Piano piano tells the story of a reunion, or rather, an encounter. Twenty years ago, David Babin and Adrien Mondot met at the Délirium, an avant-garde venue in Avignon and its festival. David was having fun trying out new songs on the piano, while Adrien juggled to forget his routine as an IT engineer. In this environment of freedom and possibilities, a friendship and mutual admiration blossomed.
Today, David, now known as babx, has carved out a unique place in the French music scene. Adrien, with the company Adrien M & Claire B, creates shows and installations that blend performing and visual arts, where body meets image and space, combining craft and digital devices.
Piano piano embodies their desire to pick up where they left off two decades ago: a place for daydreaming, experimentation, and the pleasure of playing. David forgoes singing to find solace in his piano and the instrumental repertoire of his latest album, “A house with a piano in it.” Adrien returns to the stage, reexperimenting the gravity of a ball and the risk of a fall.
“To be new again, each filled with the roads they have traveled. As adults, they rediscover child’s play or the art of being children.”
On stage, literally immersed in an “image-space,” the piano and the two performers become the protagonists of a dreamlike stroll between abstraction and impressionism. The soundscape and visual world create a simple blend, embodying the missing notes of the music and vice versa. To make the vibrations of the air visible, to feel the resonance of a chord, but also to see the silence and hear the darkness…
Watch the video to get a taster of the performance. We don’t know exactly what software is being used — it looks as if it might be “oMotion” which is a plugin for various other software. Presumably a lot of imagery is predefined and then “played in”, a visual improvisation if you like, along with the music being played.
