Androide Light Show

We started the ANDROID LIGHT SHOW in 1969 after a summer where we spent every weekend at the ROUNDHOUSE in LONDON.

We, means four french guys from MARSEILLES:

Robert CHOURAQUI www.robertchouraqui.com
Claude NOUGIER
Constant KAIMAKIS
And Charles BAILLE

Before ANDROID:

Some of us were involved in 1967 and 68 with the trotskist extreme-left (LIGUE COMMUNISTE) in the french MAI-68 in MARSEILLES and before the summer 68 we all decided to prepare agit-prop actions with slides-and-sound. So during end 1967 and 1968 we became the VISUAL support team for many meetings in MARSEILLES and also in PARIS specially for campaigns against the bombardment in VIETNAM and against the fascists extreme-right groups.

This activity gave us a taste for strong visuals (high contrast black and white photos) and through this activity we began to learn by ourselves photography, mainly with the purpose at this time to be able to reproduce some press drawings and press photos on slides.

We continued later this political activity in parallel of the LIGHTSHOW for pop groups and concerts and we used our technique for many big meetings.

ANDROID's birth:

In the summer 68 we were all together for three months in LONDON, and we discovered the ROUNDHOUSE where we spent then all our week-ends spying on the first light shows performing there on PINK FLOYD and such groups.

They had mainly overhead projectors with liquids but beautiful liquids and some Moiré patterns. I also read the same summer an ad in ID about Krishna Lights, a commercial firm related to Krishna people which was selling Liquid projectors and polaroid slides, I went to see them in Goodge street and bought one polaroid slide (I did not have the money for more than that) and I got a catalogue (WOW what a victory for me, it gave me a lot of ideas).

ANDROID LIGHTSHOW:

In september 68 and the following months back in Marseilles we experimented the liquids with an overhead projector from the SCIENCE University, we borrowed two slide projectors from a student club and it began. I rapidly found everything about the secrets of polarized light effects, we had about 200 different effect slides (with a polaroid revolving wheel in front of the projector) I was probably the best world specialist of that effect technique.

We also developped many Moiré type effects and also negative-positive posterized effect (a positive slide and the a negative slide projected one above the other from two different projectors each with a color revolving wheel). I refined this technique by painting areas of the black and white slides.

We also developed what we called "PARROT's beaks" in order to flash rapidly from one slide to the other by hiding alternatively the light coming from one of the projectors (we use also to do this with our hands, the best was with four projectors projecting images on the same surface and two of us flashing two projectors each). We also like many transformed one slide projector (a 400Watt SAWYER) in a heat-producing machine for liquid slides by throwing off the anti-heating glass.(liquid slides were three layers of glass with two unmessing coloured liquids in each with VASELINE).

By 1969 we were mature and ready to begin big gigs.

We used at the beginning 1 overhead projector (with liquids and moiré patterns) and three slide projectors (two normal and one heater). Later we used 2 overheads, one wheel projector (SFOM the french ALDIS TUTOR equivalent / see picture) and six projectors (or exceptionaly 8) , no need of more, we much more invested in the light power of these projectors ( we had a boosted 1000 watt Kodak Caroussel slide projector) and even more in the images/photos/effect slides to project, in this aspect I also think we were different from many others groups.

We performed for gigs in France for John MaC LAUGHLING, for EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, SPOOKY TOOTH, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, Amon Düül II and for French groups GOA, ANGE, MAGMA and many french pop groups of this period and also for theater performances.

We performed a lot in MARSEILLES and AIX-EN-PROVENCE but also in NICE, TOULOUSE, and a lot of times in PARIS especialy in 1970 for the LIGHT SHOW FESTIVAL at MUSEE D'ART MODERNE de la VILLE DE PARIS with also BILL HAM and his LIGHT SOUND DIMENSION, OPEN LIGHT and BARVED ZUMIZION the two other french big light shows.

A strange one was when we performed at the OPERA house in MARSEILLES projecting from the balcony on the iron safety curtain

We performed in CLUBS, POP festivals, extreme-left political rallies.But our best time was during summer 69 and summer 70 when during all summer we were resident light-show every night of the week in SAINT TROPEZ most famous club the VOOM-VOOM club.

I remember three main things;

1. First the club bar waiter provided us with gin to use it in the overhead as alcool from a pressing bottle and some of it went also to our mouth.

2. Second fact is the girls, it was such a good very hype club with all the international bimbos that we took a turn two of us doing the light with the two others with the girls on the dance floor.

3. We had a free villa all for ourselves at the beach and free meals and drinks at the CLUB and the related restaurant.

We continued performing until 1975 about, two of us stayed in the domain by becoming photographs for myself Robert CHOURAQUI in PARIS (my site www.robertchouraqui.com) and for Claude NOUGIER in MARSEILLES, the third one Constant KAIMAKIS went to organizing cultural events in MONTPELLIER and Charlie BAILLE the last one invested the food media by becoming a chef for different restaurants .

We were not influenced by any other artist because we were nearly the only one in the south of France, that is may be why we develop our own style based heavily on photoartwork, polaroid effects, sophisticated moirés and heating liquids rather than a lot of overhead liquids.

ANDROIDE LIGHTSHOW is one of the very few lightshows still in activity among the great european lightshows of the 70s.

The visuals are today mainly projected in digital, they beautifully recreate the best atmospheres of the 70s festivals but they extend it to the visual digital world by using the most up to date digital technics (After Effect / VJ / Mapping /MIDI, …).

ANDROIDE LIGHTSHOW performs for festivals (PARIS Psych festival, COPENHAGEN PSYCH FEST, LISBON PSYCH FEST, IAO festival,..) for clubs and Djs (106 ROUEN, MOULIN ROUGE Paris, LA MOUCHE Montreal, MELTDOWN London, CABARET LA FRICHE Marseille, Laurent GARNIER, JEFF MILLS, ...), for live performances or for video clips, but also due to its legacy since 1969 for museums and contemporary art centers such as CAPC BORDEAUX or BERKELEY BAMPFA ART MUSEUM or LE CORBUSIER-MARSEILLE.

In May 2017 Androide was the only European reprentative for a great lightshows festival organised by the Berkeley BAMPFA Museum.

The Museum organised a lightshow festival in celebration and in the spirit of tbe 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love.

Donovan Drumond , Reed Banals, Dennis Keefe, Jim Baldocchi, Robert Chouraqui along with a crew of psychedelic masters reunited the Headlights spirit (Glen Mckay & Jerry Abrams) for a special 3 night run at the UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacifc Film Archive on May 18,19,20 2017!

That was one 3 nights performance to blow minds for sure showing visuals created by Headlights and not seen since The Toronto Pop Fest of 68 live mixed with handmade created material of many other pioneers still active!

Video extracts link https://youtu.be/qQYkD0KgnAg

All visuals are originals created by ANDROIDE lightshow.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lightshowAndroide
Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4pYQLGpOgucMzi33OAPHwQ/videos