Producer, engineer, composer, and entrepreneur Damien Quintard was playing the piano and learning music theory at three years old. Born in Paris, he spent his childhood between Paris, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, studying classically at various conservatories and local schools. Producing his own band (Dot Legacy) as a teenager, he was also fascinated by math and physics, studying aerospace engineering before switching to audio. Inspired by Rupert Neve, he remains curious about new sound possibilities. “It was this mixture of art blended with progress and discovery that always fascinated me,” shares Quintard. His growth mindset never wavers. “With music, you can really explore your ignorance,” says Quintard. “It’s a humbling process.”
Starting at a classical recording studio in 2012, Teodor Currentzis became his mentor. “I had to replace one of the engineers for a couple of hours,” says Quintard. “He [Currentzis] wanted a rock and roll approach to classical music and I was totally up for it.” The two finished Currentzis’ record and still collaborate today, with Quintard’s MusicAeterna Orchestra (Mozart and Tchaikovsky) work winning multiple recording awards. Producing orchestral pieces requires intense learning, and Quintard strives to understand people around him. “A big thing about passion when you work, especially with classical musicians (but also rappers, rockers, etc.),” says Quintard, “is that you find beautiful things in happiness and love, but also in depression, angst and anger. Music can find humanity in all emotions.”
Director Ilya Khrzhanovsky and producer Vangelino Currentzis worked with Quintard on 2019’s DAU project, involving live performance and sound over 30 days and nights, collaborating with Brian Eno and Arca. Theatrical work opened Quintard’s mind to other genres, styles, and possibilities, and he founded SoundX in 2019. As the world’s first patented A.I. system using advanced frequency analysis A.I. and a wearable haptic backpack to translate sound into real-time vibrations for the deaf community, SoundX has won multiple awards and been adopted by La Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet, and the Olympic Games (Coldplay and Lara Fabian have also started using SoundX in their tours). Says Quintard, “There is a beautiful future for inclusivity. We’ll be able to make more museums, concert [and] town halls, cinemas, more open to the deaf community. That’s my push right now and I’m hopeful for the future.”
Creativity unfolds “the moment where you go deep into your soul and blurt out something digestible,” reveals Quintard.
Quintard advises to stop scrolling on social media. “More and more young artists are forced to be on machines [and] platforms. Go deep into your own music and spend some human time with yourself.” Currentzis encouraged him to never compromise. “When you have a vision as a creative person, you will be confronted with people that have a totally different vision. If you follow too much of what everybody is doing or saying, it’s going to blur the original vision. Most ideas are bound to fail, but it’s in those failures that you learn so much. If you spend your time listening to what other people did years ago, you’re not thinking of what could be done tomorrow.”
With an Emmy Award for engineering/producing 2015’s European Games Opening Ceremony in Baku, a Diapason d’Or, Edison Award, multiple prizes in Japan for 2017’s Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique,” and accolades as producer for pianist Bertrand Chamayou, Quintard joined Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2020. Miraval Studios’ 2022 reopening alongside Brad Pitt (the former iteration hosted legends Pink Floyd, AC/DC, The Cure, Sting, etc.) brought Quintard work with Justin Bieber, Justice & Tame Impala (mastering “Neverender” on GRAMMY-winning Hyperdrama), Laurie Anderson, Jon Batiste, Bono, etc.
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Find out more at soundx.fr/en, miraval-studios.com.
Photo Credit: Hunter Moreno
