Sebastien Tellier
'Universe'
(Lucky009)
Released:18.09.06
Sebastien
Tellier, an exceptional,
highly personal & intimate artist
echoing such other one-offs as Robert
Wyatt, Syd Barrett or Serge Gainsbourg, returns
with ‘Universe’,
an album created specifically and exclusively
for the UK on Lucky Number. ‘Universe’ combines the highlights from
Sebastien’s recent No.1 French release ‘Sessions’ alongside the standout selections
from his soundtrack to the film ‘Narco’, starring
Belgian actor, Benoît Poelvoorde,
infamous for his starring role in cult
blacker-than-noir classic, 'Man
Bites Dog'.
The tracks
selected from the ‘Sessions’ album are
themselves stripped
down versions of tunes from his highly
acclaimed albums, ‘Politics’, & ‘L’Incroyable Vérité ’, which Sebastien describes as “a
kind of tribute to Willy Nelson, recording
live covers of my previous work in their
most naked and pure versions” and
were inspired by Seb watching a sitcom
on French TV where Nelson appeared playing
an acoustic set of his songs! Recorded with long-time touring partner Simon
Dalmais, brother of rising French pop
chanteuse Camille, choice tracks include ‘Fantino’, for some
their first introduction to Sebastien’s
music as was prominently featured in Sofia
Coppola’s film ‘Lost In Translation’, and the title-track
‘Universe’, which forms the backdrop for
the climactic scene in fellow Parisians
Daft Punk’s recently Cannes-premiered
opus ‘Electroma.’…he seems to be proving himself
a cinematic-pop poet. And that’s not the whole of his
universe, further great songs include
‘Black Douleur’ & ‘La Dolce Vita’ - a cover of Christophe's classic, with
lyrics surprisingly provided by Jean Michel
Jarre (!) - in Seb’s words “Christophe is the best living French singer
in the world.”
The ‘Narco’
tracks included here further showcase
the lush & sparkling orchestration
that Sebastien has practically trademarked, & which came to prominence on his
timeless classic ‘La Ritournelle’. The
previously limited single-only Mr.Dan
version of said track, considered by many
to be one of the singles of 2005, is also
included here. There’s ‘La Ballade Du
Georges’ and ‘Le Demon Pupkin’, where crazy
moogs combine with the trademark strings
and where Sebastien betrays evidence that
he is truly the son of a prog-rocker (his
father was a member of 70’s French band
‘Magma’). Finally
- a brand new track, ‘Classic’ – a song
he says is “about the inflexibility growing inside me
with age.”.
Sebastien
recently completed a short sell-out UK
tour where he premiered many of these
tracks and wowed the transfixed throng with his charismatically
assured performances and left with legions
of new fans like the pied piper of Paris; “One of the most beautifully off-centre performances
I’ve witnessed in years….Breathtaking” (The Independent). He has just successfully
premiered a full band sound on a few French
& Italian dates with fantastic results
& will return to perform a peak-time
set at this year’s Big Chill. The beautifully
fulfilling journey of Sebastien Tellier
continues. If you haven’t already done
so now is the time to get on board!
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