FutureMusic: What did you learn from the development of the Touché that helped you create the Osmose?
Alexandre Bellot: A lot of things, I’m not sure that we would have been able to create Osmose if we didn’t develop Touché and its whole ecosystem (Lié and all its presets and the Arché collection).
First of all, Touché was a true industrial challenge, because such mechanical systems are very complex to manufacture. Osmose is even more complex and elaborate to implement, so I’m not sure we would have been able to achieve such a level of quality without this previous experience.
I’m convinced that Osmose would have been impossible to create if we didn’t spend all this time working on sensitive interaction, sound design and synthesis systems. We are very proud of this know-how; it is essential from our perspective. Making a good instrument is first and foremost a matter of sounds and playing sensations.
Also, the Touché product line also allowed us to build a true team who learned to work together. And I think this point is fundamental when you work on such innovations in unknown territory.
FutureMusic: What was the biggest challenge Expressive E has faced to date in bringing the Osmose to market?
Alexandre Bellot: That’s a complicated question because Osmose was a big challenge from the get go. But there were two main challenges during the initial project: The first one was technological research: We truly had to step up our technological know-how to achieve quality results, and there were a lot of uncertainties.
Secondly, there’s the development of the global user experience. Every detail has to be carefully thought out, starting with sound design, the workflow, to the other features that will be offered. There is no room for errors; the product has to live up to very high expectations. Delivering a coherent product is, in my opinion, the biggest challenge.
And also, the current pandemic crisis makes it even more difficult. Some manufacturing parts are harder to get, and some borders are still closed to travel. But we manage to pull it off.
FutureMusic: Was there ever any thought about making the Touché a standalone instrument?
Alexandre Bellot: I know that some members of the team have already spoken about [a standalone instrument]. But honestly, we did not come up with anything substantial or conclusive. But we are not closing the door to such a project.
FutureMusic: Considering the human and economic toll of Covid-19, how does the visionary team at Expressive E feel this will impact the entire music industry in the next five years?
Alexandre Bellot: Well it’s an exceptional situation, and it’s unknown territory for everybody. We do not have any expertise in epidemiology and economics to have a clear point of view. But we hope things get better in the near future, especially the live [performance] market, which hopefully will regain momentum after this difficult period. Clearly, the sooner the better.
To learn more about what Alexandre Bellot and his team of mad scientists are cooking up at Expressive E, hit the link below!
