France Jobin is a sound / installation / artist, composer and curator residing in Montreal, Canada.
Her audio art can be qualified as “sound-sculpture”, revealing a minimalist approach to complex sound environments where analog and digital intersect. Her installations express a parallel path, incorporating both musical and visual elements inspired by the architecture of physical spaces.
Her works can be “experienced” in a variety of unconventional spaces and new technology festivals across Canada, the United States, South America, South Africa, Europe, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Jobin has created solo recordings for Editions Mego (AT), No-ware (CL-DE), Silent Records (USA), popmuzik records (JP), bake/staalplaat (NL), ROOM40 (AU), nvo (AT), DER (US), ATAK (JP), murmur records (JP), Baskaru (FR) and the prestigious LINE label (US).
Since 2009, her focus has been related to Quantum mechanics. Many of her projects are inspired by theories related to topics such as vacuum decay, string theory and more recently, what she feels to be the most perplexing phenomenon in the world of the quantum , entanglement resulting in a first presentation, Entanglement A/V, with visual artist Markus Heckmann, which delves into the realms of quantum physics premiered at Mutek Mtl 2021.
In November 2019 and March 2024, France Jobin presented modular concerts at the Ernst Krenek Institute in Austria and we are proud to present those recordings on the legendary vintage Buchla 100 system along with some other analogisms…
You have been making music for decades and touring a lot, would you please retrace your career?
It started when I was young with classical music, which brought me to my first paradox. Why do I love listening to classical music yet loathe playing it? I also had trouble reconciling the fact that the sounds and melodies I fell in love with were not always defined as music: an example being the sound of tires rolling over snow.
As with most children, I listened to the definition of music by my peers, and kept secret the other forms of music I loved.But like many constraints, I managed to break free and search out the opposite; I became fascinated with Blues and Jazz. In my late teens and early twenties, denying the truth as it was presented to me by the rigidity of classical music developed into a passion. Blues and Jazz were an obvious lure to me, where feel was everything and the room in which one played held tremendous significance. It was during this time I learned to treat “the room” as an instrument in itself.
Blues held a large part of my life until I found a new secret. While playing blues to pay the bills, I began to experiment with sound, never intending to go public with it. I would show my work to other experimental musicians who convinced me to play in public. Analog synths were popular at the time and became a serious albeit temporary addiction followed by a great period of unlearning. How far will the rabbit hole go?
The next chapter of my life brought a profound transformation: the birth of my two boys. My world and artistic practice shifted dramatically, and I spent the following five years navigating this new reality while cocooned in my home and studio. Supported by my family, I emerged from this period and began a new solo journey into experimental music.
Starting with a background in classical music, I was introduced to traditional instruments and the most rigid of technologies. The question, “Which instrument would you like to play?” marked the beginning of a journey confined by the limitations of classical instruments, scales, and time signatures. It felt like peering through a narrow window in a cell. I was drawn to the analog synths of the 1970s and digital synths of the 1980s, yet each new advancement came with its own constraints.
In the late ”90s, my focus turned to escaping the pre-set sounds of keyboards. My joy came from stripping away these presets and programming my own. With the dawn of the 2000s, I transitioned to using a laptop, enjoying the freedom to modify and re-edit my work to create new material. Still, live performances posed a challenge, as I relied on rack mounts and samplers.
My pursuit then became finding the ideal software that would allow me to play live with enough interactivity to shape the performance in real time, responding to the room and audience. This led me to explore web art for three years, introducing me to programming. Integrating these new skills, I began approaching both live and recorded audio with software I developed myself.
As I reflect on my journey, I see that my creative path has shifted over the years, much like my process. Sometimes, new technologies spark my imagination; other times, it’s the environment.
Since 2008, my focus has been quantum physics and how I can interpret certain theories to audio.
What have you been working on lately, and do you have any upcoming releases or performances?
Recently, I was working on a dome performance with Markus Heckmann for our project “Entanglement” presented at SAT in Montreal in September. Entanglement AV premiered at Mutek in 2021. We have since created four iterations: AV, XR (Part of the Mutek immersive collection), dome and film. My focus in the last 16 years has been on quantum physics and how I can interpret certain concepts into audio. Entanglement is by far the most ambitious project I have taken on as I was able to study quantum physics during the pandemic under the mentorship of Richard H.Brown. I have had two albums released in 2024 as part of this project, Infinite Probabilities (Particle 2) released on ROOM40 and Infinite Possibilities (Particle 1) released on Erototox Decodings. I have created these albums thinking of them as systems, within which these albums (particles) depend on each other no matter how far apart. From the perspective of my project, distance is time. States and physical correlations will be represented by the fact that a first album produced will be dependent on the second so that the two albums must be listened to simultaneously, therefore the two albums will be considered as a single system and referencing the principle of nonlocality. In order to listen to both albums together, line up the track 01 Unified quantum state from ROOM40 and track 01 Instantaneous knowledge from Erototox Decodings in your DAW, and adjust volume accordingly. You can do the same with tracks 02 from each album. If you do not have a DAW, download Audacity, it’s free.
What do you usually start with when composing?
With my regular ambient practice, I start with a concept and I build sound banks. I always need a concept before I start composing.
With modulars, it has been an interesting adventure as I seem to gravitate towards beats. No matter how I patch, I instinctively revert to beats. I find it challenging and fun.
How do you see the relationship between sound and composition?
I see sound and composition as inherently interconnected.
Sound is not just a medium but a dynamic force that shapes the structure, emotion, and intent of a piece.
Composition, in turn, is the process of organizing and contextualizing sound, creating relationships between its elements—tone, texture, space, and silence.
The relationship between sound and composition is intuitive for me—sounds guide me where they need to go, shaping the structure and direction of the piece organically as I listen and respond to their inherent qualities.”
How strictly do you separate improvising and composing?
Both states are superimposed for me 🙂
Do you find that you record straight with no overdubbing, or do you end up multi-tracking and editing tracks in post-production?
For ambient music, it is an improvised and compositional process that includes overdubs and editing. With modulars, it is more of an instinctive process as I record everything and I edit afterwards.
I may create a sound bank, editing the sounds that I like or I may edit for a specific track.
What type of instrument do you prefer to play?
Laptop for ambient and modulars for beats
Mostly favoring synthesis, in a digital way, apart for some rare exceptions. Why is that when we can hear that you are enjoying playing hardware a lot? How important do you think that having a knowledge of how your music was made is.
Does it matter to you?
I truly enjoy both, particularly hardware since it enables me to play in a more instinctive way. I do not feel it is important to know how my music was made. I wish for the listener to experience my work from their own frame of reference and emotional state. If I do my job correctly, they will listen to my work and eventually hear themselves.
How can one avoid losing the spontaneity that the analogue instrument allows and that so many composers have lost since they do everything from their computer? The click of the mouse doesn’t sound like the turn of a knob, does it?
There are midi controllers, software as max msp and various hardware that can be connected to a laptop that can bring back that feeling of being hands on.
How were you first acquainted with Modular Synthesis? When did that happen and what did you think of it at the time?
It was a long time ago, I can’t really recall a specific moment but I do recall the modular synthesists from Apocalypse Now: Bernie Krause, Patrick Gleeson, Don Preston and Nyle Steiner, also I guess Tangerine Dream, etc…
I loved the sound, it was always so organic and physical. I was always interested in hardware and kept dabbling. It is only recently that I have been able to focus on modulars.
How does it marry with your other « compositional tricks »?
My bass is always from modulars, i just can’t find any other bass that sounds as good as modulars,
it is its physicality and presence that I like.
Your compositional process is also based upon the use of acoustic instruments that you process or combine with Electronic. How do you work to marry that Electronic with your acoustic matiere?
Easily, I record and process acoustic instruments, build sound banks and let the sounds guide me.
When did you buy your first system?
In 2015, it’s all Erica Pico.
What was your first module or system?
Doepfer 404 which I still own, + an analog solutions module.
Both were gifts from a friend.
How long did it take for you to become accustomed to patching your own synthesizer together out of its component parts?
What was the effect of that discovery on your compositional process?
I’m still struggling with it but I’ve gotten over the fear of making a mistake.
I found a link between quantum physics and modulars. Both are probabilities and uncertainty.
Quite often modularists are in need for more, their hunger for new modules is never satisfied? You owning an impressive amount of gear, how do you explain that?
I am a minimalist and in every way I feel that if I cannot come up with good work with my gear, the problem is me and my lack of knowledge. For instance, I do not own a drum module, I create my kick, snare and hi hat with oscillators and filters.
Do you prefer single-maker systems, knowing your love for BugBrand or Metasonix, or making your own modular synthesizer out of individual components form whatever manufacturer that match your needs?
I prefer to assemble my own.
How has your system been evolving?
I recently acquired the Erica matrix mixer and that has been amazing, a game changer which enables me to tie in concepts of quantum physics.
Instrument building may actually be quite compositional, defining your sonic palette, each new module enriching your vocabulary. Would you say that their choice and the way you build your systems can be an integral part of your compositional process? Or is this the other way round and you go after a new module because you want to be able to sound-design some of your ideas?
Instrument building is more of an instinctive process for me.
Since i enjoy using hardware in the way it is not necessarily designed to do, I am guided by the sounds I can create with it.
Do you tend to use pure modular systems, or do you bring in outside effect and devices when playing or recording?
Would you please describe the system you used to create the music for us?
It all depends on the context.
The architecture of a space, or a venue, is an instrument in itself that I use.
Essentially, some spaces have great reverberating qualities and others I may need to use plug ins I have on my laptop to help compensate.
Can you outline how you patched and performed your Modulisme session?
The first track is my first live beat concert with my Erica Synths system mainly run by my Erica Synths matrix mixer at Ateliers Belleville in Montreal. I must mention Pierre-Luc Lecours here because without his mentorship, I would not have gone as far in creating an entire beat concert with my little kit. It had been my wish to do so and Pierre-Luc helped me realise it.
The second track is a live concert with Ernst Krenek’s Buchla 100 at the Ernst Krenek Institute in Krems, Austria.
And the first track is a composition that I created using sounds recorded à EMS Stockholm with the Buchla 200 and the Serge system.
Do you find that you record straight with no overdubbing, or do you end up multi-tracking and editing tracks in post-production?
Live shows, straight with minor corrections.
Anything else is multi-tracking and editing.
Do you pre-patch your system when playing live, or do you tend to improvise on the spot?
For now it is pre-patched, I don’t feel confident enough to patch live.
Which module could you not do without, or which module do you you use the most in every patch?
Trigger and sequencer.
What do you think that can only be achieved by modular synthesis that other forms of electronic music cannot or makes harder to do?
This is a question I would not venture to try and answer as I feel it’s a very individual perception.
Have you used various forms of software modular (eg Reaktor Blocks, Softube Modular, VCVRack) or digital hardware with modular software editors (eg Nord Modular, Axoloti, Organelle), and if so what do you think of them?
No, I prefer the physicality of modulars!
What would be the system you are dreaming of?
At the moment, I would love to add Erica Synths’s Perkons to my system.
Are you feeling close to some other contemporary Modularists?
Which ones?
Michael White, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Blush Response, Four Tet, Richard Devine, Pierre-Luc Lecours…
Which pioneers in Modularism influenced you and why?
I am not influenced by other musicians, they inspired me to keep going and surpass myself, I am inspired by concepts in quantum physics and, anything I may see or witness in our world.
Any advice you could share for those willing to start or develop their “Modulisme” ?
Be not afraid and go for it!
