Date/Time:

Dec. 4th, 2006 19:30 (Mon.)

Venue:

Shanghai Concert Hall

Ticket Price (RMB):

480, 380, 280, 180, 100 Yuan

Seating Plan:

Click to View

Ticket State:

Out of Date!

Booking Office:

No. 272 Fengxian Road

Booking Hotline:

62172426, 62173055

Sometimes it really seems that Yann pops up all over the place, driven by his passion for music and for new projects — something he’s certainly never short of. And yet the day finally did arrive when Yann felt the need to reassess all these new idea, to really take time to compose. Yann knew just where to go to seek refuge. To the western extremity of France, to the island of Ouessant where he feels so at home, the island where he wrote LE PHARE, the album that made his name. Once on Ouessant, he gave himself a few months to lay the foundations for a new album. He retained the gift of being able to start from just a few notes and snatches of phrases, then to let his inspiration carry him away. Listen, discard, keep, leave to simmer…

All these various elements were then taken back to Paris for further work, at home, with F. Lor. Yann then decided he was a little short of acoustic numbers, and so he set to work again — ending up with enough material for several more albums. So, that’s how LES RETROUVAILLES came about. Yann is well aware that he’s reconnected with a certain way of working, reappropriated all his instruments, and returned as the sole and unique manager of his project. It’s almost as if the cumulative experiences of the past few years had set him free. It’s a sentiment particularly evident in the songs. Rarely have they been so obvious, so lucid. It’s easy to work out why two major pop vocalists such as Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) and Stuart Staples (Tindersticks) took quite so much pleasure in lending their talents to Yann’s compositions. Jane Birkin also features, performing the most overtly political work she’s ever recorded. And then there’s the old crew of Yann Tiersen, Dominique A and Christophe Miossec, the three of them so clearly delighted to perform a number written they had written together. We catch sight of these three companions as they feel their way through their song in the film (La Traversée) that accompanies the album. And what a treat this film is. It offers us a pictorial history of the album, from the first creative stages on Ouessant all the way through to the ultimate Parisian touches, allowing us glimpses of rare and magical moments; the film is the deft work of director Aurélie Du Boys. Not since LE PHARE has Yann Tiersen composed an album that sounds 3 quite so new. An album on which he has once again allowed himself the luxury of surprising us. There is, of course, a gentle waltz played on the accordion, a delicious piano ballad and some divine chanting. There’s also plenty of guitar and a much more bassheavy sound, lending a slightly harder edge overall, packed with energy and, when it comes down to it, a fabulous recording. Sure, it’s a time for rediscoveries, but they are predicated on an imposing maturity. And as for Ouessant, well, there are always a few clouds in the sky, and as for the world of music, well, there’s still no way of pigeonholing Yann Tiersen.