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Rone

I question our responsibility through my music without being preachy. A story with music, dance, and choreography can have more impact than a politician.

Working with instrumental experimentation and hybrid creations under the pseudonym Rone, Erwan Castex is rejuvenating electronic music in France. A multi-disciplinary artist, he has charmed the film world with his soundtrack composition for La Nuit venue (Night Ride).

Published on 15/07/2021

2 min

Born in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1980, Erwan Castex grew up in Paris. After studying film at the Sorbonne, he worked as an assistant director on private shootings before being gripped by his passion for electronic music. An insomniac, he started composing in his bedroom to fill his sleepless nights and was picked up by the InFiné label.

Long hamstrung by his shyness, the autodidact eventually decided to launch his career under a pseudonym: Rone. He performed his first concert at the Rex Club in 2008. This marked a real turning point in his career. Straight afterwards, the instrumental musician went to Berlin to compose his second album, Tohu Bohu (2012). Declining to put down roots in Germany, he came back to France and pursued his career by getting a foothold in film. He created the soundtracks for La Femme à cordes (The Cord Woman, 2010) and I, Philip (2016), the first French fiction in virtual reality, before winning the César Award for Best Original Score for La Nuit venue in 2021.

With strong environmental and political awareness, Rone collaborated with author Alain Damasio, the dancers of the Ballet National de Marseille, rapper High Priest, and photographer Stéphane Couturier… His eclectic encounters allow him to continuously reinvent himself. Mindful of imbuing his work with humanity, he doesn’t hesitate to use sound recordings to bring some flesh and blood to his electronic sounds. He recorded breathing, panting, and footsteps for his album Room with a View, in which he tackles the climate emergency - his preferred subject - as well as the violence of the patriarchy and the collapse of the world. Combining his passion for music and film, Rone then focused on the exploitation of humans and the experience of migrants by creating the soundtrack for La Nuit venue (2020). Appearing briefly in the film during a concert scene, Rone proved to the film industry that he is a versatile artist who listens to the world.

Rone has been breaking out of France and gaining international renown since his first musical projects. From Berlin to Canada via the United States, his music absorbs different cultures throughout his world tours. A major contributor to the influence of French culture abroad, Rone received his first film award from the jury at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for his soundtrack to La Femme à cordes en 2011. A Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of Arts and Letters) since 2017, Rone was awarded the Sacem du Grand Prix des Musiques Électroniques following his carte blanche at the Théâtre du Châtelet with the (La)Horde collective in 2020. A year later, he won a César Award for Best Original Score for La Nuit venue (2020). During lockdown, the producer used his prominence to gather the French and international pop scene together on Rone & Friends, a collaborative album to bring culture into the home.

  • 2008

    2008

    Rone performs his first concert at the legendary Rex Club, Paris.

  • 2010

    2010

    The musician gets involved in film and composes the soundtrack for La Femme à cordes, for which he will receive an award at the Palm Springs Festival.

  • 2020

    2020

    The Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, gives Rone carte blanche; he creates a show with La Horde and the Ballet National de Marseille.

  • 2021

    2021

    Rone is awarded the César Award for Best Original Score for La Nuit Venue, the first film by Frédéric Farrucci.

The Institut français and the artist

The film La Nuit venue, for which Rone recently received the César for Best Music, is now available on IFcinéma.

Learn more about IFcinéma

L'institut français, LAB