Artists in residence

Sasha J. Blondeau (born in 1986, in Briançon) is a composer of contemporary mixed, instrumental and electroacoustic music. He holds a doctorate in musical composition from the Ircam-Sorbonne programme at CNRS University. He also composes plays dedicated for theatre and is interested in the interaction between instrumental writing and “electroacoustic” writing in the same space of expressiveness.

Sasha J. Blondeau started studying piano and saxophone (Gap) and then analysis, writing and composition at the CRR in Lyon. In 2007, he entered the CNSMD in Lyon in the composition classes of Denis Lorrain and François Roux. He obtained his doctorate in composition from Ircam in 2017, as part of the Musical Representations team.

He was a resident at the Cité internationale des arts from July 2013 to June 2015, then from 2019 to 2020. He is the winner of the 2012 Francis and Mica Salabert Foundation Prize and the 2018 Sacem “Claude Arrieu” Prize. Sasha J. Blondeau was also a resident of Villa Médicis, Académie de France in Rome, for the year 2018-2019.

He has received commissions from the SWR Donaueschinger Musiktage, the Wittener Tage Für Neue Kammermusik (WDR), the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Radio France, the Festival Musica, the Festival Messiaen, the Percussions de Strasbourg, the GMEM (Festival Les Musiques) and Françoise and Jean-Philippe Billarant for his play Namenlosen premiered at the Philharmonie de Paris in June 2017 for the Festival Manifeste.

Sasha J. Blondeau has worked with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Ensemble Court-Circuit, the Ensemble Talea, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, the Ensemble Insomnio, the Ensemble XX-21 and with performers Sarah Maria Sun and soloists from Musikfabrik (Witten 2019), Hae-Sun Kang, Christophe Desjardins and Séverine Ballon. Future projects include collaborations with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and the Quatuor Diotima. Sasha J. Blondeau is working with the writer Hélène Giannecchini on the writing of an “Atlas-Théâtre” (opera) of the uprisings.

ENTRETIEN

Since 1997, you have been broadcasting on Kaya FM 95.9 (South Africa). A few words about your show World Show now broadcast every Sunday from the Cité internationale des arts and what it brings you?

“I began The World Show in 1997, when Kaya FM was launched as the first black-owned, independent radio station in the newly democratic South Africa.

Informative, and largely pan-African, this is a musical journey that travels across continents and timelines. With in-depth interviews and features, it’s a very well established show with a loyal listenership.
Broadcast every Sunday, for over 22 years, the show continues to reach people from all over the world – it’s a global experience with an African soul!

Each week is a unique four hour live experience – a mix of urban, archival, deeply- rooted, contemporary, cutting-edge sounds – a specially curated selection which I describe as Music That Deserves to be Heard!”.

Your show is a largely pan-African travel collection that crosses continents and eras. How have you built up this musical archive over for so many years?

“I have a lifelong collection of music… Actually, it’s an extensive library of rare and valuable music!

As a DJ and music specialist for almost 30 years, I have sourced and gathered sounds, and built an impressive archive of in-depth interviews and encounters.”

You have been selected by the Committees of the Cité internationale des arts in 2019 and have been in residency via the Institut français program before. What motivated your request to return?

“The Cit” internationale des arts is an exceptional environment – surrounded by creativity and situated in the heart of Paris [a city that celebrates the Arts]. It gives artists the opportunity to expand and flourish…

As a returning resident, I was also able to further continue with projects I had started, and doing my weekly radio program from my studio has added to the rich and invaluable experience of living and working in a global community.”

BIOGRAPHY

Nicky Blumenfeld a.k.a Nicky B (South Africa) started the World Show in 1997, when Kaya FM 95.9 was launched as the first independent radio station in the newly democratic South Africa.