It’s one thing to listen to music and watch Windows Media Player throw psychedelic visuals at you and a completely different experience when you see the same on a larger than life canvas. And what if that canvas was the facade of a building? You read it right.
Puce Muse, a French company that formed 30 years ago, is the answer to that. Creating visual graphics that project on to a building, the art is coupled with music that is operated from a body suit adorned by the composer. Sensors on the arms of the body suit are controlled by the various points on the finger and movement of arms, which ultimately produces music. Founding member of Puce Muse, Serge, and his co-composer Christophe got talking with City Express about the concept, working on different facades and their performance set for Sunday evening.
“On Sunday, we’re going to be performing at the Quli Qutub Shahi Tombs. We haven’t seen it yet, but we’re excited about it. We had to decide on the place based on pictures, but lets see,” begins Serge. Having toured a bit in India already, the duo have performed at Pondicherry on the Chief Secretary building and in Bengaluru on the facade of a cathedral. So what is it that they look for in a building when deciding a venue?
“It has to be a smooth facade. We prefer historical buildings because they are beautiful and there is this sense of time that hangs in the air,” explains Serge. Does the history of the place make a difference to the music? “Yes it definitely does,” agrees Christophe, adding, “We don’t read up extensively about it, but we speak to people and try to get their inputs on the history.”
Another interesting factor of Puce Muse is their inclusion of local volunteers at every concert. Given that the venue is most always a surprise element in a way, and rehearsing isn’t particularly logistical until a day or two before the concert, how do they duo decide on their music showcase?
“We have a set track that we have already composed and decided what visuals to go with it. But that’s only half the show. The other half is where the volunteers perform,” says Serge. Conducting the volunteers however, is Christophe’s job. Each volunteer is given a game console which is programmed to the software that is used, where each button emits a specific sound and visual. Explaining further Christophe says, “They have to constantly keep an eye on me. We’re working on them before the concert as well, so there are certain gestures they will recognise – like high, low, and so on. On the console, there are numbers and each number corresponds to a sound. So I tell them the number, and they play it.”
With a set of people absolutely new to their technique, and timing being of utmost importance, doesn’t it feel like trying to conduct a loose cannon? Smiling Christophe says, “Well, like any other concert, there are good ones and bad ones. It’s like life. These concerts are a piece of life.”
Philosophy and history has the makings of a potent combination. Added to that is the music. While mostly electronic, the music is an eclectic mix. “The music includes classical compositions – three compositions by Bach, singing by Christophe, who has an excellent voice by the way, French poetry from the 18th century, etc. In total there are nine different kinds of music that we use,” says Serge.
Having travelled the world and performing at beautiful historical locations, was there any place that turned out to be a favourite? A fan of beaches, Serge tells us of a performance in Italy by the beach side, breaking into goosebumps as he remembers it. “It was a small group of audience, the beach close by. It was magical,” he shares.
Puse Muse, which literally means a computer processing chip inspiration (Puse means chips and muse as in the English usage of muse), will present Hyderabad 360 at the Qutub Shahi tombs on February 17, at 7 pm.