Music, Moving Images, Double Bass

Florent Ghys (pronounced “Flaw-ren Gees” and using the pronouns he/him) is a versatile French artist and musician originally from Bordeaux, currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. Drawing on his extensive background in Western classical music composition, music theory, and double bass performance, Florent has developed a diverse skill set that allows him to create experimental yet accessible works of art.

Florent's personal approach to music-making involves combining double basses, computers, images, weather reports, and other artefacts that he is drawn to. He is self-taught in programming, video editing, recording, mixing, and visual effects, which gives him the freedom him to bring his creative visions to life in an original manner.

In his music, Florent aims to push the boundaries of popular music without resorting to esoteric or elitist themes. He creates pieces that are both surprising and personal, yet inclusive and relatable to non-musicians.

Florent's audiovisual works explore the relationship between sight and sound, with a particular interest in the exact correspondence and perfect synchronization between the two. By visualizing musical processes, mapping pitches to colors (chromesthesia), and translating speech inflections into musical notes (“speech melody”), Florent creates an exhilarating sensory experience that combines the concept of “videomusic” by Gabriel Shalom with Pierre Schaeffer's ideas into an audiovisual musique concrête.

Above all, Florent finds beauty in the ordinary and enjoys crafting elaborated textures around mundane material. He draws inspiration from the discord between gravitas and absurdity, and believes that revealing the inherent beauty of banality is the point of art. As Pam Beesly from The Office once said, "there's a lot of beauty in ordinary things, isn’t that kind of the point?"