Yann Tiersen - Atlantique Nord
Yann Tiersen is probably best known for his music on the Amelié soundtrack. However, he has contributed to many other French film scores and worked on several solo albums and in comparison, this body of music has recieved very little recognition.
Atlantique Nord literally meaning North Atlantic, appears on the soundtrack to Tabarly, a movie about a famous French sailor. Although I have not seen the film, the rich and emotive Atlantique Nord is captivating enough to make me want to watch Tabarly. If the movie ends up falling short of my expectations, at least I can rest assured that Yann Tiersen’s beautiful compositions will make the viewing worthwhile.
Enjoy.
Sage Francis & Yann Tiersen - The Best of Times
French composer Yann Tiersen (Amélie Soundtrack) provides an amazing soundscape on this song which features noneother than alternative hip hop icon Sage Francis on vocals.
The Best of Times starts atmospherically. As the reflective narrative progresses so does the music and it eventually builds to a crescendo.
The lyrics ‘it was the best of times. It was the end of times’ frequents throughout and it is a sombre reminder to all of us to appreciate the good times because they may never happen again.
Sage Francis is an unlikely candidate to give an honest account of his childhood as most of his lyrics include elaborate metaphors and wordplay woven together with perplexing intricacy. However, on this song, his rhyming matches the mood of the music beautifully and the stories and song structure compliment one another instead of conflict.
Who better to produce this song than Yann Tiersen? His music has transcended cultural boundaries since the film Amélie became a cult sensation. Sage Francis wrote the lyrics to the instrumental version of this song in roughly 24 hours before recording this final version. This song is a rare example of how musicians from different genres can come together to collaborate and create art that extends artistic boundaries and fanbases alike.
As the year draws to a close and 2012 approaches, there is no better time to reflect on the year that has passed and look forwards to the future. Enjoy The Best of Times.
