Bastien Pouillès (*1994) is a French accordionist, composer and improviser. He is particularly renowned for his work in contemporary music, improvisation and multidisciplinary projects (dance, theatre). His repertoire often includes electronics or new technologies, close collaborations with composers, as well as his own pieces. He also likes old music, medieval and Renaissance, which he recreates with his duo Silhouettes Contemporaines. He plays with many ensembles (Ensemble Cairn, Ensemble NEXT, Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire, Ensemble for New Music Tallinn, LUX:NM, SPIIC, Les Espaces XAMP, Ensemble Hors-Champ, Ensemble Virêvolte) and performs both in France and abroad.
Among his most recent projects is the release of the album The Stockholm Sessions with Ewoud Van Eetvelde (e-guitar) on Urborigène Records label. That same year, he performed with the Ensemble Cairn, where he premiered a piece by Dmitri Kourliandski. He also joined the Ensemble Virêvolte for the show La Flûte Enchantée, with which he is touring during the summers 2024 and 2025. He is a regular guest performer at institutions such as the CNSMD in Paris (Orchestre des Lauréats, Ensemble NEXT) and IRCAM (concert du cursus). He also gives solo performances: as an insatiable defender of new music, he collaborates with composers such as Vincent Portes (Carrousel for accordion & electronics, 2024), Mads Emil Dreyer (Chimera pt.2 for 8 toys-accordions, 2024) or Julien Malaussena (Dans la diagonale for accordion & électronics, 2025), and plays his own works (Sounds of machines: around “Der står en lind” for accordion & electronics, 2024). He is also involved in a research-creation project with Paris 8 University on contemporary musical theatre writing, with composers Clara Olivares, Francisco Alvarado and Núria Giménez-Comas, which will result in a new show in 2026.
Bastien is graduated from the international master CoPeCo (Contemporary Performance and Composition): CNSMD Lyon, EAMT Tallinn (Estonia), KMH Stockholm (Sweden) and HfMT Hamburg (Germany). Before that, he obtained Bachelor’s degrees in performance and pedagogy at the PESMD Bordeaux, including an Erasmus exchange at the HMTM Munich (Germany). He also holds a Master’s degree in research and musicology from the Aix-Marseille University. Bastien is based in Paris.
Updated – August 2025
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