Benoît Pioulard

As Benoît Pioulard, singer/songwriter, writer, and photographer Thomas Meluch combines found sounds, electronics, and bittersweet pop into dreamy songs and contemplative ambient works. On some albums, such as 2006's debut Précis and 2010's Lasted, his more structured compositions dominate; on others, like 2013's Hymnal and 2015's Sonnet, his mastery at sculpting atmospheres prevails. Meluch celebrated the project's tenth anniversary with 2016's The Benoît Pioulard Listening Matter, which balanced both sides of his music and served as a reminder of his singular skill at bringing these sounds together in complementary ways. Later in the decade, Meluch focused on the ambient side of his music with stunning results on 2019's shipwreck-themed Avocationals, but on 2023's Eidetic, he used his voice and lyrics to bring clarity and detail to its nostalgic reflections.