François Dufrêne

François Dufrêne (1930–1982) was a French poet and sound artist, one of the founding members of Lettrism under Isidore Isou and later a central figure of the Nouveau Réalisme movement alongside Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely, and others. He developed the practice of Crirythme — vocal compositions made entirely from non-semantic vocal sounds, including whispers, cries, percussion and breath — anticipating both sound poetry and the extended vocal techniques of later decades. His recordings, released posthumously on various labels, are considered essential documents of French avant-garde sound art and the Lettrist tradition.