Rebel Butterfly: Sebastien Tellier 'Love Songs' (Record Makers)

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sebastien Tellier 'Love Songs' (Record Makers)

'Love Songs' is out now on Record Makers (France) digital only:
http://sebastientellier.bandcamp.com/album/love-songs

Sebastien Tellier has been releasing music since 2000. His 3 studio albums, supplemented by a live album and a score, all contain extremely romantic music. 'Love Songs' is all about that, a focus on the maestro's writing skills, an opportunity to re-discover a true composer and listen to some extremely moody tunes. Tellier is a one-of-a-kind talent, in the vein of Leonard Cohen, Serge Gainsbourg and Ennio Morricone.

A bit of Tellier history:

His career started in 2000 with the release of his now cult album 'L'Incroyable Vérité' ('The Unbelievable Truth'). This beatless acoustic album was mixed by Mr Oizo, the wizard of electro. It features gems such as 'Fantino' which was used by Sofia Coppola in her film 'Lost In Translation', or 'Universe' which leads the scene in which Daft Punk cast off their human masks and decide to remain actual robots, in their 'Electroma' manifesto.

Justice, MGMT, Phoenix, Daft Punk, Ariel Pink and many others have praised 'L'Incroyable Vérité' as a life-changing listening experience.

In 2004, for his debut in the beat-driven music world with his album 'Politics', Sebastien decided to hire the best drummer in the world: Tony Allen, of Fela fame. His sensual gift was a perfect match for Sebastien's moody compositions. The sessions gave birth to the ultimate love song: 'La Ritournelle', still praised almost a decade after its release. Philippe Zdar (who recently produced Phoenix and The Beastie Boys) took his mission very seriously and spent an entire week mixing 'La Ritournelle'. He still
thinks it's his best mix ever.

'Sessions' (2006) was a transitional album, a time to revisit his past work. 10 songs recorded in one day was the deal. The spare music allowed Sebastien to express his musical skills in full effect on guitars and vocals. For the first time, he covered 'La Dolce Vita', a hidden treasure of French singer Christophe which became a must-hear tune, brimming with optimism. Once again, Sebastien proved that he understands modern-day life.

Tellier's albums are all about concepts. 2008's 'Sexuality' with its explicit name, was produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, from the electronic duo Daft Punk - his only album production outside of Daft Punk. The album became a hit as a whole and was quoted by Vice as 'the best thing that happened to France since the allied troops landed in 1945'. 'Divine' was chosen by the French National TV to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade. Tellier's presence in the contest was a big buzz worldwide, and many of the 150 million viewers probably remember his arrival in a golf car, and his Helium-fueled voice!

The 'Love Songs' album features the most romantic songs of these albums, as well as some bonuses from 2007's OST for 'Narco' and 3 unreleased live performances recorded in Japan, January 2011.

Sebastien Tellier is currently working on the score for a long feature with Pete Doherty and Charlotte Gainsbourg, whilst finishing the follow up to 'Sexuality', which will be released sometime in 2012.