French ‘Nomadic Electronic Music’ Pioneer Molecule Anchors His Immersive Mixes on L-Acoustics’ L-ISA 3.0 Software French ‘Nomadic Electronic Music’ Pioneer Molecule Anchors His Immer...
For his latest Jamaican tribute album, RE-201, Molecule worked with Radio France’s immersive audio innovator, Hervé Déjardin, on his mix in L-ISA
Paris, France, February 13, 2024 — Molecule (aka Romain Delahaye-Serafini), the France-based pioneer of nomadic electronic music, made an inspiring return to his unique flavor of electronic dance music this past October. The album, entitled RE-201, celebrates Molecule’s love of Jamaican roots music, which he combines with his deep roots in House music. The release features immersive mixes created using L-ISA 3.0 spatial audio mixing software.
Working alongside Jamaican legends including Johnny Clarke and Big Youth, the album delivers Molecule’s very own brand of techno, accompanied by French Touch pioneers such as Boombass from the Cassius duo, Etienne de Crécy, and DJ Falcon. On RE-201, each of the sonic elements has been expertly mixed into an immersive soundscape by sound designer and Radio France immersive audio innovator Hervé Déjardin.
A spatially fulfilling experience
Molecule is no stranger to creating spatial audio. He’s well known for integrating 360° experiences into his live concerts, and he also uses L-ISA immersive audio technology. For the release of RE-201, he used L-ISA 3.0 spatial audio mixing software from L-Acoustics, again with the steady hand of Déjardin at the controls. The result is an emotionally moving, spatially fulfilling experience, rich with Jamaican sonic flavor, beat-driven spatial movement, and immersive nuances that infuse a heightened sense of energy for the listener.
Molecule says that the immersive experience created with L-ISA 3.0 is integral to the groove the recording achieves: “The way I used spatialization for this album was to work on micro-movements to emphasize the grooves, the pulse, and the irresistible urge to dance,” he says. Employing spatial audio techniques also helped him achieve greater expression during the mix phase: “With spatial audio, we expand our palette of colors. The listening experience becomes richer and more intense. The listener is in the sound.”
As a musician who has been in front of the House and dub scene since the early 2000s, Molecule has always been well-versed in the tools used to create House music. On his new album RE-201, he builds on his knowledge of sonic tools like 808s and 909s drum machines while leveraging modern immersive mixing technology from L-Acoustics.
Expanding spatial audio live performance to the studio
Before embarking on his first immersive recording project, Molecule had built a solid base of knowledge in live performance, also using L-ISA immersive audio technology: “I had the privilege of doing a club tour using spatial audio presented in L-ISA, and the experience is radically new and incredibly exciting,” he enthuses. “It is inspiring not only for the audience but also the artist — we are all together in the sound, literally enveloped by it.”
He adds that this brings an elevated dimension to the collective concert experience: “It’s conducive to communion, journeying, collective trance. It adds a much more personal notion of perceiving elements and sounds.”
While Molecule has expertly honed his live performance and spatial mixes, he says that the opportunity for emerging artists is enormous and ready to explore: “Today, there are quite simple and affordable tools that allow one to spatialize compositions on a simple laptop. One of these is L-ISA Studio, which allows artists to create movements on a laptop, record their spatialized mix, and then export it in different formats. It’s accessible to all producers.”
The spatial version of RE-201 was released on October 6th on Apple Music, and Molecule is planning several immersive shows in the Paris region. Music fans can access RE-201 on all major digital streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, and others – the album is also available worldwide on CD and vinyl.
All photos credit ©Goledzinowski