All
Following the solo piano pieces of 2016’s *EUSA*, Yann Tiersen aims to present his more experimental inclinations on his tenth full-length studio album, *All*. By marrying subtle electronic elements with field recordings, the veteran French composer explores the natural connection he has with his hometown of Ushant, France. Tiersen’s stately, elegant combination of instrumental and vocal compositions—the latter of which are sung by guest vocalists in his native Breton language—take us to places that feel familiar yet strange. On “Pell,” a gorgeous harp trickles over spooky theremin sounds and chirping birds, while on “Koad,” beatific vocals glide over his signature piano filigrees. He incorporates jarring strings over a droning ambient backdrop on “Usal Road,” a technique that recalls the works of neo-classical artists like Max Richter and Ólafur Arnalds. Lavish horns and oscillating synths sway like gusts of gentle air on album centerpiece “Heol,” a spirited moment in *All* where Tiersen reaches transcendence.
Best known for his music’s starring role in films like Amélie, the composer aims to become the auteur here—maybe a little too much.
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With ALL, Yann Tiersen continues the celebration of special places and the feelings they evoke that was the focus of 2014's ∞ (Infinity) and 2016's Eusa.
There was something insular about Yann Tiersen's ninth album, 2016's EUSA. Sharing its name with the Breton word for Ushant, the French isla...
Yann Tiersen's tenth LP 'ALL' is the first recorded at the Eskal, the studio and arts centre he built in an abandoned discotheque in the Channel Islands.