Décap is an extremely dense and eclectic work, both from the perspective of the sound material, and of style. On the morphological level, the work uses Drum & Bass as well as orchestral stamps, the voice of a woman to guttural male voices, while passing by Japanese traditional music to Gregorian chant. On the level of style, we pass by electroacoustic, experimental, industrial and modern music.

The goal behind this eclecticism is to recreate a microcosm representing, to some extent, humanity in all its complexity and, more precisely, the horror of the conflicts that have been driving it for centuries. Closer to us, we have to think of the war in Kosovo or confrontations that last forever in Israel. Nowadays, these conflicts are televised and confront us with disconcerting images, where death is shown live on our daily news.

This piece is thus inspired by those bodies wracked by pain, from which the title Décap is taken. This title is actually the diminutive of the word Décapitation, but also Da capo; this musical term means return to the beginning, showing the continual loop of violence.

This cyclic aspect, represented by rhythmic loops, is very present in the work and leads it to the finale. The use of the voice is also very significant, because it represents the human being so clearly in its softness (voice of the woman), its pain (shouts), and in its animosity (guttural voice). The use of the voices of the No theatre at the beginning of work refers to the evil spirits which have always formed part of our collective unconscious and this independently of the religion or the time. Then there are the disturbed and strongly chopped sounds, which are intended to go into the entrails of the body just like a bullet from a rifle piercing the body.

Louis Dufort (CA) has a bachelor's degree in electoacoustic composition from the Faculty of Music of the Université de Montreal, as well as a master's degree from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montreal, where he received a first prize with distinction. He currently divides his time between composing for the Marie Chouinard contemporary dance company, his work with the artistic committee of ACREQ, and the creation of hybrid and unbridled musical experimentation.