Tectonics 2026 TECTONICS: Recital Room Installation - Frédéric Le Junter

French experimental instrument builder Frédéric Le Junter made a strong impression at Tectonics Glasgow’s virtual festival in 2021. Now, he transports his “weird and wonderful musical contraptions” (The Scotsman) to the Recital Room at City Halls.

At the age of 5, Le Junter was deeply impressed by the sounds and visual material of the harbour in Dunkirk, where he was born. At 28, inspired by chaotic phenomena such as meteorology, and by complexity more broadly, he began crafting instruments and mechanical sound machines that play with hesitation and instability. Since the 1980s, he has created over 150 instruments.

“I often begin with a simple acoustic or amplified instrument that I use for a while before making a machine that plays it. What I like to hear is a rumour, a soundscape in which randomness and determination merge, the wanted and unwanted”, he explains.

In Where I Am (Part 2), Le Junter draws inspiration from a wide array of instruments in his garden, coaxing sounds from his hand-built aeolian organ, hanging coiled springs, jumping gently on string instruments, and walking here and there.

Step into a world of madcap inventions. Let your curiosity listen.

Workshop times .
Due to limited capacity, tickets will be first come, first served and must be reserved at the beginning of each day at City Halls Box Office. Performances last c.30 minutes.

Day 1 & 2 – Performances at 14.30, 18.30 and 19.00