The elegiac, emotional music captured on Piers Thibault’s debut EP Ire is the culmination of a lifelong musical journey. Born in the French region of Normandy, Thibault moved to Houston, Texas with his parents at a young age, and his five years there left a cultural mark on his development. “The imprint of the United States’ culture on me comes from that period of time,” he says. “It was when I realized how creative I actually was.”

Thibault moved back to France at the age of 13 and quickly found himself feeling displaced in his new, yet familiar, surroundings. “It was clear to me that school wasn’t for me at all,” he recalls during this time, which was also impacted due to instability in his family life. “I couldn’t find my own place, it was weird for me. Everything added to my character and personality.”

Eventually, Thibault dove headlong into the world of music, immersing himself in club life at a young age. “I wasn’t interested in doing drugs, and alcohol wasn’t my thing,” he recalls. “I was the only one going out to actually listen to the music.” He dove deep into techno and house music, exploring the vast intricacies of the dance world while realizing where his interests truly lay. “It took me a few years to realize that it wasn’t just a phase—it was my passion.”

He made the decision to drop out of school at 17, heading to Paris where he started his own nightclub residency. Eventually, Thibault started heading in the direction of experimental music—an area that’s always been close kin to the electronic and dance world. “I wanted to try new things—it was a need more than a curiosity. I realized that I needed the music.”

After a brief flirtation as part of a DJ duo, Thibault entered the world of sound illustration for TV shows and advertisements, which enabled him to flex his musical muscle for over a decade while making a living. “I was getting paid to try out new things, which sounded crazy to me,” he explains, but such work had its minuses as well.

“It was the best and worst thing that happened to my career, because for ten years I grew as an artist who was able to respond quickly to any creative brief,” he explains. “But by being able to do anything, you lose sense of what you want—what music actually means to you personally.”

This realization led Thibault back to the path of artistic discovery that led him to make Ire. “It was a big struggle for me to admit that I wanted to make music rather than make a living,” he reasons. “The music I was doing wasn’t fulfilling my own needs as a human being.” Now that he’s found a new balance, the future doubtlessly holds bright things for his continued journey.