Emerging from Toulouse, France, ADHOC is a rare breed of artist: the kind who seeks to innovate and explore, rather than copy and follow the beaten path. The talented sonic wizard ventures into unknown territories, navigating electronic waters, avant-garde freedom and cinematic energy. The result is a series of stunning, seemingly abstract compositions, really showcasing ADHOC’s artistic prowess.
‘Fonte’ is the latest of those pieces, a dynamic, ever-evolving kaleidoscopic gem, built over modular synthetisers, retro machines and sound manglers. ADHOC puts a lot of thought into it, explaining a defined concept behind the sonic frequencies. ‘Fonte’ revolves around nature and the living. Echoing the never-ending flow of ice-melting in polar regions, the track seeks to resemble that same sense of dissolution.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with ADHOC to learn more about his artistry and future goals. Interview below!
Hey ADHOC, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
I feel good thank you for this interview. So, Adhoc is a solo project, although tending to open up to new musical and graphic artistic collaborations. It combines the timbral richness, the progressive trance of electronics with the more lyrical acoustic improvisation of the instruments. It’s a very live-oriented project, with no computer for the love of the accidental, the beauty of chance.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; What first drew you to making music?
I just wanted to participate, it was a powerful call when I heard some work. I had no choice but to become an actor in this adventure. Something quite incongruous as far as I was concerned because it was very far from my starting environment. But I recognized myself as a certain artist and I had the arrogance to believe that I could bring a small variation to the contemporary musical palette.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
I didn’t think too much about the question, I’m currently starting to play with people around me because the meeting happened on its own. But yes I would very much like to work with strings. Certainly traditional instruments because I like trance music, and for me it makes sense, let’s go crazy… one of these days I’ll call Toumani Diabaté!
You have just released an experimental and frankly visionary piece, ‘FONTE’. What does the record mean to you?
‘Fonte’ is simply one vision among many others of the beauty of our world and its transformations. It translates as an emergency, I place myself like most of us, concerned by the most preoccupying thing, namely the mutation of our species and its environment. It’s an interesting subject. I am trying to find out what place this can take in the collective consciousness. I start to launch a subject by letting my own unconscious speak, by placing sounds and images on a theme and by letting the plot unfold as freely as possible.
Do you compose alone or within a team? Which gear and instruments are you most familiar with?
I compose alone, the windows open on the surrounding sounds or outside, with nature, I have an autonomous system which allows that. But then I rework specific compositions in duo and trio to offer them new colours, it’s quite exhilarating. So I’m just focusing on an Elektron machine and a modular system which is the take-off ramp for all the acoustic instruments that are mixed into it.
What’s your approach to blending organic and electronic matter? Is there a specific formula you are applying?
The important thing for me is to create an unstoppable musical journey full of surprises, always making me want to add my soul to it. And without too much effort I let go of the desire to add this song, this scream, this free and not really mastered expression.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
Regenerate me. I was starting to get out of breath in the creation and the performances. The pandemic has artistically brought mostly a withdrawal into myself. But by resourcing myself with other artists, maybe like a vital instinct, things have shifted into a new creative paradigm which, despite the jungle of the music industry, makes me stand on my passion horse like a 21st-century Don Quichot 🙂
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
Share this Adhoc project with an adequate audience and play in inspiring places. Lots of exciting things with new artistic collaborations. I am in the process of making new clips, new songs, some more rock, others more poetic depending on the collaborations. It started out as a dream and now in so many ways it really seems to come to life.
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