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, 2001
Rideau ! (GRRR), 1980
Pas de cadeau in 18 surprises pour Noël (DeQualité, France), 1981
À travail égal salaire égal, for orchestra (GRRR), 1982
Under The Channel in In Fractured Silence (United Dairies, GB), 1983
Les bons contes font les bons amis, for orchestra (GRRR), 1983
L'uniforme in mc Unique (France), 1984
L'homme à la caméra, for orchestra (GRRR), 1984
Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari in mc Bad Alchemy (Germany), 1985
Carnage, incl. La Bourse et la vie, N.O.P. dir. Yves Prin (GRRR), 1985
French Resistance in Dry Lungs II (Placebo, USA), 1986
Interview in mc Planeta (France), 1986
Fear of Vacancy in Journey Into Pain (mc BST, Japan), 1986
Don't Lock The Cage in Dry Lungs III (Placebo, USA), 1987
L'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), 1987
Sous les mers (GRRR), 1988
Qui vive ? (GRRR), 1989
Der Falsche Mann in Out of Depression (Germany)
Le futur abyssal in Mouvements (La légende des voix, France), 1990
Le K, text by Dino Buzzati with Richard Bohringer (GRRR, reissue Auvidis), Nomination at 9th Victoires de la Musique, 1990–93
Pale Driver Killed By A Swallow On A Country Road in Dry Lungs IV (Subterranean Records, USA), 1991
Le fond de l'âme effraie : Air Cut in Atomic Zen (Dedali Opera, Japan), 1991
North Eating South Starving in A Gnomean Haigonaimean (Johnny Blue, Portugal), 1991
Jeune fille qui tombe... tombe, text by Dino Buzzati with Daniel Laloux (In Situ, France), 1991
Kind Lieder, nine songs which hurt (GRRR), 1991
Rien ne va plus in Dry Lungs V (Subterranean Records, USA), 1992
Utopie Standard in Passionnément (Visa, France), 1992
Urgent 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), 1992
Opération Blow Up, with Brigitte Fontaine, Henri Texier, Luc Ferrari, Joëlle Léandre, Valentin Clastrier, René Lussier... (GRRR), 1992
Musica Per Dimagrire in Musica Propiziatoria (Museo Immaginario, Italy), 1993
Zappeurs-Pompiers 2 in Journal de bord (38e Rugissants, France), 1993
Crasse-Tignasse, songs for children who like to be frightened (Auvidis, France), 1993
3 pieces with Dee Dee Bridgewater and Balanescu String Quartet in Sarajevo Suite (L’empreinte digitale),1994
¡Vivan las utopias! in Buenaventura Durruti (nato, France), 1996
L'instable and So Deep in L'étrange (CMG, France), 1998
Machiavel (GRRR), with Benoît Delbecq, Steve Argüelles, DJ Nem, Philippe Deschepper..., 1998
Wit in Enhanced Gravity (Yucca Tree, Germany), 1999
Ça ira in Les Actualités, with singer Baco (Les Allumés du Jazz, France), 2006
C'est le bouquet (unissued CD to be downloaded with Sextant magazine, GRRR), 2007
138 hours of unissued, freely downlable, music (70 albums, 937 pieces) on drame.org, 2010-2017
Long series of Poisons, 1976–79
24 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, 1979
Rideau!, 1980
Sound-art in Parc della Rimembranza. Napoli (Italy), 1981
Pieces for orchestra, 1981–86
Le trou, from Edgar Allan Poe, 1982
Music for fire oragn and orchestra, 1983
Los Angeles Olympic Games (live with satellite projection, Festival d'Avignon), 1984
La Bourse et la vie (Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, dir.Yves Prin), 1984
45 secondes départ arrêté & Féeries Jacobines (fireworks), 1984–85
Ballet music for Jean Gaudin (Ecarlate), Karine Saporta (Manèges at Opéra de Paris, Le Coeur Métamorphosé at Théâtre de la Ville), Lulla Card... 1985-1989
Jeune fille qui tombe... tombe by Dino Buzzati (oratorio, Michael Lonsdale / Daniel Laloux), 1985–90
Le K by Dino Buzzati (oratorio, Michael Lonsdale / Richard Bohringer - Daniel Laloux, scenery R.Sarti), 1985–92
La Fosse (opera-bouffe, Martine Viard, Louis Hagen-William, l'Itinéraire), 1987
Le Chateau des Carpathes by Jules Verne (burning cantata, Frank Royon Le Mée), 1987
20 000 lieues sous mers (magical show and imaginary museum on 2 boats, La Péniche Opéra), 1988
Zappeurs-Pompiers 1 & 2 (live zapping on giant screen, Lulla Card, Éric Houzelot / Guy Pannequin), 1987–89
J'accuse by Émile Zola (R.Bohringer, D.Fonfrède, Ahmed Madani, 70 musicians, dir.Jean-Luc Fillon, scenery Raymond Sarti), 1989
Contrefaçons (orchestra, dir.J-L.Fillon), 1989
Kind Lieder, 1991
Let my children hear music by Charlie Mingus, 1992
Crasse-Tignasse, show for children, 1993–94
Machiavel (improvised techno with interactive images), 1999–2000
Resurrection, 2014
U.S.A. le complot & La peur du vide, France Musique, 1983
Écarlate, France Culture, 1989
Antène 1, real. Emmanuelle K, 1983
Auhourd'hui en France, real. Didier Ranz, 1987
Le K, real. Ch. Gomila, 1989
More than 20 links to films on Un d.m.i.
