Paul-Alexandre (P.A.D) DOURNEL, is a French composer and sound designer, who was born in Paris on June 3, 1996. At a very young age, music offered him a gift he could not ignore : rock and country music. As told by his mother, a pianist and choir artist at the Opera National de Paris, he used up several Aerosmtih and Alan Jackson tapes at the age of one and a half, mesmerized by what he saw and heard. A devouring obsession for electric guitar was born, and has only grown until today. 

 

Despite an infructuous passage through the Hauts-de-Seine choir school, and classical guitar lessons, things would unfold in a slightly more Rock n' Roll way. 
At the age of 11, P.A.D gets his first electric guitar, and embarks on an ongoing musical journey. For years, the repertoire of Dream Theater, Stephan Forte, Steve Vai, or Symphony X was at the heart of his instrumental and musical education. 

 

The Computer Music arrived very early in his story, giving birth to an essential idea: "I can compose, choose the instrument, and hear the result...". 
Metal music and band life kept him busy for a few more years, giving him the opportunity to try himself at self-production and ambitious composing,  all materialized by a 55min concept album entitled "Stellogénèse".

Things shifted after this - also quite infructuous - experience, when audiovisual scores and soundtracks became central for him. His personal work was already increasingly more orchestral, but it was not until 2018 that it became the heart of his activity, leading to his first contract (Necropalace).

 

Today, after composing a few OSTs and working 3 years for the 3M subscribers YouTube channel "Poisson Fécond" - where he composed music for videos, and directed the voice acting section - P.A.D mostly works with the french video game development studio Zero Games Studios, for which he officiates as Composer and Game Designer, as well as with Régis Mengus, baritone soloist, or the french pop singer Jeck.