![]() |
||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
|
[Fra / Rephlex, Morphine Records, Marionette]
"Pierre Bastien uses several tiny cameras to project his Meccano-driven
contraptions onto a large screen. Although we can see little wheels
depressing organ keys, on the screen it seems we are in some giant
factory, where machines of unguessable size perform cumbersome
operations to pluck at hawsers or vibrate great flapping sheets - in
reality rubber bands and strips of paper. Bastien's non-synched looping
machines naturally have non-human quality, like an off-kilter African
drum ensemble, and this strangeness is further magnified by his
carefully layered visual projections. Over the top he plays pocket
trumpet phrases drawn from the earliest days of jazz, as if King Oliver
is muttering in his ear. But the trumpet is often masked: somehow it
plays a baseline like a tuba, or else the mute is jammed into a beaker
of bubbling water. On the screen the monochrome Fritz Lang world of
relentless Meccano is invaded by a beautiful fountain of blue bubbles.
Like a blend of Philip Jeck's heartbreaking turntables and Max Eastley's
lost-in-space musical sculptures, Bastien has created an elegant
display of genuine musical surrealism. He has been refining his approach
for over two decades - ten years ago Aphex Twin released Mecanoid on
his Rephlex label, and this show made it clear why Richard D James was
so mesmerized. Bastien wound down his mechanical mysteries after 45
minutes, but I could have happily watched for hours." Clive Bell, The Wire - Dec. 2010
|
![]() Pierre Bastien solo (in "Mutes Alive") 09/03/25 Firenze @ Parc - Mixité 12/03/25 Meldola (FC) @ Area Sismica 14/03/25 Savona @ Raindogs 15/03/25 Piacenza @ Musiche Possibili 16/03/25 Pescara @ Spazio Matta 03/11/24 Roma @ Ex Cartiera, Biennale MArte Live, su:ggestiva 03/11/23 Bologna @ Angelica 04/11/23 Napoli @ Auditorium Novecento Pierre Bastien solo 09/09/23 Venezia @ Cinema Galleggiante 20/08/22 Piedicavallo (BI) @ Piedicavallo Festival - Pietre 14/02/20 Firenze @ Sala Vanni, "Tradizione in movimento" 15/02/20 Rovereto (Tn) @ Auditorium Melotti, "Musica Macchina" 12/11/18 Milano @ Auditorium San Fedele 25/05/18 Torino @ Jazz Is Dead 01/03/18 Genova @ Teatro Altrove 02/03/18 Mantova @ Cinema del Carbone 03/03/18 Catania @ Zo 18/11/17 Parma @ Barezzi Festival 19/11/17 Cotignola (Ra) @ Teatro Binario 13/05/17 Ascoli Piceno @ Ridotto del Teatro Ventidio Basso APP Ascoli Piceno Present 2017 23/10/15 Bologna @ Mast 27/10/15 Perugia @ PostModernissimo 06/11/15 Bari @ Time Zones 07/11/15 Napoli @ Riot Studio 30/04/15 Firenze @ Cortile di Palazzo Strozzi, Notte Bianca Firenze 201523/05/15 Padova @ Cinema Excelsior, "Innesti Urbani" 26/07/15 Brescia @ Musical Zoo
|
last update: 03/02/2025 11:47:20![]() ![]() |