Michel Chion was born in 1947 in Creil (France). In 1970, after literary and musical studies, he began to work as Pierre Schaeffer's assistant, then became publications director for the INA-GRM, where he was a member from 1971 to 1976.

As a composer, he has focused on musique concrète, an idiom for which he has developed original compositional techniques across many genres: melodramas (e.g. La Tentation de Saint-Antoine, 1982), short studies and religious music (e.g. Requiem, 1973).

As a filmmaker, he has directed a number of prize-winning short films and documentaries (e.g. La Messe de Terre, 1996, a 2 hour video accompanied by musique concrète).

As a theorist, he has published more than 25 books which have been translated into more than 10 languages, and has contributed to numerous dictionaries and encyclopaedias. In addition, he has developed a new discipline, the systematic study of audio-visual relationships which he teaches at a number of centres and film schools. He has also followed on from Pierre Schaeffer's work and vision in defining the effects which are particular to the fixation of sound.