Today we’d like to introduce you to Luc Trahand.
Hi Luc, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a 21-year-old French-American artist working with sound, multi-instrumentalist, and experimental composer based in Los Angeles. I’ve always gravitated towards music and started vocal and piano lessons when I was small. I’ve since picked up the guitar and saxophone and enjoy toying with new instruments—the latest of which is Max MSP. Max is a software halfway between modular synth patching and computer coding. It is a blank canvas that can realize anything, most often used for time-based art. I used it throughout the creation of my latest series of compositions, “DÉS.ILLUSIONS.”
My path has been following my passions. I was in several rock bands in France and Switzerland, and when I moved back to the States, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Songwriting & Production at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. Having learned the nuts and bolts of musicianship, I started focusing on something that wasn’t being taught—conceptual artistic creativity. I leaned into the LA art scene, sifting through the pop art subsidiaries to try and find what I thought to be conceptually intriguing. Novelty seems to grow scarce and powerless in the industry, but oases still pointillate this world with their tenacity.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In this journey, the road is not a road yet, merely a driveway that I am rolling out of. As I write this, I am graduating from MI in a week and a half. I am looking forward to pursuing future projects that are already taking shape. I self-produced an album in 2020 (In Coherence), and three EPs since (Bécarre, In/Conclusion, and DÉS.ILLUSIONS), as well as the dance/film/music project “Polarity.” Each presented its own challenges; each was a learning experience. With my work, I seek a road unpaved.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my music and sound work, I explore an interweaving of disciplines and influences. I aim to take inspiration from philosophy, literature, visual art, and science, as well as the avant-garde pioneers and their descendants. “DÉS.ILLUSIONS,” my latest release, is a reframing of the illusions that we build for ourselves. It was created using these self-imposed restrictions: one acoustic guitar and one voice as the only available sound sources; and the visual coding software Max (MSP) as the primary tool to shape these sounds. The works are accompanied by an essay entitled “Musings of DÉS.ILLUSIONS: An Essay, a Frame,” detailing the conceptual reflections that underscore the artistic project—that is linked on my website. In the text, I explain the thinking that each composition began with, as well as the philosophical thread that joins them together. This unconventional pairing of essay and composition furthers my artistic pursuits of questioning and fostering discussion across disciplines.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
When it comes to film or music, LA is the place to be. That is what it comes down to. You can happen upon really talented people anywhere, which can lead to amazing collaborative experiences—such as my dance/film/music project “Polarity.” It just so happened that I met Paloma Del Mar, the dancer in the video, attending a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. It was inspiring to work across disciplines, putting creative minds to work outside of their usual areas of operation. The project required many steps: song production, location scouting, choreographing, planning the shoot, editing, re-editing, re-editing, re-editing… Putting this together with my fantastic team, Saun Santipreecha (co-production & arranging of the song), Samuel Ott (cinematography), and Paloma Del Mar (dance performance) was only rendered possible by being in the hub that is LA. There are reasons I’ve found to dislike LA and Hollywood specifically (such as transportation, homelessness, or the tired gimmick of Hollywood), but it has been worth it, be it just for its barycentricity.
Contact Info:
- Website: luctrahand.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luctrahandmusic/
