Domitille is currently the General Manager of Start Rec, a sound consultancy and production agency based in France.

Her career began in industrial design and applied arts, but she later pivoted to focus on cultural mediation and information and communication sciences. It was in 2005, while working on a content creation project with Télématin that she met Alex Jaffray, founder of Start Rec. She joined him that year, taking on the responsibility of founding the company’s “Brand” division and designing sound strategies for renowned brands like Citroën and TF1. Later she oversaw the sound strategy for brands from the Renault Group, including Renault, Dacia and Mobilize.

A big part of her work at Start Rec is to showcase Start-Rec’s talent in prominent cultural venues by contributing to the creation of immersive exhibitions. The company has become the official sound partner of Culturespaces, one of the world’s largest digital art center networks, and produces the soundtracks for their immersive exhibitions.

The encounter that made her fall in love with music

Domitille enthusiastically opened our conversation by stating that the person who introduced her to the wonders of the music industry was none other than her Start Rec associate, Alex Jaffray. Read the interview we did of him here.

“I didn’t have a background in music at all before meeting him”, explains Domitille. Indeed, prior to working in the field of industrial design and applied arts, she had completed an Executive Master’s program at HEC in 2018.

The event that changed her perception of music

In 2018, Domitille went to see an exhibition created by the group Team Lab. This international art collective founded in 2001 focuses on exhibits that merge art, science, technology and elements of the natural world. The group is composed of artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects, all working together to “explore the relationship between the self and the world, and new forms of perception” as they say in their own words.

After attending one of their events in Paris, Domitille was amazed at their interactive use of music, and this is an experience that greatly impacted her career in the music industry moving forward.

A memorable collaboration that changed her career

The memorable collaboration Domitille brings to the table is one that lasted about 5 years. She was working with a brand who was forging partnerships with young artists by taking them under their wing and financing their work for 18 months. This was a period of time that Domitille describes to have been particularly moving and rewarding for her, as she was able to work with these artists and watch them blossom.

One of the artists she remembers working with in particular, was the band Hyphen Hyphen, before they achieved the “Victoire de la Musique” award that put them in the limelight in France. She recalls that their work together led to their first sync placement, which is always a great milestone for emerging artists. Witnessing the creative zest of this band, and being able to contribute to this win was a great source of fulfillment for Domitille.

Another artist Domitille worked with in this context was DeLaurentis, who was also able to secure her very first sync placement as a result. DeLaurentis is known for her musical compositions made with innovative technology. A few years after their initial collaboration, Domitille was offered the opportunity to work with french electricity company EDF, and develop the brand’s sound identity. It was then that she had the brilliant idea to connect them with DeLaurentis.

Being able to collaborate with an artist over multiple projects in the long-term and witness their evolution in the music industry has also been a great source of inspiration for Domitille.

An artist she’d like to work with in the future

Domitille describes wanting to one day work with film director Jeanne Herry, who directed the 2018 film “Pupille” and “Je verrais toujours vos visages”, films that Domitille feels are incredibly good at capturing the complexity of certain sensitive subject matters.

To be able to sonically illustrate the emotions Herry so beautifully captures on screen would be a delight for Domitille.

A future project she’s looking forward to

Start Rec has recently been able to collaborate with l’Atelier des Lumières on the Tintin exhibition, which has been very well received. In a similar vein, Domitille teases a new exhibit that she senses will be just as successful (and with just as much nostalgia). Though she wasn’t able to tell us more, we’ll certainly be keeping an eye out…

Find out more about Domitille Mahieux here.