Un Drame Musical Instantané, since its creation in 1976, featuring Jean-Jacques Birgé, Bernard Vitet and Francis Gorgé, has decided to promote collective musical creation, co-signing their albums, which they consider as artworks in themselves, or their live shows which they try to renew every time they play.
They borrowed their sources from rock (synthetizer player Birgé and guitarist Gorgé, both authors of the album, Défense de); jazz (trumpeter Vitet who founded the first free jazz band in France, together with François Tusques, as well as Michel Portal who played with many American and European jazzmen); classical modern music; as well as movies or world news; they were the first in France to give a new impetus to live music on silent movies.
Twenty four creations were in their repertoire, among which were Caligari by Robert Wiene, La glace à trois faces and La chute de la Maison Usher by Jean Epstein, The passion of Joan of Arc by Carl Dreyer, Man with a Movie Camera by Dziga Vertov, and L'argent by Marcel L'Herbier. After having improvised freely for many years, they led a fifteen piece orchestra from 1981 to 1986, and since 1989 they have produced multimedia shows (live video remix on a giant screen, fireworks, choreographies), but their most convincing musical theater was mainly audio, which they have called "blind cinema". The Drame used to mix acoustic and electronic instruments in real time as well as original instruments built by Vitet (a reed trumpet, a multiphonic French horn, a variable tension double-bass, a giant balafon with frying pans and flower pots keyboard, a fire organ, plexiglas flutes, etc.)
After Francis Gorgé has left the band in 1992, Birgé and Vitet went on recording and producing with other musicians close to the "family" such as percussionist, Gérard Siracusa, or multi-instrumentalist, Hélène Sage. Un Drame Musical Instantané which has always remain independent (they have always owned their own recording studio and record label GRRR) stopped its activities in 2008, Birgé remaining the only one on the music scene. And Vitet died on July 3, 2013.
However, Un Drame Musical Instantané has come back on stage in 2014, featuring Birgé, Gorgé, Sage, plus several guests...
Trop d'adrénaline nuit (GRRR, France), 1977, reissue + bonus, 2001Rideau ! (GRRR), 1980Pas de cadeau in 18 surprises pour Noël (DeQualité, France), 1981À travail égal salaire égal, for orchestra (GRRR), 1982Under The Channel in In Fractured Silence (United Dairies, GB), 1983Les bons contes font les bons amis, for orchestra (GRRR), 1983L'uniforme in mc Unique (France), 1984L'homme à la caméra, for orchestra (GRRR), 1984Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari in mc Bad Alchemy (Germany), 1985Carnage, incl. La Bourse et la vie, N.O.P. dir. Yves Prin (GRRR), 1985French Resistance in Dry Lungs II (Placebo, USA), 1986Interview in mc Planeta (France), 1986Fear of Vacancy in Journey Into Pain (mc BST, Japan), 1986Don't Lock The Cage in Dry Lungs III (Placebo, USA), 1987L'hallali, avec Frank Royon Le Mée, Dominique Fonfrède, Martine Viard, Louis Hagen-William, L'Itinéraire, dir. Boris de Vinogradov, incl. opera-bouffe La Fosse (GRRR), 1987Sous les mers (GRRR), 1988Qui vive ? (GRRR), 1989Der Falsche Mann in Out of Depression (Germany)Le futur abyssal in Mouvements (La légende des voix, France), 1990Le K, text by Dino Buzzati with Richard Bohringer (GRRR, reissue Auvidis), Nomination at 9th Victoires de la Musique, 1990–93Pale Driver Killed By A Swallow On A Country Road in Dry Lungs IV (Subterranean Records, USA), 1991Le fond de l'âme effraie : Air Cut in Atomic Zen (Dedali Opera, Japan), 1991North Eating South Starving in A Gnomean Haigonaimean (Johnny Blue, Portugal), 1991Jeune fille qui tombe... tombe, text by Dino Buzzati with Daniel Laloux (In Situ, France), 1991Kind Lieder, nine songs which hurt (GRRR), 1991Rien ne va plus in Dry Lungs V (Subterranean Records, USA), 1992Utopie Standard in Passionnément (Visa, France), 1992Urgent Meeting, with Colette Magny, Didier Malherbe, Michel Godard, Louis Sclavis, Raymond Boni, Gérard Siracusa, Vinko Globokar, Yves Robert, François Tusques, Denis Colin... (GRRR/No Man’s land), 1992Opération Blow Up, with Brigitte Fontaine, Henri Texier, Luc Ferrari, Joëlle Léandre, Valentin Clastrier, René Lussier... (GRRR), 1992Musica Per Dimagrire in Musica Propiziatoria (Museo Immaginario, Italy), 1993Zappeurs-Pompiers 2 in Journal de bord (38e Rugissants, France), 1993Crasse-Tignasse, songs for children who like to be frightened (Auvidis, France), 19933 pieces with Dee Dee Bridgewater and Balanescu String Quartet in Sarajevo Suite (L’empreinte digitale),1994¡Vivan las utopias! in Buenaventura Durruti (nato, France), 1996L'instable and So Deep in L'étrange (CMG, France), 1998Machiavel (GRRR), with Benoît Delbecq, Steve Argüelles, DJ Nem, Philippe Deschepper..., 1998Wit in Enhanced Gravity (Yucca Tree, Germany), 1999Ça ira in Les Actualités, with singer Baco (Les Allumés du Jazz, France), 2006C'est le bouquet (unissued CD to be downloaded with Sextant magazine, GRRR), 2007138 hours of unissued, freely downlable, music (70 albums, 937 pieces) on drame.org, 2010-2017Long series of Poisons, 1976–7924 silent movies with live orchestra, 1977-99 : À propos de Nice (Jean Vigo), The Battleship Potemkin & Strike (Sergei Eisenstein), La glace à trois faces & La chute de la Maison Usher (Jean Epstein), Caligari (Robert Wiene), Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau), Waxworks (Paul Leni), Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov), The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Dreyer), Enfants à Paris (coll. Albert Kahn), Fantômas (5 episodes by Louis Feuillade) and Vampires, La vie de notre Seigneur Jésus Christ (C. Pathé), Mysterious X & Häxan (Benjamin Christensen), L'Argent (Marcel L'Herbier)...La rue, la musique et nous. Arcueil, 1979Rideau!, 1980Sound-art in Parc della Rimembranza. Napoli (Italy), 1981Pieces for orchestra, 1981–86Le trou, from Edgar Allan Poe, 1982Music for fire oragn and orchestra, 1983Los Angeles Olympic Games (live with satellite projection, Festival d'Avignon), 1984La Bourse et la vie (Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, dir.Yves Prin), 198445 secondes départ arrêté & Féeries Jacobines (fireworks), 1984–85Ballet music for Jean Gaudin (Ecarlate), Karine Saporta (Manèges at Opéra de Paris, Le Coeur Métamorphosé at Théâtre de la Ville), Lulla Card... 1985-1989Jeune fille qui tombe... tombe by Dino Buzzati (oratorio, Michael Lonsdale / Daniel Laloux), 1985–90Le K by Dino Buzzati (oratorio, Michael Lonsdale / Richard Bohringer - Daniel Laloux, scenery R.Sarti), 1985–92La Fosse (opera-bouffe, Martine Viard, Louis Hagen-William, l'Itinéraire), 1987Le Chateau des Carpathes by Jules Verne (burning cantata, Frank Royon Le Mée), 198720 000 lieues sous mers (magical show and imaginary museum on 2 boats, La Péniche Opéra), 1988Zappeurs-Pompiers 1 & 2 (live zapping on giant screen, Lulla Card, Éric Houzelot / Guy Pannequin), 1987–89J'accuse by Émile Zola (R.Bohringer, D.Fonfrède, Ahmed Madani, 70 musicians, dir.Jean-Luc Fillon, scenery Raymond Sarti), 1989Contrefaçons (orchestra, dir.J-L.Fillon), 1989Kind Lieder, 1991Let my children hear music by Charlie Mingus, 1992Crasse-Tignasse, show for children, 1993–94Machiavel (improvised techno with interactive images), 1999–2000Resurrection, 2014U.S.A. le complot & La peur du vide, France Musique, 1983Écarlate, France Culture, 1989Antène 1, real. Emmanuelle K, 1983Auhourd'hui en France, real. Didier Ranz, 1987Le K, real. Ch. Gomila, 1989More than 20 links to films on Un d.m.i.