Electronic music by Ahmed Essyad and Gilles Aubry | KorSonoR x Afrosonica

In collaboration with Arta Sperto/KorSonoR, MEG welcomes Ahmed Essyad, pioneer of Moroccan electroacoustic music in the 1970s, and Gilles Aubry, Swiss researcher and sound artist.

Subterranean Changes – Electronic music by Ahmed Essyad and Gilles Aubry
Part I – Ahmed Essyad, Toubkal (1972, 11’40’’) and Sultane (1973, 14’), electroacoustic works (composition and diffusion)
Part II – Gilles Aubry, L’makina (2023, 35’), live set (modular synth and computer)
Part III – Discussion

An evening event organised jointly by KorSonoR and the MEG's temporary exhibition Afrosonica - Soundscapes.
Ahmed Essyad (MA, 1938, based in Casablanca) has a dual culture, Arab-Islamic and Western. Arab-Andalusian and Berber music have nourished his work, forming the basis of his reflections on oral tradition. He studied at the CNM in Rabat, then at the CNSM in Paris, and was a student and later a disciple of Max Deutsch, himself the spiritual son of Arnold Schönberg. His work combines lyrical, electroacoustic and instrumental dimensions, as well as film music.
Gilles Aubry (CH, 1973, based in Berlin) works between sound and visual arts, experimental music and academic research. His practce relies on research methods and transdisciplinary knowledge from across the arts, humanites, and technology studies, including flm, compositon, feld recording, performance, installaton, radio art, curaton, and partcipatory interventons.
The evening's programme highlights the convergence of traditional and avant-garde music in Morocco. Ahmed Essyad's electroacoustic compositions, dating from the 1970s, evoke the popular music heard in Moroccan villages in the late 1950s. Gilles Aubry plays with modular synthesizers and artificial intelligence sounds inspired by a Moroccan song performed on devices dating from the 1930s. Each in their own way, the two composers address cultural, technical and political issues to create captivating sound works.