Tiersen has been honing his musical aesthetic since he could stand on two legs. He started learning piano at the age of four, taking up violin at the age of six and receiving classical training at musical academies in Rennes, Nantes and Boulogne. Then, at the age of 13, he chose to alter his destiny, breaking his violin into pieces, buying a guitar and forming a rock band.
Yann Tiersen has collaborated with vocal artists like Claire Pichet ("Le phare" and "Rue des cascades"), Elizabeth Fraser ("Les retrouvailles") and Shannon Wright ("Yann Tiersen and Shannon Wright"). Other musicians he has worked with include The Divine Comedy, Noir Désir, Dominique A., Francoiz Breut, Les Têtes Raides, The Married Monk and Sage Francis
Tiersen got a musical education from the city of Rennes' annual Transmusicales festival, seeing acts like Nirvana, Einstürzende Neubaten, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, Television and Suicide. When his band broke up a few years later, instead of hunting for some new musicians, he bought a cheap mixing desk, an eight-track reel, and started recording music solo with a synth, sampler and drum machine, poring over the grooves of old records on the hunt for loops and orchestral strings to plunder.
As it turned out, though, the key to his new approach lay in his own past. "One day I thought, instead of spending days on research and listening to tons of records to find the nearest sound of what I have in mind, why don't I fix this fucking violin and use it?" Through the summer of 1993, Tiersen stayed in his apartment, recording music alone with guitar, violin and accordion, guided not by the classical canon, but by intuition and his vision of "a musical anarchy".
By the end of the summer of 1993, Tiersen had recorded over 40 tracks, which would form the bulk of his first two albums. 1995's La Valse Des Monstres, inspired by Tod Browning's Freaks and Yukio Mishima's The Damask Drum was the second album to be released on Nancy-based label Ici, d'ailleurs. It would be followed six months later by Rue Des Cascades, a collection of short pieces recorded with toy piano, harpsichord, violin, accordion and mandolin. Six years later, the record would find a much larger audience when several tracks, along with a couple of Tiersen originals, would be used on the soundtrack to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film Amelie (2001).
Tiersen's commercial breakthrough would come earlier, though, and off his own back. 1998's Le Phare (The Light House) was recorded in self-imposed seclusion on the isle of Ouessant, where Tiersen spent two months living in a rented house. At night, he watched the Creach'h, the most powerful lighthouse in Europe, as it illuminated the surrounding scenery. "I was amazed how the rays of lights from the lighthouse revealed some hidden details of the land, how we can rediscover something we have everyday, just in front of us, by a light pointing on it," says Tiersen.
Le Phare went on to sell over 160,000 copies, confirming Tiersen's status as one of the most pioneering and original artists of his generation and commencing a run of successful albums like 2001's L'Absente (featuring orchestral group Synaxis, Lisa Germano and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon) and 2005's Les Retrouvailles (with guests Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Jane Birkin and Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins). In this period, Tiersen also took his music out around the world, playing shows with a full orchestra and an amplified string quartet – a set-up captured on 2002's electrifying live album C'etait ici. And following the box-office success of Amelie, Tiersen's skills as a soundtracker were much in demand, leading to scores for the likes of Wolfgang Becker's tragicomedy Good Bye Lenin! (2003) and Tabarly (2008), a documentary about the French sailor Éric Tabarly, who ate his final meal on Ouessant Island before he meeting a watery end in the Irish sea.
Discography:
La valse des monstres (1995)
Rue des cascades (1996)
Le phare (1998)
Tout est calme (1999)
Black session (1999, radio concert)
L'absente (2001)
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001, Soundtrack)
C'était ici (2002, Live and Best Of)
Good Bye Lenin! (2003, Soundtrack)
Yann Tiersen and Shannon Wright (2004)
Les Retrouvailles (2005)
On Tour (2006, Live)
Tabarly (2008)
Dust Lane (2010)
La Rupture
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
butter and jam, fries, meat, beans and all spices.
i've lost the taste of these things for two weeks now.
i'm just waiting for a cup of dirty snow.
airports, railroad stations, highways, streets and foggy lines.
traffic, lights, cars and planes, boats, bicycles and walkers.
now i'm wondering, blind, in the city.
I'm surrounded by towers, made of dirty snow.
faces, ears and bellies, backsides, legs, fingers and feet.
sweat, tears, dripping bodies, parties, someone is fucked up.
now i'm quiet in this snow, snowy country.
i'm hanging on until i am old, just older than now.
The lyrics of Yann Tiersen's song "La Rupture" paint a picture of someone feeling detached and disconnected from their surroundings. They list various aspects of their environment - windows, doors, walls, carpets, chairs, tables, flowers, bread, wine, butter, jam, fries, meat, beans, and spices - that they have lost the taste for. The repetition of these mundane objects suggests a certain monotony and routine that the person finds unfulfilling. They then express a longing for something more unusual or uncommon, symbolized by their desire for a cup of "dirty snow".
The next stanza describes various modes of transportation - airports, railroad stations, highways, streets, and foggy lines - and the bustling activity that takes place on them. However, the person feels lost and blind in the city, surrounded by towers made of dirty snow. This image conjures up feelings of isolation and confusion amidst a vast, impersonal landscape.
The final stanza shifts to a focus on people - their faces, ears, bellies, backsides, legs, fingers, and feet. The imagery begins to take on a darker tone with the mention of sweat, tears, and dripping bodies. Yet, even in this context, the person finds a sense of peace and quiet in a snowy country. They resolve to hang on until they are old, just older than they are now.
Overall, the lyrics of "La Rupture" capture a sense of disconnection and longing for something more meaningful. The recurring motif of dirty snow represents a desire for something unique, even if it may seem unpleasant or unconventional.
Line by Line Meaning
Windows, doors, walls and carpets, chairs, tables and flowers, bread, wine,
butter and jam, fries, meat, beans and all spices.
I am no longer able to appreciate the familiar comforts of my surroundings, including food and furnishings.
I've lost the taste of these things for two weeks now.
I'm just waiting for a cup of dirty snow.
I have lost all sense of pleasure and anticipation for anything, replacing it with hopelessness and despair.
Airports, railroad stations, highways, streets and foggy lines.
Traffic, lights, cars and planes, boats, bicycles and walkers.
The city represents an overwhelming maze of transportation and traffic, making me feel lost and insignificant.
Now I'm wondering, blind, in the city.
I'm surrounded by towers, made of dirty snow.
I feel directionless and alone, trapped in a city that is equally suffocating and barren.
Faces, ears and bellies, backsides, legs, fingers and feet.
Sweat, tears, dripping bodies, parties, someone is fucked up.
The people around me offer no comfort or respite, filled with their own struggles and excesses.
Now I'm quiet in this snow, snowy country.
I'm hanging on until I am old, just older than now.
Despite how grim the world around me appears, I am determined to keep going, finding solace in the quiet of the snow.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Tiersen Yann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Minster
Augh I was trying so hard to find this version of the song! Kept finding live performances, and those are nice, but I was really pining for the album version. Thanks so much. Finally, I can satisfy my ears.
cecilia pesce
this is part of the marvellous soundtrack of the 1998 film Alice et Martin, which includes also Lilac Wine by Jeff Buckley! B)
vitalia pinto
Me encanta.
Tim Martin
Sometimes it's so good to cry.
franco quispe
Hermoso
Med dalanera
la chanson de ce que je croyais être la chanson de rupture de ma vie et ne sera tout bonnement que ma rupture avec la vie.
C2498
@datboiwes3 I'd def check out the album if I were you. Only two other tracks have vox on em but they're great.
no
i love this song *-* bu i think, the piano version with voice is better ._.
no
Claire Pichet