Yann Tiersen

?? (Infinity)

Image of Yann Tiersen - ?? (Infinity)
Record Label
Mute

About this item

‘∞’ (Infinity) is the follow up to 2011’s ‘Skyline’, which was described by Mojo as “life affirming”, by Clash as a “remarkable musical talent” and in Drowned in Sound’s 8 star review as “euphoric”.

Conceived in Iceland, where work began on the album, and in Ushant Island, Brittany. The album was produced by Yann Tiersen and mixed by Gareth Jones with Yann Tiersen and Daniel Miller.

For this album Tiersen has worked with native language speakers to include tracks sung and spoken in Breton (‘Ar Maen Bihan’), Faroese (‘Grønjørd’) and Icelandic (‘Steinn’). ‘Ar Maen Bihan’ is a story written by Emilie Quinquis in the Breton language, and was then translated by Amiina to Icelandic to create the track ‘Steinn’. Elsewhere on the album Aidan Moffat (Arab Strap) and Ólavur Jákupsson (a member of Tiersen’s live band) both contributed tracks on the same theme - stones - Moffat’s in English and Jákupsson’s in Faroese.

Hailing from Brittany, Yann Tiersen is one of the most revered artists of his generation, with a reputation first established by his studio albums (which included 1997’s ‘Cascade Street’, 1998’s ‘The Lighthouse’ and 2005’s ‘Les Retrouvailles’). The early albums were combined and used for the ‘Amelie’ soundtrack (2001), earning him global recognition. Recent Mute albums ‘Dust Lane’ (2010) and ‘Skyline’ (2011) has seen his prominence build, along with projects such as the recent live score to the Fantômas series which he curated at the Théâtre de Châtelet with guests Tim Hecker, James Blackshaw, Loney Dear and Amiina.

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