Sébastien Tellier
After weeks of suspense and rumours, France made up its mind for Belgrade Sébastien Tellier will represent the country with a song titled Divine.Sebastien Tellier is one of these few rare bred artists, combining virtuosity, humour and overall talent reminding us of entertainers à la Robert Wyatt, Syd Barret or Serge Gainsbourg. His live performances are considered as being intense, emotional experiences hypnotising the audience.
In 2001 Sebastien went on his first world tour with his début album L'Incroyable Verité, as the opening group for AIR, playing 80 dates in total and delivering his uncompromising mixture to an international audience for the first time: His track Fantino was instantly used for Sofia Coppola's highly acclaimed film Lost In Translation. I
t is not only his talent and his physical presence on stage, which confer his shows that special touch, but also Sebastian’s choice of collaborating artists.For his second album, Politics, released in 2004, he teamed up with a wide range of artists, including Tony Allen, the inventor of afro-beat and one of the most influential drummers of his time.
Further Sebastien Tellier collaborated with his long term partner, Pamelia Kurstin, maybe the best Theremin player in the world as well as with the always excellent pianist Simon Dalmais. The results from these collaborations can be more than exhibited. The seminal piece La Ritournelle is widely considered to be one of the most moving love songs ever recorded and was one of the most anticipated releases in the United Kingdom in 2005.
“One day, Sebastien Tellier’s slow-burning club anthem will be huge”
NME, January 2005.
His work finds a lot of appreciation among fellow artists and got him a place on stage as the opening act on Royksopp's European tour, as well as the The Magic Numbers or Moby's tour support in France. Always searching for new styles and opportunities to develop his musical universe Sebastien Tellier also collaborated with the Bulgarian Symphonic Orchestra or the Parisian Boule Noire Orchestra.
2006 saw the release of Sebastien Tellier's Sessions album, consisting of acoustic reinterpretations from his previous Politics album. Besides keeping himself busy with production, remixing other artists and lending his voice to other musicians Sebastien also made a step into the movie world. He played the main role in Quentin Dupieux's film Non Film, a movie of a charismatic and photogenic leader in a world where we can film without a camera, as well as Dupieux's latest film Steak, released in June 2007.
Furthermore he has produced the soundtrack for Narco, a French production starring Benoît Poelvoorde, Guillaume Canet and Zabou Breitman, as well as contributing to Daft Punk's Electroma film with a track called Universe.
Sébastien Tellier is the latest in a long line of eccentric Frenchmen.
2007-2008
Well respected in French music circles, Sébastien enlisted, Guy-Manuel Homem de Christo (Daft Punk) on production duties for his latest album, Sexuality, a record brimming with warmth that takes the influence of classic European artists such as Ennio Morricone and Giorgio Moroder before rendering it a modern style that evokes American R’n’B, in the vein of Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé. Who knows where his next journey will take him? To the Eurovision Song Contest title in Belgrade?