Yann Tiersen

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Yann Tiersen
ANTI-
Websitewww.yanntiersen.com

Yann Pierre Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French Breton musician and composer.[1][2] His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations, and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical and contemporary instruments, primarily the electric guitar, the piano, synthesisers, and the violin, but he also includes instruments such as the melodica, xylophone, toy piano, harpsichord, piano accordion, and even a typewriter.

Tiersen is often mistaken for a soundtrack composer; he himself states that "I'm not a composer and I really don't have a classical background,"[3] but his real focus is on touring and recording studio albums, which are often used for film soundtracks. Tracks taken from his first three studio albums were used for the soundtrack of the 2001 French film Amélie.[4]

Biography and career

The early years: 1970–1992

Tiersen was born in 1970 in

8-track reel-to-reel tape recorder, and started recording music on his own with a synthesiser, a sampler, and a drum machine.[8]

Debut and national acclaim: 1993–2000

Let's live in an enormous world of sound we can use randomly, with no rules at all. Let's play with sound, forget all knowledge and instrumental skills, and just use instinct — the same way punk did.

—Yann Tiersen[8]

Before releasing film scores under his own name, Tiersen recorded background music for a number of plays and short films. During the summer of 1993, Tiersen stayed in his apartment with an electric guitar, a violin and a piano accordion, recording music on his own; he was guided by what he calls "a musical anarchic vision". By the end of the summer, Tiersen had recorded over forty tracks, which would most be used later on for his first two albums. Tiersen's debut album, La Valse des monstres, limited to 1,000 copies, was first released in June 1995 by independent record label Sine Terra Firma, and then reissued by Nancy-based record label Ici d'ailleurs in 1998 as the second album of its catalogue.[9] The 17-track-album was inspired by and written for the theatrical adaptations of Tod Browning's 1932 cult classic Freaks, and Yukio Mishima's 1955 version of Noh play The Damask Drum.[10] In April 1996, one year later, he released Rue des cascades, a collection of short pieces recorded with a toy piano, a harpsichord, a violin, a piano accordion, and a mandolin.[11] The title track, sung by French solo singer Claire Pichet, was used the following year for the Palme d'Or nominated French drama film The Dreamlife of Angels,[12] and several tracks received greater exposure when they were featured on the Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film Amélie, five years later.[8] Tiersen usually plays most of the music instruments himself during both studio recording sessions and his live sets; he has won theatrical appeal as a one-man show and was invited to play, among others, at the 1996 edition of the Avignon Festival, the oldest live arts festival in France.[13]

I was amazed with the way the lighthouse rays revealed some hidden details of the land, how we can rediscover something we have in front of us everyday, only thanks to a light pointing at it.

—Yann Tiersen[8]

Tiersen rose to domestic fame upon the release of his third studio album,

French Albums Chart.[15]

During that period, Tiersen provided a new arrangement and played

Les Têtes Raides (Christian Olivier, Grègoire Simon, Pascal Olivier, Anne-Gaëlle Bisquay, Serge Bégout, Jean-Luc Millot, and Edith Bégou), the string quartet Quatuor à cordes, guitarist and composer Olivier Mellano, and author Mathieu Boogaerts, as well as his usual collaborators and friends, Claire Pichet and Dominique A. The album was recorded by France International, mastered by Radio France, and released in CD format one year later on 2 November 1999.[citation needed
]

In 1999, Tiersen together with The Married Monk, Claire Pichet, and Olivier Mellano released his first collaboration album, Tout est calme. The 26 minutes, 10 tracks mini album peaked at number 45 on the French Albums Chart.[15] The album produced one single, "Les Grandes marées", and Tiersen also featured on The Divine Comedy's single "Gin Soaked Boy" released on that same year, on three tracks for Françoiz Breut's second studio album Vingt à Trente Mille Jours (English: Twenty to Thirty Thousand Days), and on Têtes Raides' Gratte-poil, both released in 2000.

Amélie and global recognition: 2001–2009

The hard part was making a selection, because all his tracks worked with the film's images!

Jean-Pierre Jeunet[17]

Tiersen remained relatively unknown outside France until the release of his

French Albums Chart.[2][18]

While he was writing the film score for Amélie, Tiersen was also preparing his fifth studio album L'Absente.[2] The album was characterized by several contributions including 35-member Ensemble Orchestral Synaxis conducted by Guillaume Bourgogne, viola player Bertrand Lambert, violinists Yann Bisquay and Sophie Naboulay, Natacha Régnier, and saxophonist Grégoire Simon, and long-time collaborators Dominique A, Christine Ott, Lisa Germano, Neil Hannon, Têtes Raides, Christian Quermalet, Marc Sens, and Sacha Toorop.[19] The album, which was released on 5 June 2001 through EMI France, was preceded by two promotional singles for "A quai" and "Bagatelle" respectively. Tiersen provided strings and vibraphone to two tracks, "Roma Amor" and "Holidays", featured on R/O/C/K/Y, the third studio album by The Married Monk.

At this time he was married to Belgian actress Natacha Régnier, co-star of The Dreamlife of Angels. Régnier became a singer and Tiersen wrote three songs for her including his arrangement of Georges Brassens' "Le Parapluie", a song featured on the tribute album Les Oiseaux de passage, released in 2001. That same year they toured in France and abroad. They have a daughter, Lise, born in 2002, but Tiersen and Régnier have since divorced.[20] In this period, Tiersen also took his music out around the world, playing shows with a full orchestra and an amplified string quartet.[8] From 15 to 17 February 2002, Tiersen with many of the collaborators who participated in the recording sessions for L'Absente plus Claire Pichet, violinists Nicolas Stevens and Renaud Lhoest, bassist Jean-François Assy, viola player Olivier Tilkin, and uilleann pipes, bagpipes, and low whistle player Ronan Le Bars, performed live at the Cité de la Musique (City of Music) in Paris. Part of these three concerts went on to form Tiersen's second live album C'était ici (It Was Here), which was released through EMI France on 30 September 2002.[21]

Tiersen's skills as a composer of film scores were much in demand, and the soundtrack for Amélie was soon followed by the

German Film Awards for Outstanding Film, Best European Film at the Goya Awards, Best Foreign Language Film for the London Film Critics' Circle, and it was also listed in the Empire magazine 2010's list of "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema".[22] Tiersen was the recipient of the German Film Awards for Outstanding Music. On 15 November 2003, Tiersen with Stuart A. Staples, the lead singer of indie band Tindersticks, actress and singer Jane Birkin, singer and songwriter Christophe Miossec, and Dominique A released 3 titres inédits au profit de la FIDH (3 New Tracks for the Benefit of FIDH), a three-track CD that was part of the On Aime, On Aide benefit collection for raising funds for the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).[23]

A photo showing Yann Tiersen (on the left) and Christophe Miossec (on the right) live in concert at Cabaret Vauban, Brest, France, on 6 February 2005.
Yann Tiersen (left) and Christophe Miossec (right) at Cabaret Vauban, Brest, France, 6 February 2005.

Tiersen's list of collaborators continued to grow album after album and in October 2004 he released

Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04. The subsequent world tour of 2006 replaced the multi-instrumental ensemble with electric guitars and an ondes Martenot, and produced his third live album, On Tour, which was released together with a DVD, directed by Aurélie du Boys, about the tour, in November 2006.[25]
In 2006, he also released two singles, "La Mancha" and "La Rade", and he was featured on The Endless Rise of the Sun, the third studio album by electronic group Smooth, Raides à la ville extended play by Katel, and 13m² by David Delabrosse.

After a five-year absence as a composer of film scores, Tiersen provided the

Regatta in Scotland. His body was recovered five weeks later off the coast of Ireland by a French fishing trawler. The documentary, narrated by Tabarly himself, traces his sporting career until his last meal in Ushant.[8] Before the end of the decade, Tiersen also contributed to Christine Ott's debut solo album Solitude Nomade
, and to Miossec's seventh studio album Finistériens.

Dust Lane and Skyline: 2010–present

A photo showing Elektronische Staubband [Lionel Laquerriere (on the left), and Yann Tiersen and Thomas Poli (on the right)] live in concert at Lazzaretto of Ancona, Italy, on 21 July 2011.
Elektronische Staubband [Lionel Laquerriere (left), and Yann Tiersen and Thomas Poli (right)] at Lazzaretto of Ancona, Italy, 21 July 2011.

October 2010 saw the release of Tiersen's sixth studio album titled

Li(f)e, the fourth solo studio album by hip-hop artist Sage Francis
.

October 2011 saw the European release of his seventh studio album,

All Tomorrow's Parties festival in March 2012 in Minehead, England.[34]
Skyline was released in North America via ANTI- Records on 17 April 2012, and it was followed by the Skyline Tour with dates in the United States, Canada, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, France, Slovak Republic, Austria, Finland and the United Kingdom.

On 3 August 2016, it was announced that Tiersen married Emilie Quinquis in Ushant, Brittany.[35] Quinquis stated that she and Tiersen were married on 31 July 2016.[36] On 6 April 2017 they gave birth to a son.[37][38][39][40]

Music

Styles and instruments

[There is] no frontier between classical music and popular music, you are free to work with whatever you want. For me it’s natural to use lots of different instruments and textures and sounds and noises because life is like that.

—Yann Tiersen[41]

I didn’t know French musette music at all. Even people like Jacques Brel — I discovered Brel through Scott Walker. My parents listened to Brel, of course, but when you’re a teenager you’re not interested. So it was only when I heard Scott Walker's versions that I thought "this is fucking good", you know. The only French singer I listened to was Serge Gainsbourg.

—Yann Tiersen[27]

Tiersen's music is influenced by the classical training he received as a child, by American and British

musicologist Michael Nyman, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy career and who is the reason for Tiersen to be often called the Gallic Michael Nyman.[13]

Tiersen started playing the piano and the violin at a young age.

car or a bicycle wheel. Tiersen plays all of these instruments himself either in the studio or on a live set.[13]

Film scores

Tiersen's ability to compose music that can be easily used for

, and Qui plume la lune? by Christine Carrière.

Following the box-office success of Amélie,[2][13] Tiersen's skills as a composer of film scores were much in demand, and this led him to compose the music for Good Bye, Lenin! by Wolfgang Becker. Although the soundtrack for Amélie consisted mainly of pieces that Tiersen had previously released on his first two albums, the soundtrack for Good Bye, Lenin! was conceived from scratch, except for "Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi", which is also featured on Amélie's soundtrack.[8]

Tiersen returned to making film soundtracks in 2008 after a years-long break, creating the score for a documentary about the sailor Éric Tabarly.[8]

Collaborations

Tiersen has always composed his music in solitude, starting from simple melodies to which he added subsequent layers. His first album,

charleston provided by Laurent Heudes.[9] His second album, Rue des cascades, saw the participation of French soloist singer Claire Pichet, who provided vocals on two tracks on the album, "Rue des cascades" and "Naomi", and François-Xavier Schweyer, who played cello on "C'était ici" and "La Fenêtre".[11] Le Phare saw his first collaboration with French singer and songwriter Dominique A. Claire Pichet and drummer Sacha Toorop are also featured on this album,[14]
but both albums can be considered as a one-man works.

It is at this point in his career, around the end of the nineties, that his collaborations begin to grow. In 1997, he collaborated with French rock band Noir Désir, the following year Tiersen and Dominique A released the single for "Monochrome",[citation needed] and, in collaboration with French electronic rock band Bästard, the EP Bästard ~ Yann Tiersen,[citation needed] while 1999 saw the releases of Tout est calme, a collaboration mini album by Yann Tiersen, The Married Monk, Claire Pichet, and Olivier Mellano,[citation needed] and of his first live album, Black Session: Yann Tiersen. The live album, recorded in December 1998, features Tiersen with Claire Pichet, Dominique A, The Divine Comedy's singer and songwriter Neil Hannon, Noir Désir's singer and songwriter Bertrand Cantat, singer and illustrator Françoiz Breut, anglophone French rock band The Married Monk, French folk rock group Têtes Raides, the string quartet Quatuor à cordes, guitarist and composer Olivier Mellano, and author Mathieu Boogaerts.[citation needed] The soundtrack for Amélie saw for the first time the introduction of a full orchestra, the 35-member Ensemble Orchestral Synaxis, and of an ondes Martenot played by Christine Ott.[citation needed] Both will participate in the recording sessions for his next album, L'Absente, which also includes American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lisa Germano, Belgian actress and singer Natacha Régnier, Neil Hannon, and Têtes Raides, among others.[19]

Tiersen's list of collaborators continues to grow. His second live album,

Breton singer and songwriter Miossec, Elizabeth Fraser, the vocalist for the pioneer alternative rock group Cocteau Twins, and the Orchestre National de Paris.[24] The subsequent world tour produced his third live album On Tour, which replaced the multi-instrumental ensemble of Les Retrouvailles with a more rock-oriented sound.[25] The soundtrack to Tabarly saw Tiersen return to minimalism, in fact most of the compositions featured on the album are for solo piano.[26] But his two subsequent albums return to have a rock-oriented sound, with the only difference that Skyline has a higher number of contributors than Dust Lane.[31][32]

Tiersen has contributed, either in part or in full, to the realization of several records among which stand out "

Li(f)e by Sage Francis,[50] as well as records by Noir Désir,[51] Têtes Raides,[citation needed] The Married Monk,[52][53] French electronic trio Smooth,[54] Katel, David Delabrosse,[citation needed] Christine Ott,[citation needed] or Miossec.[55] In 2011, Tiersen, with Lionel Laquerriere and Thomas Poli, has also started Elektronische Staubband, a side project on electronic music
. This new project is expected to lead to the release of a new album in 2013.

Charity work

In 2011, Tiersen collaborated with the Yellow Bird Project (YBP) to design a t-shirt,[56] which was sold to raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The main reason he chose to support MSF, is for their work as one of the three charities helping refugees in Libya at the time.[57] A live video session was also filmed in the MSF London offices to promote the T-shirt and raise awareness for the cause.[58]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Peak chart positions
FRA
[15]
BEL
(Fl)
[59]
BEL
(Wa)
[60]
SWI
[61]
1995 La Valse des monstres
  • Featured performer: Laurent Heudes
139
1996 Rue des cascades 51
1998 Le Phare
  • Featured performers: Claire Pichet, Dominique A, Sacha Toorop
50
2001 L'Absente 8
2005 Les Retrouvailles 6 96 40 48
2010 Dust Lane 36 96 97
2011 Skyline
  • Featured performers: Dave Collingwood, Stéphane Bouvier, Gaëlle Kerrien, Matt Elliott,
    Daniel James, Efterklang, Heather Woods, Peter Broderick
172
2014
(aka Infinity)
104 102 101
2016 EUSA 21
[62]
67 38 76
2019 All 66
[63]
63 116 50
2019 Portrait 94 124
2021 Kerber 97 71
2022 11 5 18 2 5 18
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Soundtracks

Year Album Peak chart positions
FRA
[15]
AUT
[64]
BEL
(Fl)
[59]
BEL
(Wa)
[60]
NL
[65]
SWI
[61]
US
[66][n 1]
2001 Amélie
  • Featured performers: Ensemble Orchestral Synaxis, Christine Ott, Christian Quermalet.
1 35 3 28 31 2 2
2003 Good Bye Lenin!
  • Featured performers: Ensemble Orchestral Synaxis, Claire Pichet.
49
2008 Tabarly 122
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Live albums

Year Album Peak chart positions
FRA
[15]
SWI
[61]
1999 Black Session: Yann Tiersen
2002 C'était ici 8 64
2006 On Tour 160
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Singles and EPs

Charting

Year Single Peak chart positions Album Certifications
FRA
[15]
AUT
[64]
BEL
(Fl)
[59]
BEL
(Wa)
[60]
SWI
[61]
2013 "Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi" 187 41 34 BPI: Silver [67]
2016 "Porz goret" 181
[68]

Others

Collaborations

Year Record
1998 "Monochrome"
  • Single by Yann Tiersen and Dominique A; reissued in 2002.
1998 Bästard ~ Tiersen
1999 Tout est calme
  • Mini album by Yann Tiersen, The Married Monk, Claire Pichet and Olivier Mellano.
45
2004 Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright 60
2010 The Dark Age of Love
2015 ESB
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Contributions

DVDs

Year Title Director Description
2005 La Traversée Aurélie du Boys Documentary about the recording and composition of Les Retrouvailles in Ouessant.
2006 On Tour Aurélie du Boys Documentary about the world tour of 2006.
Featured performers: Marc Sens, Grégoire Simon, Diam's, Katel, Elizabeth Fraser, DD La Fleur, Christine Ott, Stéphane Bouvier, Ludovic Morillon.

Notes

  1. ^ Billboard Top World Music Albums
  2. ^ Peak chart positions

References

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External links