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)
Les Bras De Mer
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On voit les bras de mer
Qui s'allongent puis renoncent
À mordre dans la terre
Dans le lit, tard, nous sommes là
Nous recommençons tout
J'ai du mal à y croire
Je vois des bras de mer
Qui s'allongent qui s'allongent
Je vois des bras de mer
Qui s'allongent qui s'allongent
Et qui mordent la terre
Et la séparent enfin
The lyrics of Yann Tiersen and Dominique A's song "Les Bras de mer" depict a scenic view of the sea from where the singer is standing. The "bras de mer" or "arms of the sea" can be seen as they stretch out before finally withdrawing and failing to reach the land. As the song progresses, the lyrics shift into a more intimate setting, where the singer and another person are lying in bed together, starting over again, and this is where the metaphorical significance of the sea becomes more apparent. The singer seems hesitant to believe that they can start anew, but the repeating image of the "bras de mer" represents both the vastness and the cyclical nature of life.
The sea, which represents the vastness and unpredictability, is juxtaposed with the intimate yet uncertain emotions of the singer, creating a stark contrast. The "bras de mer" that fail to reach the shore can be seen as a metaphor for the failed attempts at creating a lasting relationship. The repetition of the phrase "Je vois des bras de mer" adds a sense of the unending cycle of life and love, with the sea always stretching out before finally receding back. Through this powerful imagery, the song captures the beauty and fragility of human emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
De l'endroit où je suis
From where I stand
On voit les bras de mer
We can see the arms of the sea
Qui s'allongent puis renoncent
That stretch out and then give up
A mordre dans la terre
Biting into the land
Dans le lit, tard, nous sommes là
In bed, late, we are there
Nous recommençons tout
We start everything again
J'ai du mal à y croire
I find it hard to believe
Je vois des bras de mer
I see the arms of the sea
Qui s'allongent qui s'allongent
That stretch out, that stretch out
Je vois des bras de mer
I see the arms of the sea
Qui s'allongent qui s'allongent
That stretch out, that stretch out
Et qui mordent la terre
And that bite into the land
Et la séparent enfin
And finally, separate it
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOMINIQUE ANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dzee127
C'est vraiment super, a la fois tranquille et emouvante. Yann Tiersen is incredibly talented.
sharonipwni
this live version is the best version of this song i have ever been witness to. This performance is brilliant genius.
kiroshki
Yea, I always listen to that version.
BożenaW.
Totalna magia. Genialne.
PepeMinematu
Ah! Como eu amo franceses! O lindo sotaque e a boquinha que faz um leve bico enquanto fala e/ou canta. A França em si é linda e charmosa, não esperava menos de um artista francês. AMO ELE DEMAIS ♥
chiquitina1406
This one is the best version! I LOVE IT!
Maria Isabel Delgado Sanabria
simplement genial!!! Il est le mellieur canteur et écrivan dans l'histoire
youtubeforyou
Just amazing!!! May one of the best musicians of this century...
maxita21
i love this guy!!! is magic fantastic... tan bello .. me encanta!!!
China Pfeiffer
Yann Tiersen est excellent !!! J'aime sa musique :)