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Electric minimalist

Yann Tiersen straps on a guitar and hits the road

By James Scanlon
For The Prague Post
March 14th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Tiersen may be best-known for his film soundtracks, but when he's onstage it's maximum rock 'n' roll.
French composer and multi-instrumentalist Yann Tiersen has often been referred to as the gallic Michael Nyman for his whimsical, minimalistic approach to making music. It’s a style that draws further comparisons to the likes of Eric Satie and Philip Glass. But Tiersen has left his own distinct mark on his critically acclaimed soundtracks, as well as on his current crusade as a traveling rocker.
Tiersen’s first major break came with the soundtrack to the award-winning Amélie in 2001, which became an international hit and turned Tiersen into a much sought-after composer. More recently he wrote the score for Wolfang Becker’s Good-Bye Lenin, and has also enjoyed success scoring films like Alice et Martin (Andre Techine) and La vie revee des anges (Eric Zonka).
Initially, Tiersen slapped his gift horse in the mouth. He turned down Amélie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s offer to do the soundtrack because he was too busy recording his own album at the time. Jeunet was forced to look to Tiersen’s earlier work, where he found most of what he wanted. Later, after completing his L’Absente CD, Tiersen added some incidental music.
“I was too busy at the time,” he says with a laugh while standing outside the Sala Oasis recently in Zaragoza, where he was due to perform later that evening. “I was just starting to record L’Absente, so I didn’t have time to make another original soundtrack.”
In spite of his initial recalcitrance, the final soundtrack explored an impressive array of instrumentation that, along with his trademark piano, guitar and harmonica, boasted toy piano, harpsicord, vibraphone and typewriter. The soundtrack eventually sold some 1.4 million copies worldwide, but Tiersen remains modest about his achievement.
“Artistically it wasn’t a big thing, because I didn’t work a lot for it,” he says. “But the success of it did a lot for me in other countries. I’m proud that the main album used on Amélie was my second album, Rue de Cascades, which when originally released only sold 300 copies.”
Yann Tiersen

When: Monday, March 19 at 8
Where: Divadlo Archa
Tickets: 495 Kč through Ticketpro and at the venue

Like many composers of his ilk, Tiersen prefers solitude when it comes to recording and is often drawn to old childhood haunts in Brittany. “It’s because it’s the place where I was born,” he says. “I’m just peaceful there. I’ve got a lot of friends there. I find it difficult to start working on an album in a big city. You only have two choices: working or not working. And, if you’re in a small place, you can work and then go and have a drink and then go back to work again. It’s easier.”
Tiersen’s ideas come in the same either-or manner, by divine inspiration or enforced labor.
“Sometimes it comes quickly; sometimes I have to force myself,” he says. “I just play a little on guitar, and sometimes I get an idea for the beginning of a song. But sometimes I need to remind myself that I need to work, and go into a room and start searching.”
His music is often a reflection of his personal mood. L’Absente, for example, was a deeply melancholic affair, one that stretched his definition of minimalism to new extremes by including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and guest vocals from Lisa Germano, Les Tetes Raides and Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy.
Asked if his soundtracks have a life independent of the films, he says, “Yes, of course. I don’t think music is a language. For me, it’s very abstract. It works with emotion and feelings, so I think it’s impossible to write music directly for film. It would be very restrictive. When you’re working you need to be in a special mood, and I think it reflects in the music afterwards.”
With a growing desire to develop a synergy between his classical influences and his inherent rock culture, Tiersen’s challenging counterplay has certainly paid dividends on recent albums such as Les Retrouvailles (2005) and the live showcase On Tour (2006).
As for what to expect at his performance here, from the opening sonic blasts of “La Terrasse” and “La Rade,” Prague will have to brace itself for radically reworked versions of songs from all Tiersen’s previous albums, with the man himself taking on all vocal duties and switching between guitar, violin and accordion. There should also be some time for a piece from Amélie — a must, considering that the film prompted a group of eccentric historians in Ústí nad Labem to declare 2004 “The Year Of The Gnome” after being fascinated by the traveling gnome scenes in the film.
And, if you happen to hear a barking dog at Archa, fear not. It’s probably Tiersen’s canine, Voltaire, whom he had to bring on tour because there’s nobody to look after him at home.

James Scanlon can be reached at features@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (14/03/2007):

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