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Aurélien  Peilloux  and Thomas Chabalier : The Music Before The Film

On the eve of directing the new feature film “The Dreams” (Les Songes), Aurélien Peilloux had already chosen composer Thomas Chabalier to write the music for his film. The main track, “Maria theme” a swinging waltz was previously recorded at a studio in Chicago.  
Despite both artists young age, their career credits already include an impressive variety of shorts and features. The two multi-award winning creatives have collaborated on an acclaimed short, “The Wheel of Emotions“(LES CHERCHEURS). The film was one of 3 selected to be part of Cinefondation’s selections for screening at Cannes film Festival, the ultimate reference in the world of European Cinema.  

Since the festival, Chabalier, based in New York continued to compose the scores for the director. These works include Peilloux’s documentary sponsored by the CRI, the Interdisciplinary Research Center -a French research institution that is partnered with like-minded leading organizations engaging in life sciences, the arts and social progress such as Harvard, Inserm and the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation.

The film, “Journey to the CRI” is set in 2082 and tells the story of a young intern working in the prestigious neuroscience lab. The love story is used as the backdrop for this documentary which the history of the prestigious lab. Chabalier’s use of discrete percussion to map the unfolding love story, in sync with the heart-beat of the lead character is affecting, and the finale wraps itself in a pretty melody full of tenderness and away from the cold reality of the science lab. “The fascinating part about this new project is to write music based on the script, and trying to convey the voice and symbol of a character”, explains Thomas Chabalier. “The director wanted to hear themes, evocative sounds, in order to project himself in the film.”  

The director and composer’s similar background, education and complementary careers – rooted and oriented toward the examination of the intersection of science and art powerfully unifies their vision. Chabalier was one of the founders of the Emotions Synesthetes association in France, where he put his musical knowledge and talent to work on the activity of the neurons in the brain. All of Peilloux’s films meanwhile, are centered around the world of scientific research. Thomas explains that “it is so important to get on the same page aesthetically as the Director, but when you already have a common language that helps you get right to the heart of the music and the narrative.”


While Chabalier has continued his career in New York, Peilloux embarks on the set of his upcoming film, ‘The Dreams’ (Les Songes) in France.  ‘Les Songes’ focuses on Maxime, whose friend Richard, a young researcher in neuroscience, offers him the opportunity to participate in a memory stimulation experiment, but Maxime does not expect memories of a past relationship with Maria, a woman who has since died, to resurface. As his obsession with their passionate story reignites, his relationship deteriorates leaving him and the viewer asking if he should trust his own memories.  Les Songes is produced by Patrick Vuittenez for Fase Films.

Hear Maria’s theme, « The dreams » new theme for next feature film, a swinging waltz:

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