Augustin Braud (1994*) is a French composer, musician and researcher whose work lies at the intersection of sound and narrativity while critically engaging with technologic innovations. A permanent musicologist at CESR – RicercarLab in Tours, his practice encompasses written instrumental music and improvised electro-acoustic performance. He’s the recipient of the 2020 Claude Arrieu SACEM prize. His scores are published through Éditions Musicales Artchipel.
Major commissions include pieces for prestigious ensembles such as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Ceux qui Restent), Ensemble Intercontemporain (TRON, Infigure), and Klangforum Wien (GOLEM), in festivals such as ECLAT, Gaudeamus, Musica and Présences. He also was composer-in-residency during the 2017-2018 season at Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Braud completed a master in humanities at Université de Poitiers and later earned his PhD in musicology from the same institution, conducting research in the interdisciplinary CRIHAM laboratory before joining IReMus in Paris and later RicercarLab in Tours. He also taught in various settings at Université de Poitiers, Université de Rouen-Normandie, Université Catholique de l’Ouest and IESA arts&culture, among others.
Initially drawing inspiration from visual art before gradually shifting to a more socio-philosophically informed approach, his work investigates and challenges conventional hierarchies between performers, listeners and composer(s). Braud’s work also actively engages with questions of cultural heritage and memory, demonstrated through projects such as Terres Proches (2018), which mapped the sonic landscape of Poitiers through collaborative work. More recently, pieces like Cornucopia (2023) reflect an acid contemporary social commentary, examining the sense of purpose in modern society through the lens of said « bullshit jobs ».
As a digital humanities engineer and researcher, Braud maintains an active commitment to collective creativity and open-source methodologies. He coordinates french Consortium-HN Musica2 and specializes in digital tools for musicology, having given talks across France and Europe on the subject of conceptual modeling, music encoding and repertoire conservation.
Since 2022, his work also extends to electronic domain, as shown in Trônes Amoncelés, a 36 minutes piece released on Opal Tapes. Inspired by Antonin Artaud’s Les dix-huit secondes and written during a residency at La Muse en Circuit, the piece blends digital manipulations of Braud’s voice with the legendary 50 years-old Serge modular synthesizer as well as meticulous guitar work where abrupt variations and use of feedback reflect the madness and dread transpiring from Artaud’s art. He also performs live electronics and more particularly modular synthesis, with improvised performances alongside Ensemble 2E2M and Collectif Loo, as well as solo performances in Paris and Utrecht following residencies at Césaré, La Muse en Circuit (FR), and Willem Twee (NL).
Next up, Valets will premiere at the Philharmonie de Paris on January 2026. Commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain and La Muse en Circuit, this 23 minutes piece features four guitar amplifiers activated by pre-recorded electronics, accompanied by an ensemble of fifteen musicians. Drawing inspiration from Jean-Christophe Cavallin’s Valet Noir the piece explores the intersection of intimate narrative and urban environmental consciousness. The amplifiers, traditionally subservient to human performers, become autonomous entities. The performance space itself becomes an active participant, with the amplifiers surrounding the ensemble like an ecosystem, creating an immersive environment that challenges traditional hierarchies between human performers and electronic elements. Another recent premiere is D’un souffle commissioned by the Festival Musica Nigella and premiered in May 2025 at the Chartreuse de Neuville in Montreuil-sur-Mer. This 20-minute work for narrator, vocal ensemble, instrumental ensemble, and electronics draws both on letters written by Hiroshima survivors as well as gregorian psalms.
A versatile musician, he also performs under the industrial experimental moniker Ohr Hiemis, whose visceral release Opal Spine on Wic Recordings garnered critical acclaim, while also contributing to the progressive metal band Erebe as a guitar player. He collaborates with Aesthesis, Paulie Jan and Palecoal, among others, live and in the studio.