06/05/2026
ESS was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Québécoise composer and improviser Chantal Dumas.
Among the most globally acclaimed creators in the realms of radio and sound art, Dumas was a multi-time winner of the Phonurgia Nova Competition, and a featured artist at ESS’s Outer Ear 2001.
Playing here is her Track “Stampede,” one of 12 on her “Radio Roadmovie” entitled The Little Man in the Ear / Le petit homme dans l’oreille.
Describing her work, she was *quoted: “Music? Non-music? For me, the question is inappropriate. My work belongs to the realm of sound, listening, and perception. Interested in narrative forms, I have developed a form of sound writing that revolves around a few key points: attention to point of view, sound documentation based on recordings (everyday elements and soundscapes), and the interplay of narrative between musical, textual, and sonic threads. I
conceive of the medium as an empty box with multiple possibilities for occupation. My work can be listened to as a stroll through numerous spaces: mental or physical, architectural and urban, natural or cultural, each with its own acoustic and emotional resonance. Fiction is never far behind the documentary and realistic aspect of my productions. But from the very first recording, the initial manipulation of sound, what becomes of reality?”
Chantal’s work is housed in the ESS Collection of the Creative Audio Archive. You can listen in full on the ESS website.
*Quote originally in French.
Photo of Dumas by Michel Risse
