Pierre Bastien
Encyclopedia
Pierre Bastien is a French
musician, composer, and experimental musical instrument builder. He began building mechanical-based musical instruments at an early age, using items such as metronome
s, cymbal
s, and pulley
s. In 1977 he began collaborating with Pascal Comelade
and composing music for dance companies. He performed in ensembles such as Operation Rhino, Nu Creative Methods, and Effectifs de Profil.
In 1986 he formed his own orchestra, Mecanium, composed of Meccano
machines which play various instruments, such as Chinese lute
, Morrocan bendir
, Javanese saron
, koto
, and violin
. These machines were often driven by the rotation of old turntable
s. By the 1990s Mecanium consisted of up to 80 machine 'musicians', and toured various art and music festivals, including events in Norway
, Australia
, Japan
, Canada
, Poland
, and the United States
.
Bastien has collaborated with artists such as Robert Wyatt
, Jac Berrocal
, Jaki Liebezeit
, Pierrick Sorin, and Issey Miyake
. He has released material on record labels such as Lowlands, Rephlex, Tigersushi, and Alga Marghen. He has also completed a doctorate
on 18th century French literature, his thesis being on pre-surrealist Raymond Roussel
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
musician, composer, and experimental musical instrument builder. He began building mechanical-based musical instruments at an early age, using items such as metronome
Metronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
s, cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, and pulley
Pulley
A pulley, also called a sheave or a drum, is a mechanism composed of a wheel on an axle or shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope, cable, belt, or chain usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove, if present...
s. In 1977 he began collaborating with Pascal Comelade
Pascal Comelade
Pascal Paul Vincent Comelade , is a French Catalan musician.Comelade born was in Montpellier, France. After living for several years in Barcelona, he made his first album, Fluences, influenced by electronic music and by the group Heldon.Subsequently, his music has become more acoustic and is...
and composing music for dance companies. He performed in ensembles such as Operation Rhino, Nu Creative Methods, and Effectifs de Profil.
In 1986 he formed his own orchestra, Mecanium, composed of Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
machines which play various instruments, such as Chinese lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, Morrocan bendir
Bendir
The bendir is a frame drum used as a traditional instrument throughout North Africa. Unlike the tambourine, it has no jingles but most often has a snare stretched across its head, which when the drum is struck with the fingers or palm gives the tone a buzzing quality.The bendir is a frame drum...
, Javanese saron
Saron (instrument)
The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. It typically consists of seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame . It is usually about 20 cm high, and is played on the floor by a seated performer...
, koto
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
, and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. These machines were often driven by the rotation of old turntable
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
s. By the 1990s Mecanium consisted of up to 80 machine 'musicians', and toured various art and music festivals, including events in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Bastien has collaborated with artists such as Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
, Jac Berrocal
Jac Berrocal
Jacques "Jac" Berrocal is a French trumpeter, singer and composer. He has been active since the 1970s in the independent and avant-garde music scene, and has released many albums. He also founded and performed in the group Catalogue, and has collaborated with Ron Anderson...
, Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit
Jaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can who has been called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral"....
, Pierrick Sorin, and Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake
is a Japanese fashion designer. He is known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances.-Life and career:Miyake was born 22 April 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. As a seven year-old, he witnessed and survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He studied...
. He has released material on record labels such as Lowlands, Rephlex, Tigersushi, and Alga Marghen. He has also completed a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
on 18th century French literature, his thesis being on pre-surrealist Raymond Roussel
Raymond Roussel
Raymond Roussel was a French poet, novelist, playwright, musician, and chess enthusiast. Through his novels, poems, and plays he exerted a profound influence on certain groups within 20th century French literature, including the Surrealists, Oulipo, and the authors of the nouveau...
.