Éliane Radigue, Pioneer of Electronic Drone Music, Dies at 94

Overview

• She died on February 23 in Paris, surrounded by family, according to Blank Forms, which represents her tape works with Ina GRM.
• Radigue became a defining voice of long-form electronic composition on the ARP 2500, with works like Adnos I–III built from subtly shifting tones.
• Her best-known composition, Trilogie de la Mort, was inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead and reflected her lifelong engagement with Buddhism.
• Trained in the 1950s by musique concrète pioneers Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, she later shifted around 2000 to acoustic collaborations in the Occam series.
• Recent attention included Blank Forms concerts, listening events and the 2025 book Alien Roots, a 2024 presentation in Pierre Huyghe’s Venice show, and a Dia Art Foundation exhibition slated to open December 4, 2026.