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Paris-based Greco-Armenian composer and transmedia artist whose work explores intensity through sound, light, and the body. His output encompasses both A/V installations, performances, and a significant body of instrumental and mixed works for ensembles with electronics, forging connections between between primitive and digital soundscapes. Combining organic textures, microtonal lines influenced by his Greek-Armenian background, and intricate rhythmic components, alongside his unique vision of sound spatialization and lighting programming through the development of custom tools in the Max/MSP environment, he pushes the boundaries of sensory and emotional experience.He has collaborated with numerous ensembles and performers and his music has been performed at renowned international festivals, including ATEMPORANEA (AR, 2020), FTMA (FR, 2022), GRAME (FR, 2024), le GREEK NATIONAL OPERA (GR, 2021), INTONAL (SE, 2021), IRCAM (FR, 2022), le MEGARON Athens Concert Hall (GR, 2021), ME_MMIX (ES, 2018), MIXTUR (ES, 2020), le Musée de l'Orangerie (FR, 2019), MUSICACOUSTICA-HANGZHOU (CN, 2023), MUSLAB (MX, 2017), l’OPUS (FR, 2024), RE-ND-ER-ED (GB-SCT, 2021), Suono Giallo (IT, 2017), TIEMF (IR, 2022).He holds a masters degree in instrumental composition and new technologies from the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP), was part of the Cursus IRCAM 21-22, and has a second bachelor in Musicology & Improvisation from Paris-VIII University. He is a member of the Greek Association of Electroacoustic Composers (HELMCA), as well as the French Composer's Syndicat (SMC).He has received the support of multiple organizations, including the Meyer Foundation, the Legs Jabès scholarship, the SACEM, and the Tarrazi Fund and has also won several composition prizes, including the SACEM composition prize (2017), the Mixage-Fou electronic composition prize (2018), and the Hertzbreakerz electroacoustic composition prize (2020).

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filippos.sakagian@gmail.com

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DOWNTEMPO SPIRAL [2024], for 8 musicians, electronics, video & lights (12’30)

A GRAME commission for ensembles Orbis and Proxima Centauri, for the Biennale des Musiques Exploratoires 2024DOWTEMPO SPIRAL is a dive into a hypnotic sonic world with Greco-Armenian influences, where acoustic illusions are woven through musical ritual. It's an invitation for the listener to get lost in temporal circularity, observing the monolithic fresco folding and unfolding before them._________________________
• Premiered on 22/03/24 at théâtre de la renaissance, Lyon / FRWITHOrbis
Flute: Fanny Martin
Saxophone: Yui Sakagoshi
Accordeon: Lisa Heute
Percussion: Louis QuilesProxima Centauri
Flute: Sylvain Millepied
Saxophone: Marie-Bernadette Charrier
Piano: Hilomi Sakaguchi
Percussion: Benoit Poly

IИVERSED CATHEDRAL [2023], for electronics, 6 musicians & lights (20')

For the Prix de Composition 2023, with the musicians of OLC under the direction of Julien LeroyStructured as a ritual, IИVERSED CATHEDRAL progresses in three acts. The listener is drawn into an imaginary world, immersed in the space of the inverted cathedral—the title refers to an inner space, inverted because I found myself in a negative space following hearing problems that occurred in December 2022, resulting in hearing loss and low-frequency tinnitus.This piece reflects a sort of digestion of my Greek and Armenian cultural origins and my musical past, having studied Byzantine music, microtonality, electronic music, and contemporary music.The significant challenge for me was to coexist these worlds of invisible electronic presences and visible musicians without veering into the anecdotal.Light and smoke become my tools, transforming the stage into an inverted cathedral where on-scene musicians meet the phantomatic presences of the electronics. It's a meeting between reality and imagination—de-contextualizing, removing the weight of reality to inhabit it with my vision, to re-contextualize it.At a material level, we encounter an organic, animalistic quality, with the bass clarinet playing split tones, the double bass serving as both a long string and a mournful cry in the second part, the bass trombone taking on the resonance of a long horn, the accordion transforming into an organ-like sound, the violin becoming a vibrating string, and the saxophone serving as a harmonic complement._________________________
• Premiered on 28/10/23 at CNSMDP, Paris / FRWITHDirection: Julien LeroyOLC
Bass clarinet: Youjin Jung
Bass trombone: Laurent Bordarier,
Saxophones: Joakim Ciesla
Accordeon: Rémi Briffault
Violin: Marius Mosser
Double-bass: Min-Yu Tseng

DIONYSIAN SKIN [2022], transmedia live performance for live electronics, sound spatialisation, lights & 6 performers (15' - 30')

This work is a collaboration with the Greek choreographer and dancer, Dafin Antoniadou.DIONYSIAN SKIN unfolds like a death liturgy, a dark and intense theatrical rite that breaks away from the traditional stage setting. Rather than being confined to a specific performance area, the ceremony takes place directly among the audience, inviting them to move and become fully immersed in the act. The use of intense sensory stimulation as well as live sound spatialization, enhances the audience's experience and makes them feel as though they are an integral part of the mortuary rite.The opening procession marks the beginning of a transformative journey, as the "nameless one" emerges as the unconscious presence and central figure, leading the audience down a dark and intense choreography, much like a psychopomp. Once the human offerings are carefully gathered, a pile of bodies is formed, reminiscent of a spider weaving its web and collecting its prey. The performance can be seen as a macabre sacrifice, evocative of the act of cannibalism in a death ceremony or a strange Bacchic orgy.For this project, I've developed custom software for live sound spatialization, lighting design, and sound synthesis, all within the Max/MSP environment. The reason for this lies in my perception of electronics as a living entity. I engage in a practice I refer to as "inverted possession," akin to a form of shamanism, where I immerse myself in what I've created, infusing it with a distinct dynamism. This approach enables me to make real-time decisions, responding to the ongoing performance, while preserving an organic and adaptable temporality._________________________
• Premiered on 16.09.22 as a part of IRCAM Cursus 22, at 3537, Paris / FRCREDITSConcept: Filippos Sakagian
Artistic direction: Filippos Sakagian
Live electronics and sound spatialization: Filippos Sakagian
Live lighting design: Filippos Sakagian
Choreography: Dafin Antoniadou
Performers: Dafin Antoniadou, Frederik Bous, Céline Bouscarle, Amélie Nilles, Safia Zimouche

┑┑┑┑[2020], for electronics, multichannel sound & lights (43')

┑┑┑┑ is a 43-minute hybrid performance, between sound and light installation and live, for multichannel sound and lights, divided into three parts. This piece is marking my first deliberate foray into intensity, where I aim to immerse the listener in various states, taking into account the mechanisms of psychoacoustics and psychology. (for more infos about how this piece was made refer to my master thesis on Intensity, *INTENSITY, tool of transcendence and dissolution of the self.Eight lights and eight speakers enveloping the audience enhance the experience by "orchestrating" the narrative to heighten its impact. Nuanced spatial design, dispersing sounds in octophony and dynamically shaping the environment to simulate the expansion and contraction of masses as the material gains momentum, is adding to the "immersiveness" of the act. For that I've developed a custom software within the Max/MSP environment for live sound spatialization, lighting design, and sound synthesis, tailored specifically for this project.The first part, IN DIGITAL ECSTASY, seeks to disorient the listener to better control their experience. When in an unstable environment, one enters a state of urgent listening, seeking a guiding thread, to hold onto. This part is aimed at breaking down the barrier between the listener and the work from the start. For 16 minutes, stroboscopic lights intensify the disorientation process by preventing the listener from keeping their eyes open and inviting them to delve into internal listening. Spatialization creates a bustling environment contributing to the listener's disorientation.The second part, OF A SPACE FULL OF MATTER, provides a meditative space for reflection, with lights extinguished to encourage introspection. It begins with a sensory purification, gradually elevating after the dense experience of the first part.WRAPPED IN SYNTHETIC WATER, the third part, introduces a liquid sonic environment, visually enhanced by lights, lasting approximately 10 minutes for contemplation._________________________
• Premiered on 05/02/21 at CNSMDP

NEGATIVE SOIL [2020], for 9 musicians & electronics (11'11)

NEGATIVE SOIL composed between 2019 and 2020 after my grandfather's passing, is a funeral march and lament in honor of his memory.In crafting this piece, I adopted a more austere approach to compositional writing, yet found a sense of immediacy and urgency in its simplicity: the impact, the gritty resonance, and the vocality of the synth's lament. These three elemental gestures serve as the backbone of the composition, directly inspired by the acoustic images of my grandfather's burial in Greece :With bated breath, in a somber atmosphere, I bid my final farewell to my grandfather. The thud of the shovel against the still damp earth, my hand striking the wood in a dazed final salute, the gritty sound of soil being thrown onto the coffin to cover it—these are the last acoustic images and signs of his presence.Electronics in the piece amplify its intent, delicately orchestrating the instrumental parts' morphological and gestural aspects._________________________
• Premiered on 26/03/21 at CNSMDP, from the Orchestra of the Conservatoire, under the direction of Guillaume Bourgogne

FIREWALKERS [2020], for 2 accordeons & daf (4')

FIREWALKERS reimagines the rural sounds of Anastenaria, blending oral tradition with contemporary writing and techno elements to create a "traditional phantasy". Using instruments not native to these traditions, such as two accordions—one microtonal—and the daf, I craft an artificial, almost electronic timbre.In 2019, during my mandatory 9-month military service in the Greek army, I returned to my homeland after a decade in Paris. Exploring northeastern Greek villages during my leave, I had the chance to witness an ancient ritual of "anastenaria" or "firewalking," rooted in Dionysian cult rituals. Participants spend three days and nights mentally and physically preparing through music and dance before walking on burning coals.That year, I composed this miniature for the Paris Conservatory's 30th anniversary, capturing the ecstatic dances of northern Greece where repetitive motifs lead to trance-like states._________________________
• Premiered on 06/12/20 at CNSMDP, for the 30th anniversary of the Paris Conservatory at La Villette by the soloists:Accordeon: Ambre Vuillermoz
Xamp Microtonal Accordeon: Fanny Vicens
Daf: Aurélien Gignoux