Simon Cacheux is a protean sound maker: he is a sound artist, sound designer and musician. Trained by Louis Dandrel, he developed a taste for the way sounds are broadcast in a specific space, how they propagate and how the public grasps those “sonic objects”: listening experiences are at the core of his preoccupations.
The sound can be on its own or part of a physical object, a sculpture or a furniture, but listening is the fundamental process allowing for a global approach of sound. Simon thus always considers the place where the sound piece will be broadcast and designs in situ projects, with a delicate balance between the sound creation, the acoustics, how the sound will be listened to and the broadcast system. Using various tools (field recordings, home made softwares, instruments, electronics, synthesizers, and so on), he explores relentlessly all possible of sound fields.
Simon graduated from École Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière, sound department. He teaches at École de Condé in Paris to set designer students.
Distinctions and residencies:
• Residency Écho au château, in château de la Roche Guyon, in collaboration with Julia Griner, curated by Emmanuel Morin.
• Jury prize of the 19th biennial of contemporary art in Champigny sur Marne, January 2024.
• Residency at the GMEM National Centre for Musical Creation in Marseille for the Derniers Souffles project (Sonia Soraya and Édouard Sufrin) in june 2023.
• Grant of the French Ministère de la Culture for the radiophonic and podcast creation, with co-author Marion Augustin, for the upcoming Crime of the Palace, 2022.
• Staten Kunstfond grant (Foundation for the Arts of Danemark) for the production of Inhabited Silences showed in Aarhus in June 2019.
• Residency Ondes & Lumières 2018-2019. Art residency at the Sorde's abbey, Communauté de Communes du Pays d’Orthe et Arrigans, DRAC Nouvelle Aquitaine.
• 2nd prize of MusicWorks Electronic Music Contest 2014 with InnerSelf.
Shows:
• Flora Artefacta, September 22 — November 30 2025. Sound piece Réflexion à haute voix in collaboration with Maria Ibanez Lagos. Solo show of Maria Ibanez Lagos in Jardins Suspendus, Le Havre (76).
• Nuit Blanche, June 7 2025. Sound piece Paysages Lumières, in collaboration with Armelle Trouche. Collective show. Forest République, Paris (75).
• Balbutiements de poussières, January 15 — February 15 2025. Solo show. Jean Morlet hall, Champigny-sur-Marne (94).
• Arts dans la ville, October 5 — 20 2024. Collective show. Arobase, Blois (41).
• Sensorama, September 20 2024 — January 18 2025. Collective show. Cultural Department of Gentilly city, Gentilly (94)
• Ré-Unissons, May 25 — 26 2024, La Ré-Édition, Montrouge (FR)
• 19th biennial of contemporary art in Champigny sur Marne, January 16 — February 15 2024. Collective show. Champigny's House of Fine Arts and Jean Morlet hall, Champigny (94)
• Inhabited Silences, November 2 — November 23 2020. Solo show. Sorte Firkant, Copenhagen (DK)
• Waiting for the Sun, November 1 2019 — March 1 2020. Collective show. Curated by Yves Bartlett and Yue Yuan, The Wrong Biennal
• Inhabited Silences, June 13 — June 23 2019. Solo show. Dokk1 – LiteratureXchange festival, Aarhus (DK)
• Lieues Sonores – Second Year, May 6 — November 30 2019. Solo show, Sorde's abbey, Sorde l’Abbaye (FR)
• Lieues Sonores, May 2 — October 31 2018. Solo show. Sorde's abbey, Sorde l’Abbaye (FR)
• Expo A4, December 8 — December 10 2018. Collective show. Curated by Yves Bartlett, L’Annexe, Paris (FR)
• 48h, July 22 — 23 2016. Collective show. Château La Coste, Aix-en-Provence (FR)
• LightWorks 2016, October 15 — 16 2016. Collective show. Curated by We Must Create, Grimsby (UK)
• Soundscapes, December 14 2014 — March 30 2015. Collective show. Adrien Dubouché National Museum, Limoges (FR)
Teaching:
• 2015 – today: Sound design courses at École de Condé, to Interior Architecture and Scenography Master students
• 2010-2014: Sound design courses at IUT du Limousin.
Communications:
• 2024: Micro-Folie in La Souterraine. Communication on Sound/Materials relationships.
• 2023: Seminar Andra, University of Limoges. Design, art and signage systems.
• 2021: Seminar ECLLA, University Jean Monnet of Saint Étienne. The sound installation « The landscape was rustling, when all of a sudden» at Sorde's abbey: communities on the roads.
• 2021: Conference Representing Catastrophe in Contemporary Arts and Letters, University Jean Monnet of Saint-Étienne. Presentation of the sound piece Urgens Metamorphosis.
• 2019: Conference Sound Design Days, IRCAM. Object+Sound.
• 2016: International conference English-Speaking Towns & Cities: Memoirs and Narratives, University Jean Monnet in Saint-Étienne. Sounds of the Cities.
• 2016: Sound of cities listening Workshop, Gaîté Lyrique.
• 2015: Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques festival, presentation of the rain machine. McGill University of Montréal.
• 2012: CNAM, intervention about Sound Design.
• 2012: 9th conference of Sorèze. Soundscape or soundscapes : question of representation, in collaboration with Audrey Moutat.
• 2011: Conference Les Mots du Son III, Laborie. Perception et verbalisation des qualités sonores, in collaboration with Audrey Moutat.
• 2011: Metaseminaire at University of Limoges. Phénoménologie du sonore, in collaboration with Audrey Moutat.
• 2010: Conference Les Mots du Son, Laborie. Presentation of the soundbank.
Publications:
• CACHEUX, Simon. "Sounds of the City" in O. Glain (dir.), English-Speaking Towns and Citites: Memoirs and Narratives, Saint-Étienne, PUSE, 2020.
• CACHEUX, Simon et MOUTAT, Audrey. « Perception et verbalisation des qualités sonores. Vers un lexique du son » in F. Bobrie, J-F. Bordron, G. Chandès (Eds.), Les Sens du Son (pour une approche culturelle du sonore), Limoges, Solilang, 2015.
Press (in french):
• An article about the 48h residency: Here.
• Two articles about Borély Museum and sound pieces Secondes Peaux and Entre deux brumes: here and there.
• A page on MusicWorks.ca about the piece InnerSelf.
• An article about Le Grand Chantier in Journal du Design.