Yann Tiersen possesses that kind of charisma, talent and nonchalant demeanour that makes you wish you from a part of Europe that isn’t England. A classically trained multi-instrumentalist, he now turns out his seventh studio album - the sublime Skyline. Rising to prominence with notable film scores for Amelie and Goodbye Lenin!, he succeeded in sucking you into their world; harsher, more industrial sounds seamlessly matched the crumbling 1970s depiction of Germany in Goodbye Lenin! whereas with Amelie he was as responsible for the adoration and love the film received. He created a sparse, delicate and haunting accompaniment with his piano and accordion-driven sounds, which created something as indistinguishably French as the film itself.
His previous album, 2010’s Dust Lane, led away from the more classical feel his previous work embodied (he is later keen to tell me “I’m not a composer”), and Skyline follows that same path. Instead, his natural gravitation towards experimentation, improvisation and idiosyncrasy has resulted a more pop-like, even accessible affair, with his latest offering not even sounding too far removed from a Broken Social Scene record in parts. It has all the same oddities and experimental feel as previous work, yet it is somehow wrapped up a much more digestible and rock-orientated form. Yann has been an advocate of strange instruments over the years - often using things that aren't instruments at all, such as the typewriter - and this use of unconventional tools continues here; “we used wooden chairs hitting against a concrete floor” he later tells me, of attempting to create a sound he had in his head.
Has the decision to go more pop-orientated or conventional been a conscious one? “Oh no, no, no” comes the French accent rolling it’s way down the phone line, where Yann is about to perform in France tonight. He continues, “I never think about my albums before I make them, they are always just improvised”. No clear idea of what he'd like to create at all? “No, I don’t think it’s possible. Music to me is a natural energy, a force, it is physical and it comes as a natural extension of the artist.” Yann speaks with a slow, thoughtful tone and almost exudes modesty. We talk a little further about this thought and he almost seems to shrug off the idea of forced musicality, “music is just music to me,” he muses, “I make it and it comes out, I have no control over the process, I don’t think about it. I can’t think about it”. This free flowing concept, I mention to Yann, rings a bell from my conversation with Neu!’s Michael Rother and his outlook, “Ah,” Yann pauses, “Well, I’m a very big Neu! fan,” almost shyly confessing as though I had paid him the greatest compliment I could.
Yann plays pretty much everything on this record, except drums. Is he a control freak, I enquire? “No, I just love to experiment, to improvise. As I’ve got older I actually enjoying playing more, so it makes sense for me to play everything.” That’s quite a strange notion, that as you get older and have played more gigs and recorded more albums, that you actually enjoy playing instruments more than you used to in your youth? “It’s true, I do. I really love playing. The freedom, expression and improvisation I can experience when playing is wonderful.” The answers hardly seem to be surprising the more you take into account the unconventional and impassionate approach Yann has taken towards his career thus far. The drums, I suggest, are pretty incredible, did he orchestrate them or allow Neil Turpin the same room for experimentation as he allows himself? “Oh yeah, I completely left it up to him. He is a very talented drummer.” So you were completely trusting? “Oh yes, I let him do what he wants.”
As we continue to talk and I ask any direct questions relating to Yann’s thoughts or interpretations of his own music, it seems he has few; he modestly shrugs them off them, often simply replying, “it’s just music.” The idea that he is allowing musical forces to transcend through himself by means of experimentation is an interesting one and, most importantly, one that cannot transcend through the written word, scrutiny or a phone interview. So, instead of listening to me attempting to place meaning or significance and derive understanding from a man’s work to which it is not even applied initially, I suggest you go and listen to these forces at work.
Skyline is out now on Mute records.