An important part of his work is based on the notions of recycling, appropriation or citation. Started in 2010, the in-progress cycle Song Recycle for piano and loudspeaker takes and transforms a selection of amateur vocal performances collected on YouTube. His music is published on the Tzadik, Sub Rosa, Brocoli labels. It has been performed by the ensembles Cairn, l'Instant Donné, the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, les Cris de Paris, the collective 0 ("zero"). He collaborates with artists Hippolyte Hentgen, writers Mathieu Larnaudie, Philippe Vasset, Pierre Senges, Julien d'Abrigeon, composes music for the shows of Sylvain Creuzevault, Christophe Fiat, Joris Lacoste, Anne Collod, Fabrice Ramalingom. In 2014, he was awarded the Hors les murs residency (Institut Français) for the project Contreflux. Defended in 2009 at the University of Paris 8, his doctorate in musicology was published by Presses du réel in 2012 under the title Musique et document sonore.
Pierre-Yves Macé's music is at the crossroads between contemporary writing, electroacoustic creation, sound art and a certain rock sensibility.