PATHS HOME

YANN TIERSEN

EUSA To those who know him only as the mastermind behind the Amélie score, it might come as a surprise that French songwriter Yann Tiersen’s new record is the first minimal piano album of his storied career. Named after Tiersen’s Breton island homeland (Ushant in English), EUSA was originally conceived as ten pieces inspired by and named after places on the island, to be released only as sheet music. It was only after Tiersen played a series of French shows, augmenting the work with improvised musical “pathways” between songs, that he realized he wanted to release it as an album.

EUSA begins with loose piano interlude “Hent I,” which builds tension perfectly around just two chords before resolving with “Pern.” The early highlight rises and falls beautifully, feeling somehow sprightly and melancholy at the same time, while “Porz Goret,” a more straightforward ballad, evokes Amélie’s “Comptine” in its sweet, sad elegance. If there’s a fault, the “Hent” series distracts slightly from the ten locale-inspired compositions. Taken as a whole, though, EUSA is luminous, a grand gesture made up of the kind of small, gorgeous moments that will remind listeners of home — wherever that may be. (Mute, mute.com)

WHY DID YOU ORIGINALLY DECIDE TO RELEASE EUSA AS SHEET MUSIC?

I loved the idea to leave it free to the reader when I did the book, and for them to record their version. Then I thought it would be better to do my own version of it as well, how I wanted it to be. So I recorded the ten tracks, and I also did all the field recordings, long improvisations, like 50 minutes, and I used that to lead the tracks. “Hent” means “path.”

DO YOU FEEL MORE DRAWN TO “HOME” AS YOU AGE — LESS WANDERLUST, MAYBE?

Yeah, and also the world is changing. I’m hopeful for the future, but we’re not [reading the signs]. We’ve come to a ledge; we’re not far from a huge shift, a bad one. I want to enjoy nature before it will disappear. STEPHEN CARLICK