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Yann Tiersen (born June 23, 1970) is a versatile French minimalist multi-instrumentalist. In his songs, he normally uses instruments like piano, accordion and several types of violins. Critics sometimes compare him to Erik Satie, Nino Rota and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. His entire catalogue, including his award-winning film scores, is published by BMG Music Publishing.
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Biography
Tiersen was born in Brest and currently lives in Paris. When he was young, he had classical training in some music academies (Rennes, Nantes, Boulogne and more), and later was part of a few rock bands. Before releasing his first album, he had for some time recorded background music for plays and short films.
He gained success in France when in 1998 he released his third album Le Phare, but he did not gain much popularity outside France until he provided his music for the French film Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain in 2001 (he used some of his old songs as well as new ones for the film).
The French films La Vie Rêvée des Anges (1998, Erick Zonca), Alice et Martin (1998, André Téchiné), Qui Plume la Lune? (Christine Carrière, 1999), and Amélie ( Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) as well as the German film Good Bye, Lenin! (2003, Wolfgang Becker), all have music by Tiersen.
In his albums, some songs are instrumental pieces, while others are sung by Tiersen himself or by guest artists. Yann Tiersen's list of collaborators grew album after album (see discography below for details). While composing his fifth album, L'absente, Tiersen collaborated with Françoiz Breut and Les Têtes Raides in their respective albums. His 2005 album Les Retrouvailles featured vocals from Stuart A Staples of Tindersticks and Elizabeth Fraser formerly of Cocteau Twins and japanese pop artist Gackt; Tiersen also played piano on Staples's solo album Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04.
His live performances vary greatly from one another. Sometimes he carries an orchestra and many of his guest collaborators. Other times, he offers the more frequent minimalistic sessions, usually accompanied only by a drummer/bassist and a guitarist, with Tiersen himself switching seamlessly between piano, accordion and violins for his lighter songs, and electric guitar for his harder pieces. At times, Yann Tiersen got the help of Dominique A in his tours whenever the latter is not busy with his live or recording duties.
Discography
La Valse des Monstres (1995)
Rue des Cascades (1996)
Collaborations: Claire Pichet.
Le Phare (1998)
Collaborations: Claire Pichet, Dominique A.
Tout est Calme (1999)
Collaborations: The Married Monk.
Amélie Original Soundtrack (2001)
Black Session (1999)
Live album
Collaborations: Neil Hannon (of The Divine Comedy), Bertrand Cantat (of Noir Désir), Françoiz Breut, The Married Monk, Les Têtes Raides and a string quartet.
L'Absente (2001)
Collaborations: the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Lisa Germano, Neil Hannon (of The Divine Comedy), Dominique A, Françoiz Breut, Les Têtes Raides, Sacha Toorop (of Zop Hopop), the actress Natacha Regnier, Christian Quermalet (of The Married Monk), Marc Sens (a Serge Tessot-Gay collaborator), Christine Ott and a string quartet.
C'était ici (2002)
Good bye, Lenin! Original Soundtrack (2003)
Collaborations: Claire Pichet.
Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright (2004)
Collaborations: Shannon Wright.
Les Retrouvailles (2005)
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Yann Tiersen History
and Biography
Books about music