La Valse Des Monstres

2017 repress; LP version. 2017 repress of this 2012 remastered reissue; originally released in 1995. With his whimsical, melancholy music, Yann Tiersen has become sought after as both a solo artist and soundtrack composer. Borrowing from French folk music, chanson, musette waltz, and street music, as well as rock, avant-garde, and classical and minimalist influences, Tiersen's deceptively simple style has been likened to Chopin, Erik Satie, Philip Glass, and Michael Nyman. Tiersen first became popular outside his native France for his score to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2001 film Amélie, but this was no overnight success; Tiersen had been working for years before the film brought him international acclaim. Tiersen's first album, La Valse des Monstres, includes several pieces composed for short films and plays, and introduces Tiersen's delicate but deeply emotional style featuring intricate arrangements of instruments as varied as toy piano, banjo, harpsichord, melodica, and carillon, as well as piano and guitar.