Yann Tiersen (FR)

About

Also known as: Yan Tiersen, Yann Pierre Tiersen, Yann Thiersen, Yann Tierson

Yann Tiersen is a French musician and composer from Brest, Brittany, whose name became globally recognizable thanks to the 2001 film Amélie, which drew tracks from his first three studio albums. The funny thing is, he doesn't consider himself a soundtrack composer at all. His real passion is touring and making records, and Amélie just happened to come along and borrow his music. His sound pulls from an unusually wide palette, mixing electric guitar, violin, piano, synthesisers, melodica, xylophone, toy piano, harpsichord, and even a typewriter into something that slips between classical, minimalism, post rock, and new age without settling anywhere in particular. His third album, Le Phare, was recorded in self imposed isolation on the island of Ushant at the far northwestern tip of France, a setting that clearly left its mark. That record sold over 160,000 copies and cemented his reputation as one of France's most inventive artists. He tends to play nearly every instrument himself, both in the studio and on stage, and has performed at prestigious venues including the Avignon Festival.