Inside Molécule's Immersive EDM Show: Acousmatic 360°

Dubbed “the pioneer of nomadic electronic music,” Paris-based producer and head of the Mille Feuilles label, Romain Delahaye – a.k.a. Molécule – has become renowned for his innovative recording techniques, often captured in some of the unlikeliest of locations. Now, he and sound designer Hervé Déjardin have brought a 360-degree spatialised sound experience to concert audiences listening in complete darkness, in the round. With the title Acousmatic 360°, the duo have taken the concept on tour, with L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology at the heart of the show.

Among the most challenging settings Molécule has recorded in are a fishing boat in the Atlantic, a village in Greenland and the surf swells of Nazaré in Portugal. More recently, he captured the sound of Thomas Ruyant’s monohull during the Vendée Globe yacht race. He then transforms his recordings into spatialised music with the help of sound designer Déjardin, who is also the engineer in charge of developing immersive audio at Radio France.

Now, Molécule and Déjardin have brought a 360-degree spatialised sound experience to concert audiences listening in darkness. With the moniker Acousmatic 360°, the duo have taken the concept on tour, using L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology. The pair came up with the Acousmatic 360° concept following a performance at Paris’ Rex Club in 2018 where, as an experiment, they performed in the dark.

“Although the concert was scheduled for an hour, we kept going for over two hours because people were so into it,” Déjardin recalls. After gathering audience feedback via a podcast, the live setup was developed with further shows at La Cigale as part of the MaMA festival.

The show sees Déjardin and Molécule perform in the centre of the auditorium, with an L-Acoustics Syva system circling both the performers and audience. “We have a special relationship with the audience because they are so close,” said Déjardin.

“With Acousmatic, we’re not on a pedestal, we’re in the middle of the show,” added Molécule. “In terms of what spatialisation adds to the show, there is a higher quality to the work and performance. At the same time, we have the pleasure of hearing the same sound as the audience and the quality of the audio allows me to be really specific with the movement of the sounds, which means I can go deeper and deeper into the performance.”

The circle of 12 Syva, two Syva Low and four L-Acoustics KS28 dual 18” subwoofers, provided by S Group, was chosen to deliver substantial SPL with no distortion.

“Syva is really impressive in this respect; when you’re in the surround system, you feel like you’re in a protective cocoon. It’s a very new experience,” Déjardin continued.

Upon returning to the studio to mix these recordings, Déjardin explains that using L-ISA means many of his live mixes already have instruments and sounds precisely localised. As such, he claims that he is able to pinpoint his live mix so well because the Syva cabinets reproduce accurately, and because recording in object mode avoids the restrictions of conventional stereo. Utilising a mixture of software that he patches into L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Controller, he develops movements for each sound.

“The spatialisation allows me to reinforce the key moments of the music,” he says. During the live performance, softer moments are taken as opportunities to produce a quieter sound, while the 360° capability is used to enhance the crescendos.

Discussing the difference between a stereo show and an immersive show, Molécule commented that live immersive shows have a tendency to play extended versions of songs.

“We can take the time to create movements and bring the audience on a journey with us,” he said. “We use the studio track as a base for us to jump off and fly, allowing us to improvise in the live show, where I can react to what Hervé is doing. The immersive audio is important to achieve that synergy between us.”

According to the pair, it is their ambition to take their music as a showcase “to the four corners of the world”. For Molécule, he believes that more and more venues should consider equipping themselves for immersive shows.

“In our immersive live performances, I find that the sound is even better than in my own studio,” he said.