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 rade
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mais le front baissé les épaules en dedans
Avec dans les yeux toutes les larmes d'avant
Et ça crève et ça crève d'ennui, devant
Je nous vois tout transis dedans
Et le froid qui s'échappe et qu'on sent devant
Immobiles comme au lit, dormant
Et la vie qui s'éteint doucement
Je nous rêve tous debout devant
Descendant dans la ville, marchant
Tu le prends, tu le vois dedans
Dans le cœur, la colère des gens
Là debout et la rade devant
Là devant, le vent d'ouest entrant
Tu le prends, tu le vois maintenant
Dans le cœur, la colère des gens
Là debout et la mer devant
Là devant et la vague venant
Tu le prends, tu le cries dedans
Dans le corps, la révolte des gens
Là debout et la mer devant
Là devant et la vague venant
Tu le prends, tu le cries dedans
Dans le corps, la révolte des gens
The lyrics to Yann Tiersen's song "La rade" explore feelings of stagnation and discontentment. The song begins with a description of a group of people sitting together, but with their heads down and shoulders turned inward, conveying a sense of sadness and weariness. The singer imagines them as motionless, frozen in place and as if they were sleeping, as life slowly fades away.
The second verse continues this sense of stagnation, painting a picture of people who have become numb to their surroundings. The coldness around them has seeped into their very being, leaving them shivering inside, unable to move or take action. It paints a picture of a lifeless existence, with the implication that something needs to change.
The final verse describes a more, possibly hopeful, scene, where the same group of people come to life and start walking through the city. They are filled with anger and resentment towards the world around them and everything that they have suffered at its hand. They stand firm in the face of the sea, the wind, and the waves, embodying a spirit of defiance and calling for revolution.
Overall, the lyrics of "La rade" are a commentary on the human condition and the ultimate desire to break free from apathy and a sense of futility.
Line by Line Meaning
Je nous vois tous assis devant
The singer imagines everyone sitting idly in front of them
Mais le front baissé les épaules en dedans
Their body language suggests a sense of defeat and sadness
Avec dans les yeux toutes les larmes d'avant
The tears of the past still linger in their eyes
Et ça crève et ça crève d'ennui, devant
The boredom they feel is overwhelming and exhausting
Je nous vois tout transis dedans
The artist sees everyone shivering inside
Et le froid qui s'échappe et qu'on sent devant
The chill in the air is palpable and uncomfortable
Immobiles comme au lit, dormant
The people are as still as if they were sleeping in bed
Et la vie qui s'éteint doucement
Their spirits are slowly fading away
Je nous rêve tous debout devant
The artist dreams of everyone standing up and facing the world
Descendant dans la ville, marchant
They walk down to the city, determined and strong
Tu le prends, tu le vois dedans
You can see it in their eyes
Dans le cœur, la colère des gens
The anger and frustration of the people is evident
Là debout et la rade devant
Standing tall with the harbor in front of them
Là devant, le vent d'ouest entrant
The west wind blows in, invigorating and inspiring them
Tu le prends, tu le vois maintenant
You can see it now
Dans le cœur, la colère des gens
The anger and frustration of the people is evident
Là debout et la mer devant
Standing tall with the sea in front of them
Là devant et la vague venant
The waves come crashing in, but they stand firm
Tu le prends, tu le cries dedans
You can feel it and you scream it out
Dans le corps, la révolte des gens
The people are revolting and demanding change
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: YANN PIERRE TIERSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@0maurici0o
No es tanto que sea el mejor compositor, no es tanto su capacidad para dominar una gran variedad de instrumentos, es que con cada tema el te hace llorar, con cada tema te hace sentir vivo :)
@diegomartinezserrano5871
Tu lo has dicho, llorar.
@rocio8390
Inmensamente conmovedora, aún más conociendo la letra (traducida por ahora hasta que estudie francés) siento esta canción como mía, pues mi alma o lo que fuese que está ahí, sonríe y se halla. Se llena de vida y de sentido. Cómo agradecer un suceso tan profundo... no lo sé. Por ahora digo gracias. Gracias Yann Tiersen.
@diegomartinezserrano5871
No puedo dejar de escuchar este tema, me llega al fondo del alma.
@byrusmx
Una de las canciones que he adoptado como himno personal. <3 Tiersen :D
@MrDiegoseco
excelente tema de yann tiersen el mejor compositor actual. con una diversidad de instrumentos y una originalidad que dejan a cualquier banda de pop en el rincon del aburrimiento. Espero poder verlo pronto en directo.
@deidaraks
Que buenisima canción
@alejandrocarrera2249
Con Tiersen tengo sentimientos encontrados: amo su música pero en concierto es frío y distante con el público, además de que interpreta muy pocas canciones u_u
@FilosofiaParaTriunfadores
Te envidio amigo en mí pais nunca vino Tiersen tampoco tengo suficiente dinero para viajar y pagar un boleto.
@LeRumbier1
No hay que tomarse su forma de ser como algo personal, él siempre ha sido así, si lo has logrado ver en presentaciones de radio o entrevistas, siempre ha sido algo tímido, incluso me parece que le provoca un poco de conflicto relacionarse con las personas, que le genera ansiedad: se nota en su lenguaje corporal. No sé si sea autista, pero su manera de interaccionar con los demás, me remite a varias personas con autismo con las que me he relacionado, en algún momento. Entonces, no hay que sentirse mal por ello, porque muchos artistas lo tienen difícil al tener este tipo de problemas, timidez y/o problemas de ansiedad, que les cuesta más ser más expresivos y cálidos con su público. Yo también lo he visto en vivo, y sé de lo hablas, sin embargo, eso no ha cambiado mi percepción de él, ni de su música, porque sea cual sea la razón, no minimiza su talento y su gran capacidad para plasmar y profundizar emociones complejas, a través de su música.
Saludos y buena energía, desde Amiens, Francia :).