Philippe Albèra was born in Geneva in 1952 and studied music at the Geneva Conservatory and musicology at the University of Paris VIII. He created Contrechamps in 1977, remaining its director until 2005, followed by the Ensemble Contrechamps (1980), the Revue Contrechamps (1983) and Éditions Contrechamps (1991), of which he is still in charge. He was the artistic coordinator at the Salle Patino contemporary art venue in Geneva between 1984 and 1998, and established the Archipel festival in Geneva in 1992.