During the opening ceremony of transmediale. 07, French artist Pierre Bastien presents his unique 'Orchestre mécanique', an orchestra made up of metal construction parts and acoustic instruments from all over the world. According to the type of instrument that is included, each automaton plays a short melody, a rhythm or some harmony repeated in a loop. The dream of a composer, to have an orchestra at his fingertips gently fulfilling his every command; a timeless-melodic orchestra, futuristic and a bit dadaistic at the same time, which evokes ancient traditions in its astoundingly sensual music. This is, depicted in a few words, Pierre Bastien 's 'Mecanium' - a sort of daydream, which he has pursued since 1976. ' (Michel F. Cote)