Thomas Meluch (born August 4, 1984) is an American multi-instrumentalist, writer, and photographer, best known by his pseudonym Benoît Pioulard.
His music signed to
Kranky Records.
Biography
Meluch began documenting field recordings and his own lo-fi compositions on dictaphones, discarded stereos and four-track machines in the mid 1990s, later focusing on highly limited
CD-R
CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times.
CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the i ...
and
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
releases of his experimental,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
-influenced songs for friends and family.
His first recordings as Benoît Pioulard appeared on the ''Random Number...Colors Start'' compilation released by the
Ann Arbor-based
Moodgadget
Moodgadget is an independent electronic music label with the mission of exposing the diversity in electronically made music. Founded in 2004 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Jakub Alexander and Adam E. Hunt, the label began as an effort to popularize ...
label in 2004. After 2005's ''
Enge'' EP Meluch was signed to Chicago's
Kranky imprint, for whom he recorded the albums ''
Précis'' (2006),''Temper'' (2008), ''Lasted'' (2010), ''Hymnal'' (2013), ''Sonnet'' (2015), and ''The Benoit Pioulard Listening Matter'' (2016), as well as ''Lignin Poise'' (2017) for Beacon Sound, and ''Sylva'' (2019) for Morr Music.
In 2010, Meluch formed
Orcas
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...
with minimalist composer
Rafael Anton Irisarri. The duo's self-titled debut was released in April 2012 on Germany's
Morr Music
Morr Music is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1999 by Thomas Morr. Most artists on the label fall into the categories of intelligent dance music, electronica and dreampop, but all reflect Thomas Morr's person ...
imprint, and its follow-up ''Yearling'' was released in early 2014.
Meluch lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Discography
Solo
*''Blurred'' CD-R (self-released, 2001)
*''Clear'' CD-R (self-released, 2001)
*''Skymost'' CD-R (self-released, 2003)
*''
Enge'' 7" EP (
Moodgadget
Moodgadget is an independent electronic music label with the mission of exposing the diversity in electronically made music. Founded in 2004 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Jakub Alexander and Adam E. Hunt, the label began as an effort to popularize ...
, 2005)
*''Dakota / Housecoat'' CD-R (self-released, 2006)
*''
Précis'' CD (
Kranky, 2006)
*''Fir'' 7" EP (Type, 2007)
*''
Temper
Temper, tempered or tempering may refer to:
Heat treatment
* Tempering (metallurgy), a heat treatment technique to increase the toughness of iron-based alloys
** Temper mill, a steel processing line
* Tempering (spices), a cooking technique where ...
'' LP (Kranky, 2008)
*''Lee'' 7" (
Hall Of Owls, 2008)
*''Flocks'' 7" (Blue Flea, 2009)
*''
Lasted'' LP (Kranky, 2010)
*''
Plays Thelma'' EP (
Desire Path Recordings, 2011)
*''Hymnal'' LP (Kranky, 2013)
*''Sonnet'' LP (Kranky, 2015)
*''Noyaux '' EP (Morr Music, 2015)
*''Seize/Marre '' EP (self-released, 2016)
*''The Benoit Pioulard Listening Matter'' (Kranky, 2016)
*''Radial'' CD-R (self-released, June 27, 2016)
*''Slow spark, soft spoke'' (Dauw, 2017)
*''Lignin Poise'' (Beacon Sound, 2017)
*''Persona'' (Mellotron, 2019)
*''Sylva'' (Morr Music, 2019)
Collaborations
*''PERILS – PERILS (with Kyle Bobby Dunn), LP (Desire Path Recordings, 2015)
*''Deck Amber (with Ant'lrd)'' LP (Sounds et al, 2018)
*''Communiqué (with Jogging House)'' (self-released, 2022)
Appeared on
*''Random Number...Colors Start'' (
Moodgadget
Moodgadget is an independent electronic music label with the mission of exposing the diversity in electronically made music. Founded in 2004 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Jakub Alexander and Adam E. Hunt, the label began as an effort to popularize ...
, 2004)
*''Idol Tryouts 2'' (Ghostly International, 2006)
*''The Rorschach Suite'' (
Moodgadget
Moodgadget is an independent electronic music label with the mission of exposing the diversity in electronically made music. Founded in 2004 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Jakub Alexander and Adam E. Hunt, the label began as an effort to popularize ...
, 2006)
*''
Four-beat Rhythm: The Writings of Wilhelm Reich'' (Workshop, 2013)
*''Sensorimotor'' (track 6: Witness) – Lusine (Ghostly International, 2017)
References
External links
Official websiteBandcamp siteMyspace pageKranky websiteMoodgadget website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pioulard
American singer-songwriters
Living people
1984 births
American experimental musicians
21st-century American singers