Sébastien Tellier, pop idol

Back to piano-vocal basics

Paris 

20/04/2006 - 

Sébastien Tellier likes to claim he's perfected idling to a new art form. But beneath his public image of laidback shirker, Monsieur Tellier is actually a grafter with real talent. Catapulted to fame after being discovered by Air, he went on to work with the likes of Sofia Coppola and Daft Punk. His third album, Sessions, features new versions of his baroque compositions performed solo with piano accompaniment.

Sporting a modern hippy look and a permanent smirk, Sébastien Tellier is an artist who does his utmost never to be taken seriously. When he's not sending himself up doing a live version of T'en vas pas (a hit by 80s French pop Lolita Elsa), you'll find him clowning around on his new album cover, a fag stuck jauntily up his nose. But peel back a few layers of pose and a very different Tellier emerges.

"I like to promote this image of a guy who never works," he admits, "I don't know why, I guess I imagine it's the diametric opposite of a saddo. But in actual fact, I'm pretty messed up inside." Perhaps feeling he is on the verge of revealing too much, Tellier roars with laughter at this confession, declaring that "In order to make albums that are different, my theory is you have to be a different person each time round. I need to change in order to renew myself artistically. I'm always going over myself, inspecting what I can alter. I'm pretty much constantly questioning everything I do so that I can move on to the next metamorphosis as quickly as possible. But you have to realise delving into your depths can be pretty painful at times and I suffer. In order to create myself anew I have to throw part of my old self away!"

This is not just philosophical posturing on Tellier's part. He really is a constant chameleon, moving house, changing his social circle and even his hobbies between albums. But the idea of suffering artist is perhaps a little far-fetched. Tellier has enjoyed a string of good fortune to date. In 1998, he sent a demo to the Source label who signed him on the spot. Then Quentin Dupieux (better known as electro star Mr Oizo) turned up in person to mix his debut album L'incroyable vérité. Hip Versailles electro duo Air were the next to pick up on the Tellier sound, inviting the young unknown to support them on a world tour. After two small-scale concerts, including a performance at Paris bar Le Duc des Lombards, Tellier found himself playing to 5,000 people in Dallas.

Then, the celebrity world being what it is, Air's drummer introduced him to the American film director Sofia Coppola and one of Tellier's compositions ended up on the soundtrack to her movie Lost in Translation. Tellier's second album, Politics, released in 2004, was hailed as a masterpiece by the critics and the single La ritournelle rocketed into the U.K. charts. Tellier went on to work with the likes of Moby and was invited to compose a number of film scores. Less modest beings would have been forgiven for becoming mighty big-headed at this point. But Tellier simply smiles and says, "Yes, I really get to show off now!"      

No-one's perfect

Tellier loves to be a smart aleck, wrongfooting his listener at every turn. And this is just the way he acts on the recording front, taking fans and critics by surprise with each and every album release. Sessions finds him alone at the microphone, accompanied by the pianist Simon Dalmay (brother of French singing star Camille). This third album features simple piano-vocals reworkings of eight of his compositions to date. "I wanted to do something that was both intimate and lost in immensity," Tellier offers by way of explanation, "Something that would be like swimming alone in an ocean next to a liner!"

Tellier, used to hiding behind banks of computers and machines, has bravely stepped centre stage, exposing his voice for the first time. "I never dared sing before," he says, "I was really embarrassed, like you are when you perform in front of your class at school. Whenever I made a mistake, I'd really focus on it, thinking 'No, no way, we can't leave this in! It's awful!' But then I realised there are imperfections on all the records I love - and they're great because they prove that someone has completely let themselves go. For the first time in my life, I'm ready to assume my mistakes!"

This strategy certainly pays off on Sessions where tracks such as La ritournelle, Fantino and Black douleur prove to be even more moving in their new minimalist version. On this third album, where Tellier sings in French for the first time (as he promises to do on his next album due out this autumn), his  compositions reveal themselves for what they really are: brilliantly effective pop songs. And it is no exaggeration to add that Tellier even surpasses himself when he tackles a cover of Christophe's notoriously difficult classic La dolce vita.

Beginner's Luck

After having used the theme of childhood on his first album and taken a political stance on his second, Tellier delves into sexual issues on his third opus. "The most important thing for me is to work around a concept," he says, "I'm more of an artist than a real musician. I don't have a pure musical gift like Mc Cartney so I have to fall back on other things… When I compose I'll try out any old thing! I don't think the human mind is intelligent enough to invent real melodies. It's more a case of reproducing bits and pieces stored away in the memory. So what I do is sit down and play around at the piano keyboard and three hours later, by a stroke of luck, I'll hit upon a couple of chord changes. Believe me, beginner's luck goes a long way in the music world! You have to approach things like a little kid all the time."

Without a doubt, Sébastien Tellier is someone who wins you over as much on account of his personality as for his music. And it comes as no surprise to discover that his compositions work on two levels – there's an instant pop fix, but if you dig a little deeper you'll find another less accessible layer that requires closer, more intense listening. "I think it would be fair to say I tend to make elitist music," Tellier concedes, "and I don't intend to change that any time soon. But I'd like my work to be validated by popular success. I have to admit, I'm still a bit frustrated on that level right now. But I'm in it for the long haul. If I keep on doing this all my life, I'm sure I'll wear away resistance in the end!" If Sessions is anything to go by, things might not take as long as Tellier thinks.

Sébastien Tellier Sessions (Record Makers/Discograph) 2006

Ludovic  Basque

Translation : Julie  Street