Pierre Bastien
Pierre Bastien (born 1953 in Paris) is a French musician, composer, and experimental musical instrument builder.
Pierre Bastien
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- Name
- Pierre Bastien
- Born
- 1953
- Birthplace
- Paris, France
- Occupation
- Composer
- Nationality
- France
- Fields
- jazz
- Languages
- French
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2347446 · wikipedia · Pierre Bastien
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Pierre Bastien • Born — 1953 • Birthplace — Paris, France • Occupation — Composer • Years Active — 1977–present • Website — www.pierrebastien.com
Documentary record
Pierre Bastien, a musician, composer and “Klangkünstler”, was born in 1953 in Paris. The birth is recorded by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Life and career
Life and career
Bastien began building mechanical-based musical instruments at an early age, using items such as metronomes, cymbals, and pulleys. 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, Moroccan bendir, Javanese saron, koto, and violin. These machines were often driven by the rotation of old turntables. 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, Emmanuelle Parrenin, Jaki Liebezeit, Pierrick Sorin, Lukas Simonis 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, writing his thesis on pre-surrealist Raymond Roussel. In 2001, Bastien released an album, Mecanoid, on Rephlex Records. In 2008, he released an album, Visions of Doing, on Western Vinyl. In 2014, he made installations with paper as the main sound source. In 2015, he came up with a new project called Silent motors, two frames with wheels and gears that are beamed on a screen with an overhead projector. In 2016 Bastien had a big exhibition of his mecanoids at November Music Festival in The Netherlands.
Documentary record
According to the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, the recorded places of activity of Pierre Bastien are Rotterdam and Paris.
Discography
• Albums • Nu Jungle Dances (1978) (with Bernard Pruvost, as Nu Creative Methods) • Le Marchand De Calicots (1981) (with Bernard Pruvost, as Nu Creative Methods) • Superstitions (1984) (with Bernard Pruvost, as Nu Creative Methods) • Hommage à Jean Raine (1988) (with Peter Bastiaan and Bernard Pruvost) • Mecanium (1988) • Musiques Machinales (1993) • Eggs Air Sister Steel (1996) • Oblique Sessions (1997) (with Pascal Comelade, Jac Berrocal, and Jaki Liebezeit) • Mécanologie Portative (1998) (with Klimperei) • Neuf Jouets Optiques (1999) (with Karel Doing) • Musiques Paralloïdres (1999) • Mecanoid (2001) • Musique Cyrillique (2001) (with Alexei Aigui) • Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames (2002) (with Lukas Simonis) • Pop (2005) • Sé Verla al Revés (2005) • Téléconcerts (2005) • Les Premières Machines: 1968-1988 (2007) • Visions of Doing (2008) • Rag-Time Vol. 2 (2008) (with Dominique Grimaud) • Occupé (2011) (with Claude Parle, Michel Potage, Jac Berrocal and Bernard Vitet) • Machinations (2012) • Entomology (2012) (with The Insects Orchestra and One Man Nation) • Blue as an Orange (2015) • Phantoms (2017) (with Eddie Ladoire) • The Mecanocentric Worlds Of Pierre Bastien (2017) • Novia 391 (2017) (with Eduard Altaba) • Tinkle Twang ‘N Tootle (2019) • Impressions de Meccano (2019) • Bandiera Di Carta (2019) (with Tomaga) • *Room Sessions (2020) (with Gonçalo Almeida) • Live Ateliers Claus (2021) (with Tomaga) • Suspicious Moon (2022) (with David Fenech) • Sonic Folkways • Baba Soirée (2023) (with Michel Banabila) • EPs • Boîte N°3 (1996) • Boîte N°7 (2004) • FTR003 (Split 12" with Anna Homler, Adrian Northover & Dave Tucker (TRIO) on First Terrace Records) (2018) • Singles • XVII La Estrella (1993) • Automatic Music (2010) • Among the Skulls (2010)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Pierre Bastien”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2347446: Pierre Bastien
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Pierre Bastien, revision 1221678583 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pecoraro, David M. Pierre Bastien: Mecanoid. Pitchfork. January 27, 2002.
- 2.Gabriele, Timothy. Pierre Bastien: Visions of Doing. PopMatters. February 3, 2009.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
- Huggett, Stuart. Mechanics Made Easy: Pierre Bastien Interviewed. The Quietus. October 1, 2010.
- Wyse, Pascal. Pierre Bastien: the man who makes Meccano sing. The Guardian. October 18, 2010.
- RWM Son(i)a: Interview with Pierre Bastien, conductor of mechanical orchestras consisting of self-playing sound sculptures. Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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