René-Louis Baron (born 9 February 1944) is a French inventor, author and songwriter. He was 14 years old when he played for the first time on stage as a jazz clarinettist. Later, in 1978, he began in Paris a career as a solo singer.
In 1980, he began to use computers to record his music for films, advertising, large companies, theatres, singers and art galleries as well as his song-poems.
In 1989, he, a self-taught
eclectic
Eclectic may refer to:
Music
* ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014
* ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996
* Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act
* Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to t ...
, began his own research into
algorithmic composition
Algorithmic composition is the technique of using algorithms to create music.
Algorithms (or, at the very least, formal sets of rules) have been used to compose music for centuries; the procedures used to plot voice-leading in Western counterp ...
and thus, musical
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...
. In 1998, he filed the first patent for automatic
musical composition at the
National Industrial Property Institute in Paris.
Early career
While studying clarinet at the Conservatory of Music in his hometown, René-Louis Baron was quickly drawn to jazz. His first stage appearance was at age 14, with a New Orleans style band. From 1960 to 1974, he sang hit songs with various Lyonnais bands, such as ''Jean Trial'', ''Pol Malburet'', ''Eddie Léo'' and ''Maurice de Thou'', mainly in south-eastern France.

He shared his passion for creativity with students by visiting schools and giving seminars. He introduced students to
Alex Osborn and the technique of
brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.
In other words, brainstorming is a situation where a group ...
in the field of artistic creation.
His songwriting and performing period began in Paris in 1978 with the release of his first album of musical poetry ''Baron chante Cousin et Dorigné''.
Composer's path
Gabriel Cousin was a French poet and playwright. His abrupt form of writing and his very personal creative metaphorical style greatly influenced Baron.
Michel Dorigné
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
was a poet, playwright and musicologist. The diversity of topics and flexibility of his writing, in particular "J'agonise": "We've lowered our Gods from heaven ...", its clever allegories that can mix a scathing first degree: "The stripper ate too much...", have greatly inspired the composer. They collaborated closely until the poet's death in 2009.
In 1980,
Iris Clert
Iris Clert ( el, Ίρις Αθανασιάδη; Iris Athanasiadi; 1917 – 1986) was a Greek-born art gallery owner and curator. She owned the Galerie Iris Clert in Paris from 1955 to 1971. During its tenure, her gallery became an avant-garde hot ...
created the C.A.R.A.T. (Centre for Art Animation and transcendental Research) in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the final manifestation of her inclination to irony and unconventionality. She then organized an exhibition of paintings by
Louise Barbu and diffused continuously ''Boushaâme'', a sonorous fresco (specially composed by RLBaron) which offers a musical view about the painter's work. The composer continues in this vein with the works of the Serbian painter and sculptor
Milos Sobaïc about whom
Peter Handke
Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored ...
wrote an essay which
Alain Jouffroy
Alain Jouffroy (11 September 1928 – 20 December 2015) was a French writer, poet and artist.
Jouffroy was born near Parc Montsouris, Paris. He was the first advocate of an Art Strike and formed the L'Union des Ecrivains during the strikes of ...
produced in a monograph (book of art of his artistic work).
René-Louis Baron performed in cabarets, café-theatres, cultural centres and then sang while playing the piano at the
Olympia de Paris.

In 1989 he returned to sing at the Olympia with artists including
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many so ...
, the Chorale Populaire de Paris, for the gala event to benefit victims of the
Armenian earthquake of 1988. He then worked with various French record labels including
Carrere Records
Carrere Records (french: Disques Carrère, link=no, ) was a French record label which specialized in Euro disco and rock music. The record company was sold to Warner Music Group in the early 1990s.
Early days
Claude Carrere started working wit ...
.
Israel Baker
Israel Baker (February 11, 1919 – December 25, 2011) was an American violinist and concertmaster. Through a long and varied career he played with many of the greatest figures in the worlds of classical music, jazz and pop.
He appeared on hu ...
, "Head of the desks of strings" in major productions of American movies, for example
Yentl where he is directed by the music composer of the film:
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many so ...
. After hearing Baron sing in a restaurant near the
Champs Elysees
Champs may refer to:
Music
* The Champs, a U.S. instrumental music group
* Champs (Brazilian band), a Brazilian boy band
* Champs (British band), a British folk- and indie rock-influenced band
* The Fucking Champs, a U.S. progressive heavy metal ...
, Israel Baker invited him to produce his recital in Hollywood in a private tavern frequented by the greatest actors. He was then hired by James Salmon (later Minister of the French Polynesia Government) and Alain Deviegre, the theater director in OTAC (''Office Territorial d'Action Culturelle''), to sing in
Papeete
Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivisi ...
(
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...
),
French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of French ...
.
As early as 1980, and for over ten years, thanks to the advent of
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, an ...
music synthesizers,
Atari and
Cubase
Cubase is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by Steinberg for music and MIDI recording, arranging and editing. The first version, which was originally only a MIDI sequencer and ran on the Atari ST computer, was released in 1989. Cut-d ...
, he became an independent producer. He has composed over one hundred and fifty film scores including those under the pseudonym of
René-Luis Baron: ''The Man from Nowhere'' (1989).
He has also composed for commercials, for large companies (
Aerospatiale,
Camel (cigarette)
Camel is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and by Japan Tobacco outside the U.S.
Most current Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and ...
,
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Ma ...
,
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation SA () is a French manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets.
It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel D ...
,
Electricite de France,
Gaz de France
Gaz de France (GDF) was a French company which produced, transported and sold natural gas around the world, especially in France, its main market. The company was also particularly active in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other Europe ...
,
Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and ...
, etc..) and other cultural and educational events such as ''Guernica and Picasso'' by Bertrand Borie.
Inventor's path
In 1989, at the age of 45 and parallel to his artistic activities, René-Louis Baron taught
computer programming
Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as anal ...
and he was particularly interested in artistic
AI (
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...
), discipline sometimes included in
Generative art
Generative art refers to art that in whole or in part has been created with the use of an autonomous system. An autonomous system in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an artwork that w ...
. His first attempts involved the automatic creation of church windows, synopses of films to arrive on an
algorithmic music
Algorithmic composition is the technique of using algorithms to create music.
Algorithms (or, at the very least, formal sets of rules) have been used to compose music for centuries; the procedures used to plot voice-leading in Western counterpoi ...
research.
His work is not to get a new experimental music (field widely explored by
IRCAM
IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is ...
in France), but rather melodious music or popular music. Heights and lengths of the notes of the melody are generated randomly but depending on harmonic and rhythmic constraints according with the desired musical style. The orchestration of each melody depends on created melody and arbitrary decisions according to the desired musical style.
Subsequently, his research focused on modal music then tonal music which is much more complicated and lastly
Contrepoint.
In 1992, the sources of its various computer programs were beginning to be subjected to successive deposits of copyrights including A.P.P.(Paris-France). René-Louis Baron deposed in 1998 at the
INPI, the first patent which is a method and a device for automatic and coherent music composition (without any human intervention).

In order to conclude an agreement with the multinational
Thomson Multimedia
Vantiva SA, formerly Technicolor SA, Thomson SARL, and Thomson Multimedia, is a French multinational corporation that provides creative services and technology products for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Vantiva's headq ...
, the inventor is forced to create in 2000 a commercial company called "Medal SARL". The new company acquired the patent Baron for one symbolic euro then signed a licensed agreement with
Thomson multimedia
Vantiva SA, formerly Technicolor SA, Thomson SARL, and Thomson Multimedia, is a French multinational corporation that provides creative services and technology products for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Vantiva's headq ...
.
From 2001 to 2003, the inventor has worked two years with the Research Centre Thomson Cesson-Sevigne (near Rennes) and with the Thomson Research Center of Indianapolis in the United States. The Thomson society then conceded a number of sub-licensing including the Japanese company NEC Corporation under the name "Mithic", the name given to the invention by Thomson in the field of mobile telephony.
2003: The French government sold its last shares in
Thomson multimedia
Vantiva SA, formerly Technicolor SA, Thomson SARL, and Thomson Multimedia, is a French multinational corporation that provides creative services and technology products for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Vantiva's headq ...
, which then stopped all activity in the sector of new media services "(3D TV, automatic music (Medalmusic), electronic book, etc.).
2006: After lengthy negotiations, the company of the inventor: Medal SARL, finds himself owner of all international patents Medal.

2007: Under the guidance and with the help of Laurent Cauvin, sound engineer, electronic engineer, computer scientist (formerly
Thomson multimedia
Vantiva SA, formerly Technicolor SA, Thomson SARL, and Thomson Multimedia, is a French multinational corporation that provides creative services and technology products for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Vantiva's headq ...
) and three sons of the inventor, Frederic Baron (composer and company director), Stephane Baron (designer) and Alexandre Baron (sculptor and webmaster) Medal Society Ltd. undertakes research and development work to enable the realization of a new generation of musical and interactive microship using the method of the invention.
2008: Medal-Composer was presented in the news on
France3 TV and raised questions concerning copyrights for musical works created due to the invention. This is starting to interest media net.
2009: An approach to global marketing of this interactive music composer embedded in a microship is operated from France by the company Techlody SAS, a society under the chairmanship of Frederic Baron.
2013: First marketed application: "LODYONE", a new musical instrument.
Auditorium : Music composition by "MedalComposer"
File:Piano1 Demo MedalComposer.ogg,
"Piano romantique"
(Robot MedalComposer)
File:Gtr-Nylon Demo MedalComposer.ogg,
"Guitare sèche"
(Robot MedalComposer)
File:New-York-City Demo MedalComposer.ogg,
"New York City"
(Robot MedalComposer)
File:MultiMorphing Demo MedalComposer.ogg,
"Fonction Multi-Morphing"
(Robot MedalComposer)
Awards

1978: He was named "Discovery
TF1
TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network.
TF1 is pa ...
" (French TV) with the song "Les Lilas de Ville d'Avray" (a tribute to
Boris Vian
Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sulliva ...
). This award allows him to be frequently invited on this channel. He appeared every night at the cabaret "Le Don Camilo" with
Jack Hammer who was singing with the vocal group
The Platters
The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...
and author of the rock tune
Great Balls of Fire
"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie ''Jamboree''. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 reco ...
performed by numerous artists including Jerry Lee Lewis. Jack Hammer then wrote the English version of a song by Baron "Cabot" which renamed "Perfume".
1980: At the Palais des Sports in Paris,
Robert Hossein
Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – 31 December 2020) was a French film actor, director, and writer. He directed the 1982 adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and appeared in '' Vice and Virtue'', '' Le Casse'', ''Les Uns et les Autres'' and ''V ...
staged the works of Victor Hugo:
Les Miserables. In agreement with the composer of the musics,
Claude-Michel Schoenberg, he gave René Baron aka René-Louis Baron, the role of Combeferre (student revolutionary and Marius's friend).
1980: He received at the
Olympia de Paris, the ''Top prize of Artistic Vocation'' from ''Le CLub des Onze'' created by
Bruno Coquatrix
Bruno Coquatrix (5 August 1910, Ronchin, Nord – 1 April 1979) was a French music producer, the owner and manager of the Olympia Hall in Paris from 1954 until his death in 1979.
Career
Coquatrix was first known as a song and music writer. He ...
. He is awarded by a jury grouping
Jean Wiener
Jean Wiener (or Wiéner) (19 March 1896, 14th arrondissement of Paris – 8 June 1982, Paris) was a French pianist and composer.
Life
Wiener was trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied alongside Darius Milhaud, and worked with ...
,
Jean Dréjac
Jean Dréjac, stage name of Jean André Jacques Brun (3 June 1921, in Grenoble – 11 August 2003, in Paris) was a French singer and composer.
He is noted for writing the songs " Ah! Le petit vin blanc", "Sous le ciel de Paris" and "La Chansonnet ...
,
Marcel Auriac
Marcel may refer to:
People
* Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel
* Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder
* Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...
,
André Hornez
André Hornez (12 May 1905 – 9 March 1989) was a French lyricist and screenwriter.
Lyricist of Paul Misraki in the years 1930-1940 for which he writes many songs lyrics like ''Qu'est-ce qu'on attend pour être heureux?'' (1937), André Hornez ...
,
Nina Valente,
Henri Kubnick and
Georges Auric
Georges Auric (; 15 February 1899 – 23 July 1983) was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault, France. He was considered one of ''Les Six'', a group of artists informally associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. Before he turned 20 he ...
("Group of Six" member with
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...
,
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably '' Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 ...
,
Germaine Tailleferre
Germaine Tailleferre (; born Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse; 19 April 18927 November 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as '' Les Six''.
Biography
Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse was born at Sain ...
,
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kn ...
,
Louis Durey
Louis Edmond Durey (; 27 May 18883 July 1979)Randel, Don Michael (1996)The Harvard biographical dictionary of music, p. 232. Harvard University Press. . was a French composer.
Life
Louis Durey was born in Paris, the son of a local businessman. It ...
). This group of famous composers of the twentieth century is also referred to as "
Les Six
"Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name, inspired by Mily Balakirev's '' The Five'', originates in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' ...
". Then, in 1982: He was awarded ''Green Hexagon'' by
FR3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info.
It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
- (French TV) at "
Midem
Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...
" in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...
(France) with the song ''Grenoble la Grise''.
1983: He was named "Espoir Antenne 2" (TV) of the "World Festival of French Song" in
Juan-les-Pins
Juan-les-Pins (; oc, Joan dei Pins) is a town in the commune of Antibes in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera, it is situated between Nice and Cannes, to the southwest of Nice Côte d'Azur Airpo ...
(France) with his tune ''La Rue des Silences''.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baron, Rene-Louis
Articles in translation
20th-century French inventors
Inventors of musical instruments
French music arrangers
French film score composers
French male film score composers
French male singers
Easy listening musicians
Musicians from Paris
1944 births
Living people