Maxime de la Rochefoucauld

Who is Maxime de la Rochefoucauld?

Maxime De La Rochefoucauld is the stage name of the Montreal-based musician and performance artist, Maxime Rioux.

Rioux is best known for his compositions produced on musical instruments that are homemade and often built specifically for a single live performance. Most instruments of his Système Ki, as Rioux calls it, are not played directly by a musician. Instead they are mechanically linked to a woofer that is driven by an inaudible, extremely low frequency electrical signal. The signal, in the range of 1-10 Hz, is most often generated on a synthesizer and prerecorded, but may be played live or be generated from other electrical sources.

The name “Ki” refers to the Japanese translation of Qi, the notion of a vital energy that animates all things.

Rioux is the brother of French-Canadian stage and film actress Geneviève Rioux.