Experi-mental music in Inca

Yann Tiersen’s name may not be generally known but he is a highly acclaimed musician working in the experimental arena.

From Brest in Brittany, this multi-instrumentalist refuses to accept definition as a composer because he doesn’t have a classical background. He was influenced by punk when he was a teenager before moving on to create film scores.

It was the film Amélie that brought him to an audience outside France. He and the film received various awards, including BAFTAs, and the soundtrack album went to number one in France.

Collaborators over the years have included The Divine Comedy and the Cocteau Twins singer, Elizabeth Fraser. Avant-garde perhaps sums him up but doesn’t do justice to the scope of an oeuvre that includes studio albums since 1995.