A multisensory sound installation for the culinary arts
They say chance favors the prepared, and that was certainly the case here. During a visit to the Îles de la Madeleine, I happened to meet Nicole Gravel, a brilliant local artist, in her boutique. I mentioned my work in sound, never imagining where that casual conversation would lead. A year later, she reached out with an ambitious vision.
Every June, the archipelago’s top restaurants host themed culinary evenings. Nicole wanted to push the boundaries further by creating a truly multisensory experience where sight, taste, smell, and sound were all engaged to their fullest potential. She invited me to create a sonic universe that would evoke the very essence of the islands. I jumped at the opportunity.
The challenge was significant: I wasn’t just composing a piece of music; I had to design a triple-zone sound installation across different spaces within a restaurant. While I had captured some recordings on the islands two years prior, a one-hour immersive composition required much more material. Accompanied by my partner, Sylvie, I returned to the islands to build a comprehensive repertoire of signature sounds.
What should have taken a full month was compressed into a single week. Between field recording, composing the hour-long soundscape, and installing the diffusion hardware throughout the venue, we had only six days. It was a frantic, exhilarating race against the clock, a pace truly worthy of a “Folle virée gourmande”.
