Cosmodrone: "le miam-miam chaud !"

november 23, 2005.

This saturday's (nov. 26) performance of Cosmodrone, our impromptu elektor-akoetics ensemble, at La Machinante in Montreuil coincides nicely with the launch of Ana-R, a self-referentially named association that is meant to provide a formal context for a number of more or less related projects, such as - to name but two that may be familiar to the regular viewers - the Commandos AntiBruit (the AntiNoise Brigades), and ... Cosmodrone.

In Montreuil, as last month in Châlons-en-Champagne, you may look forward to sets of, well ... fine ... 'folkloric live electro-acoustics', even though this time around there'll be no vintage synthesizers. The - again all analog - equipment each of us intends to use for the Machinante concert actually is even more portable, and much of it was bought in thrift-stores, at garage sales, or simply found in the street.

We met there last saturday late afternoon, to rehearse, and to see how we might set up our thingy's in the workshop at the back, where we will perform. The picture (left) gives an impression of how it was like to be rehearsing there at La Machinante last saturday, and how it very likely again will be performing there this saturday ...
Rébus and Cosmo Helectra are playing from the (seen from the entrance door) left hand side of the workshop. E. found an ironing-board as a support for his home built constructions éléctromécaniques. And Cosmo Helectra set up his modular mixing desks on some other random stuff that was lying around in the workshop. FlexRex installed his modular mixer on the opposite side, next to a white bathtub turned upside down. I will be against the back wall, with a boxful of dictaphones and an old stick-on telephone mike to pick up the sounds from the dictaphones' mechanisms, on a boringly conventional ... table ... ;-) ...
As you see, we will actually be playing around La Machinante ...
Also, this saturday we will be joined by Marion Legouy, who during Cosmodrone's presentation will be drawing her impressions thereof. And last but not least, in the middle of it all, there'll be the Chat-Man ...

The Chat-Man ...? Well, yeah ... you know ... the Chat-Man ...!

Much of the thought and discussion last saturday, the days after - and even now - was and is centered around what precisely should be the Chat-Man's mode and way of functioning ...
Should the Chat-Man actually be a man? Maybe he'd better be a woman? ... A woman dressed up like a man? ... Or rather a man dressed up like a woman? ... Will (s)he be slowly stirring and warming up a kettle filled with wine? And if so then what, if any, spices should go in there? Or would a stiff and boiling soup be more appropriate? Maybe both?

... Here are some of Rébus's reflections ... :

"Je reviens a mon idée de marmite en vue de réchauffement atmosphérique. L'idée est de laisser cuire une marmite pendant toute la durée de la premiere partie, avec un Chat-Man préparant (très) lentement les épices etc...
Nous avions déjà proposé : vin chaud, soupe ...
Mais je me demande si on ne pourrait pas explorer la piste de la polenta sucrée aux épices ... ? Ce miam-miam chaud laisse au public le choix de désaltérer avec la boisson de son choix ... Je n'ai pas de recette de polenta sucrée, c'est aussi une improvisation ...
Mais je sens que ça peut être bon !
La polenta basique, c'est facile à faire. Ca doit cuire longtemps et il faut touiller souvent : c'est idéal pour un rituel culinaire chat-manique. En général ça accompagne des plats salés, moi je suggère d'innover en incluant de figues sèches coupées en petits morceaux de la vanille de peu de muscade, canelle, du sucre de canne, du rhum, des écorces d'orange, etc...
Mais on peut remplacer la polenta par de la semoule. C'est plus classique, et ça cuit plus vite.
On peut aussi faire du manioc ... mais là, j'ai moins d'expérience ...

Je peux venir avec une plaque électrique au besoin ..."

[email to Cosmodrone, Marion Legouy and La Machinante, nov. 21, 2005]

At the time of this writing the question still has not been resolved completely and to each and everyone's satisfaction ... But for those of you that this weekend are lucky enough to be in or around Paris, it'll be easy to find out!

Saturday's event at La Machinante is scheduled to start around 20h30 (PAF: € 5,-- ) and there are many reasons to be there ...
First among these, of course, there's Cosmodrone. And then, there's La Machinante, already worth a visit for itself ...
And who wouldn't be curious to find out what precisely is the deal with this Chat-Man?
And ... ! ... : for the occasion we decided to produce an exclusive limited edition Cosmodrone mini-CDr, copies of which will go for free to saturday's first 25 concert goers ...

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Added June 14th 2018: Cosmosdrone's mini CDR, now available for streaming and download at Bandcamp's

[ Previous related SB-entry: "In your ball, sir, I see fertility ...!" ]