Label
Bain Total
Bain Total is a French experimental music label (1978-1998) known for its unique blend of cassette culture and interdisciplinary art projects.
About
Bain Total, an entity sculpted in the liminality of France's underground, thrived between 1978 and 1998 as a polymorphic organism. It was less a label and more a process-driven art project, a confluence of cassette culture and interdisciplinary ethos. The catalog, with 114 releases, was a tactile realm dominated by magnetic tape — 79 cassettes, 26 magazines, and a sparse 9 LPs. Each artifact was a statement, an intervention into the sensorial. At its core, Bain Total was synonymous with Die Form, Philippe Fichot’s explorative vessel. Die Form’s prolific output — like the mechanized whispers of "Poupée Mécanique" and the collaborative "Flexible Music Vol. 1" — defined the label's aesthetic: one of cold, electronic intimacy and mechanized allure. This was music as fractal sculpture, each release a microcosm of intricate design. The label’s DNA was woven with interdisciplinary threads, including contributions from Étant Donnés, Krylon Hertz, and the enigmatic Eva-Johanna Reichstag. Bain Total was a crucible for the French experimental scene, where sound and visual art collided, producing artifacts that were both auditory and sculptural. Formats were not mere vessels but intrinsic to the experience, with cassettes and limited editions emphasizing the ephemeral and collectible nature of the work. Bain Total was more than a label; it was a cultural node in a network of French experimentalism, an entity that thrived on exploration and the ephemeral beauty of the limited edition.
Catalog
107 total
Limited Documents - Die Form Vol.1
Flexible Music Vol. 1
Flexible Music Vol. 1
Poupée Mécanique
Es Lebe Der Tod
Archives & Doküments 3 - Some Experiences With Shock (Album)
Es Lebe Der Tod
Archives & Doküments 2 - Die Puppe
Archives & Doküments 2 - Die Puppe
Archives & Doküments 3 - Some Experiences With Shock (Album)
Poupée Mécanique
X-Action
Le Plomb Des Cartes / La Loge Infernale (Total Remix)
Die Form 2 / Virgin Flavour
Fetish
X-Action
Fetish
Le Plomb Des Cartes / La Loge Infernale (Total Remix)
Du Coeur Humain
Action 14 F 13
Hurt
Du Coeur Humain
ORGASMechanism (Album)
ORGASMechanism (Album)
Hurt
Cinq Portes Soudées / Les Cent Jours Clairs
Excisions
Memorial 78/79
Messe Basse (S/Sided, Album, C60
Pôle Sud / Red Action
Excisions
Sex & Bestiality - Cassette 2
Sex & Bestiality - Cassette 3
Sex & Bestiality
Sex & Bestiality - Cassette 1
Sex & Bestiality - Cassette 4
Messe Basse (Album, S/Sided, C60
Excisions
Flexible Music Volume 2/3
Archives & Doküments 1
Archives & Doküments 1
Germany
Excisions
Étant Donnés 4 -Ceux Que J'Aime / Ce Que Je Hais (first ed with textured black/silver, second ed with bicyle picture)
Excisions
Prayer For Aradia
Excisions
Images Du Monde
2
1 - Terrains Vagues
Le Plomb Des Cartes - La Loge Infernale
Fine AutomatiC & Die Form (Album)
Le Plomb Des Cartes / La Loge Infernale (Box)
Le Plomb Des Cartes / La Loge Infernale
3 - Final Edition
Étant Donnés 3 - L'Étoile Au Front (white (first ed) or black J-Card)
Fine AutomatiC & Die Form RE, C60
Die Form 2 / Virgin flavour
Krylon Hertz 2
By...
Le Grand Prique / Situation Base / Gestual Equivoque
Étant Donnés 1 - La Vue
Memorial 78/79
International Compilation
Memorial 78/79 (Album)
Étant Donnés 2 - L'Opposition Et Les Cases Conjuguées Sont Réconciliées
Krylon Hertz 2
Die Form 2 / Virgin Flavour
Zoophilic Lolita
El Verolo / Miss Syphilis
Die Form 1
Die Form 1
Die Form
Die Form 1
Krylon Hertz
Krylon Hertz
Krylon Hertz
Zoophilic Lolita
Die Form 1Label literature
Photos
Concert Poster
selected Posters
Bain Total - early Flyer
Bain Total - Catalog 1
Bain Total - Bulletin Adhesion
Bain Total - Shaved Girls
Raison X (Bain Total Productions G06)
Bain Total Promo Flyers and Stikcers and Infos
Bain Total Logo catalog
Promo Info
Sex and Bestiality Promo
Bain Total selected Photos
selected Postcards
Bain Total Blue Catalog and more from 1987 to 90
Poster
Bain Total - Catalog 5
Bain Total - Catalog 1987
Bain Total Press Kit 1983
Graph 03 (Throbbing Gristle Special)
Graph X
Graph 01
Graph 02Artists
People
- Philippe Fichot — ran and still running Bain Total, also founder of Die Form