs output to be routed to virtually any input of the other modules. Eliane commented that the filters of the ARP 2500 were the best in there business. She recorded everything to reel-to-reel tape, saying that it was essential because it would be impossible to recreate everything that she did exactly the same way a second time. However, she would also diagram every setting of the 2500 out on paper. After releasing numerous works with the 2500, she made her last electronic work in the year

2000, Lʼlle Re-sonante, for which she received the Golden Nica Award in 2006. Traditional instrumentation

In 2001, Eliane began composing for other musicians on traditional instruments, beginning with Kasper T. Toepliz for the electric bass. By 2004, she dedicated herself to composing solely for acoustic instruments with a three-part work entitled Naldjorlak, featuring Charles Curtis on cello, and Carol Robinson and Bruno Martinez on basset horn. In 2011 her composition for solo harp premiered in London. Occam 1was written for harpiest Rhodri Davies. There have been numerous pieces in the Occam series in which Eliane is still composing. Influence and dedication

Eliane had a vision. Even before she knew how to make the music she imagined, she knew what she wanted to create. That dedication to an idea is so fascinating to me. She faced hardships along the way and could have easily given in to the struggles. Her dedication to create music, that many consider noise and to explore the possibilities of sound and composition is something that so many of us lack today. Her influence is evident in much of the music of other artist I enjoy. She is a contemporary of other great electronic composers from the last century. Elianeʼs sound is truly unique in that even now that she is composing for acoustic instruments, her signature sound is preserved. Having never heard drone music played on acoustic instruments before, I was amazed at how much it sounds like a synthesizer. Talk about role-reversal! Yet it goes to show that sometimes it isnʼt the instrumentation that defines the sound, it is the composer. And with dedication and determination the idea will be realized no matter what instrument it is played on. The life and career of Eliane Radigue is a story that should be shared. She is a pioneer in so many ways. The fact that she chose a path that was uniquely her own and followed it, utilizing an instrument that only a choice few appreciated, and has influenced so many others along the way is something that current musicians should to take to heart. Today, music is so accessible. The instruments are inexpensive and easy to use. The fact that the technology is so advanced that we can make real music on our phones is amazing but, what are we doing to be pioneers today? What will they say about our life and career when we reach 90? It is a way of life that sets us apart from the masses. Eliane lived it and she is loved by so many because of it. Happy Birthday to a true visionary and we wish you many more.

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