Un cercle hors de l’arbre (A Circle Outside the Tree) was inspired freely by the film La Jetée (1962) by Chris Marker (1921-2012). The piece was realized in September-October 2014 at Studio PANaroma de Música Eletroacústica da Unesp (São Paulo, Brazil) and finalized in 2015 at the composer’s studio.

The veils of ambiguity descend upon a floating cube suspended in the non-place. The cube is filled with a murky grey-brown vapor that rolls, swells, and ripples. This perpetually morphing miasma is in constant motion, like gentle waves seen in stop motion, tiny whitecaps cresting moments before dissipation, only to be reborn elsewhere within the cube. The movements are slow and lethargic, yet mesmerizing as they beckon the bejeweled chalice of imaginal elixir waiting just beyond its vaporous, undulating walls. The entire tableau exudes an aura of chaos while, at the same time, revealing an underlying order whose patterns forever elude intuition.

Go ahead, press play. Become a participant. Dark, strange audal transductions are quite possible, right there, inside that cube. Unknown unknowns. Gobeil’s Un cercle hors de l’arbre is the breadcrumb trail to follow. Many paths lie before you, many trajectories branch in unexpected directions, and many stories await their telling.

— Michael Eisenberg

Following a bachelor’s degree in compositional techniques, Gilles Gobeil undertook his master’s in composition at Université de Montréal under Serge Garant. In the final years of his studies, he was introduced to electroacoustic practices by Marcelle Deschênes and Francis Dhomont. This discovery stimulated in him a desire to commit entirely to the exploration of unfamiliar forms and original timbres that the mastery of the tools availed by the electroacoustic studio offered. Since the completion of his studies, he has directed his creative interests almost exclusively to the creation of acousmatic and mixed works.

His practice falls within what is known as “cinéma pour l’oreille” (cinema for the ear). Many of his compositions are inspired by literary or cinematic works and seek to “visualize” them through the medium of sound. Although his catalogue is comprised mainly of acousmatic and mixed works, he has also made forays into the fields of dance and film. Oftentimes traces of his experiences with instrumental music can be discerned.