VIDEO. Toulouse: the incredible show controlled by the thought of the artist Molécule au Bikini
Audacious opening for the Weekend of Curiosities, the Bikini festival offered to emerging artists, which takes place until Sunday in Ramonville. The artist Molécule launched this tenth edition on Thursday evening with a one-of-a-kind performance: an electro show controlled by thought.
After two years of absence due to Covid, the Weekend of Curiosities came back in style with a very original launch: a free live show that looks like a performance. On stage, Romain de la Haye, says Molecule, faces a large silver monolith, a helmet on his head, looking concentrated. Its electro notes resonate in an almost religious silence. The audience of Bikini discovers the “Brain Performance Mix”, a show… controlled by his brain.
This is only the third time that Molécule has performed it, after the private launch in Paris and the Nuits sonores de Lyon. This very ambitious project was launched by The creation of the Absolut companythe sponsorship program of the alcoholic group, and developed by the French neurotechnological start-up Nextmind, specializing in computer-brain interfaces. Only a few dates are scheduled at the moment. A godsend for the Toulouse public.
JIL, the instrument of the future
“Two years ago, The Absolut Company Creation came to present to me a technology which allows commands to be sent by sight, explains Molécule. After reflection, I wanted to create the instrument of the future, which is continuously connected to my brain activity. It affects my emotional state and the sound we hear.” This instrument, he baptized it JIL, it is a block 2.5 meters high.
A major new challenge for the artist, accustomed to creative explorations and extreme artistic journeys: in the past he has already captured the sounds aboard a trawler in the Atlantic, a ship in the Vendée Globe, on an expedition to Greenland or in a giant wave in Nazareth, Portugal, to feed his musical creations on the principle of “field recording”, recording in the field.
Each time, the technological dimension is very present in his projects. “What is exciting is to clear new horizons, he continues. We learn, we test, we also take risks, because it is still a fragile technology. The first feedback is very positive. People are quite intrigued. There’s something quite mystical about it all. To be on stage and playing this instrument is to be in a meditative state.”
Molécule’s performance seduced the Bikini, who chose to devote the opening night of the festival to it and offer it to the public. “It’s a brilliant project, a contemporary creation that sticks to the artistic line of the Week-End of Curiosities, believes Antoine Fantuz, the programmer. We were thus able to extend the festival to four days. For a recovery, after two years of Covid, it’s a pleasure!”
The Weekend of Curiosities takes place until Sunday June 5 at the Bikini, in Ramonville, with around thirty artists, including Lewis OfMan, November Ultra and MNNQNS, spread over three stages.