Yann Tiersen: New album “Portrait” out

YANN TIERSEN SHARES NEW VIDEO AND RECORDING OF “RUE DES CASCADES”
 
NEW ALBUM PORTRAIT OUT ON CD AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS DECEMBER 6
 
HEAVYWEIGHT TRIPLE VINYL AVAILABLE JANUARY 2020
 
25 NEWLY RECORDED TRACKS FROM THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER INCLUDING THREE NEW SONGS
 
FEATURED GUESTS INCLUDE GRUFF RHYS, JOHN GRANT, STEPHEN O’MALLEY, AND BLONDE REDHEAD

YANN TIERSEN has shared a newly recorded version of one of his classic tracks, “Rue des Cascades” (aka “Cascade Street”). Originally recorded in 1997, “Rue des Cascades” was a highlight from recent tours which, in part, informed the tracklisting for his forthcoming album, Portrait, out on December 6. Watch the video for “Rue des Cascades,” featuring Ólavur Jákupsson on vocals, here.

All pre-orders of Portrait from Yann Tiersen’s store and Mute Bank will be packaged with an exclusive set of analog printed photographs taken during the recording session at Tiersen’s studio, The Eskal. Pre-order the album here.

Reflecting on “Rue des Cascades,” Tiersen explains, “I always had it in my mind to re-record it one day.” The opportunity to re-record the track, along with 21 others from across his career and three new songs, presented itself after the completion of his recently built analog studio on a remote Breton island. Collating his work – and working alongside collaborators such as John GrantGruff Rhys from Super Furry Animals, Stephen O’Malley from Sunn O))), and Blonde Redhead – has given Tiersen the opportunity to re-present his music and place it back into its intended context, giving fans an opportunity to rediscover beloved tracks in what Tiersen considers to be their definitive versions.

Tiersen says, “The apparent lightness or simplicity of some of my tracks has always been a disguise or reaction to their darker side. For instance ‘La Dispute’ is about extreme violence, blood, death and the strange state of shock you feel in the moments after something horrible has happened. That’s one of my darkest tracks and I’ve always felt uncomfortable with the idea of people thinking it’s a romantic thing to listen to on a date. People seemed to understand it when it was first released, but the use of my music for cinematic purposes put a sort of false mask on the face of the monster. I feel that Portrait puts my tracks in context again so people can listen to my music and see it for what it is and not for what it’s been used for.”
 
Portrait, a collection of 25 newly recorded tracks from throughout his career that includes three new songs, will be available on clear and black heavyweight triple vinyl, double CD, and digital formatsBoth the clear and black vinyl editions of Portrait include an exclusive 7-inch with brand new alternative harpsichord versions of “Comptine d’Un Autre Été (L’Après-Midi)” and “The Waltz of the Monsters,” unavailable elsewhere.

MORE ABOUT PORTRAIT
Recorded with musicians together live in The Eskal studio to 24-track 2-inch tape, mixed to stereo ¼ inch tape then mastered from tape to vinyl, the album is a fully analog approach for Tiersen. “Limiting our ability to digitally manipulate, overdub or make changes after deciding a creative path gave an energy and beautiful tension to the recording process which I’d found was being lost with the limitless possibilities of digital recording. Not translating sounds into 1 and 0 keeps music in the real world.” The result is a vital album that fizzes with the excitement and energy found at a live concert, but packed into a studio album.

The tracks span Tiersen’s entire career: from his debut album The Waltz of the Monsters (1995) through to Dustlane (2010) and includes his most recent albums, EUSA and ALL. The album includes “Porz Goret,” “Rue des Cascades,” “Monochrome,” “Comptine d’Un Autre Été (L’ Après-Midi)” and “La Dispute.”

Listen to the first two tracks to be launched from the album, “Introductory Movement (feat. Stephen O’Malley)” and “Monochrome (feat. Gruff Rhys)”:
 
“Introductory Movement (feat. Stephen O’Malley)”: https://youtu.be/29J2K6UXKaA

“Monochrome (feat. Gruff Rhys)”: https://youtu.be/DArHQQXp9Rw

Portrait Tracklisting
1. Introductory Movement (feat. Stephen O’Malley)
2. The Long Road (La Longue Route)
3. Monochrome (feat. Gruff Rhys)
4. Chapter 19 (feat. Ólavur Jákupsson)
5. Rue des Cascades (feat. Ólavur Jákupsson)
6. The Old Man Still Wants It
7. Gwennilied (feat. Emilie Tiersen)
8. Prad (feat. Stephen O’Malley)
9. Diouz An Noz (feat. Emilie Tiersen & Ólavur Jákupsson)
10. Porz Goret
11. La Dispute
12. Pell (feat. Emilie Tiersen)
13. Erc’h (feat. Ólavur Jákupsson)
14. The Wire (Sur le Fil)
15. The Waltz of the Monsters (feat. Emilie Tiersen)
16. Closer (feat. Blonde Redhead)
17. Naval
18. The Jetty
19. Koad (feat. Ólavur Jákupsson)
20. Prayer No.2
21. Gronjord (feat. Ólavur Jákupsson)
22. Kala (feat. Ólavur Jákupsson)
23. Comptine d’Un Autre Été (L’Après-Midi)
24. Tempelhof (Part 2)
25. Thinking Like A Mountain (feat. John Grant & Stephen O’Malley)

Pre-order Portrait
Listen to “Introductory Movement (feat. Stephen O’Malley)”
Listen to “Monochrome (feat. Gruff Rhys)”

YANN TIERSEN: FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
 
MUTE: FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

For more information and interview opportunities please contact:
Jared Dionne
jared.dionne@mute.com