French musician Pierre Bastien, on the other hand, has built his own mechanical orchestra in order to come as close as possible to his musical vision. Bastien’s acoustic robots play instruments from all four corners of the world, but also ashtrays and tracing paper. While no virtuosos, they can play endless loops at different tempi. They are accompanied by their creator himself on the pocket trumpet and thumb piano. Music in which all cultures can come together, uniting to form heart-rending chansons or fleet-footed blues, for example.

Pierre Bastien (F) Popular Mechanics | Austrian première
Pierre Bastien (F) Somewhere in the Dark (3668)