When music substitutes poetry, Yann Tiersen substitutes what we consider music and moreover, the poetry in his music remains intact, maybe even more as the sounds form a composition. The French musician doesn’t follow the nowadays trends and he doesn’t try to create them either, because, in fact, his music has a clearly targeted sector of public and it also directly creates the membrane of the special sound most of us already recognize and differentiate from numerous other composition.
On the other hand, we could be tempted to see Yann Tiersen as an avant-garde, an “avant la lettre” artist who creates something entirely special, unusual, who could create the new trends in music. It is true that Tiersen has already set the trend in film music, at least in France, since the composition for the movie Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain (2001) has shortly become one of the most welcomed. However, his perception on what he does is quite interesting since he once declared in an interview that everything he hears is not necessarily an entirely correct composition since he is not as experienced as other composers, but it is the music that only some people appreciate. Tiersen was born in Brittany, France in 1970 and contrary to what he said, he was solidly educated in music, studying in different academies such as Nantes, Rennes or Boulogne. In fact, the music he produces today is an answer to everything he learned about the music culture in time. As he used to say, his music was influenced, surprisingly for us, by the post-punk culture and especially bands such as The Stooges or Joy Division.
For instance, The Stooges’ influences – an American band which adopted various genres from garage rock to punk rock – are quite visible or audible, keeping the proportions. Before starting his actual music career, Yann Tiersen recorded some songs for the movies Alice et Martin, La Vie Revee de Anges and Qui Plume la Lune?. It is curious that the experience he said he didn’t have can clearly be seen in his compositions.
Even so, after starting his music career, it took some time until his name became known to the ones who appreciate these genres (avant-garde, minimal). In fact, he became known in France due to his third album, La Phare. The album was not known outside of the country, but once the movie Amelie was launched, he started gaining more and more popularity. We can hear the piano, accordion and even the violin in his songs. On the other hand, this is only the conventional image, at least apparently of his compositions since Yann Tiersen is precisely known due to his music experiences. In addition, Yann Tiersen also collaborated with very good voices such as Elizabeth Fraser – member of Cocteau Twins, Stuart Staples from Tindersticks and Jane Birkin. In 2004 he launched an album after collaborating with Shannon Wright. Again an extremely interesting aspect, but in the meantime a characteristic, the live performances of the artist differ; each performance is unique – he is sometimes accompanied by an orchestra and other times he sings with Dominique A. There are times when his live performances only consist of some minimal moments, usually accompanied by a guitarist or even a bassist.
Tiersen also navigates between three instruments: the accordion, piano and violin. During these live performances the rock influences are clearer, especially when he uses the electric guitar. For example, during his last concerts, he only stuck to using the electric guitar, but this cannot be necessarily considered a constant fact because Yann Tiersen is full of surprises and thus, his fans may expect anything from the French musician. His last album, Dust Lane was launched in 2010. Dust Lane was well received, both by the public, as well as by the critics. Tiersen finished his album in two years, recording his music both in France as well as in the Philippines. Unfortunately, during the past two years, the French musician has gone through very hard times: he lost his mother and a very close friend. However, the album Dust Lance was extremely appreciated especially due to the uncommon sound, but also the emotion transmitted – a strange emotion.
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