Pierre Bastien was born Paris in 1953 and studied 18th-century French literature at University Paris-Sorbonne. In 1977 he built his first musical machinery. For the next ten years he composed for dance companies, played with Pascal Comelade and developed his mechanical orchestra. Since 1987 he has concentrated on solo performances, sound installations, recordings and collaborations with such artists as Pierrick Sorin, Karel Doing, Jean Weinfeld, Robert Wyatt and Issey Miyake.