With his distinctive blend of pop, chanson, and electronic music,
Sébastien Tellier draws from France's legendary film composers and the French touch scene that arose in the late 1990s. The singer/songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist's flair for haunting melodies surfaced on 2001's
L'Incroyable Vérité, and he soon followed in his heroes' footsteps by embarking on a career as composer with 2004's
Narco score. From there,
Tellier playfully explored big concepts on albums such as 2004's
Politics and 2008's
Sexuality, which spawned the single and Eurovision entry "Divine." In the 2010s, he continued to expand his horizons with the Brazilian influences of 2014's
L'Aventura, and established himself as a producer by collaborating with
Caroline Polachek and
Dita Von Teese. With 2020's
Domesticated,
Tellier applied his sophisticated, witty touch to everyday life. Though he remained largely a cult favorite outside of France,
Tellier reached a wider audience with songs such as 2004's "La Ritournelle," which appeared in several films and TV shows and was sampled by
the Weeknd for the title track of his 2013 album
Kiss Land.
The son of a musician,
Tellier grew up in Paris, taking guitar and piano lessons and absorbing the albums his father played him, such as
Pink Floyd's
Atom Heart Mother. Aside from
Serge Gainsbourg and
Michel Polnareff,
Tellier wasn't impressed with the French pop music he heard as a boy, preferring the music of
François de Roubaix,
Michel Legrand, and other home-grown soundtrack composers. When he began releasing music of his own, the French touch scene -- which included
Phoenix and
Air -- was beginning to gain traction. After
Tellier's "Fantino," a forlorn and beautiful pop confection, appeared on the Source label's 1999 Source Material various-artists compilation, it caught the attention of
Air's
Nicolas Godin and
Jean-Benoît Dunckel, and the duo eventually signed
Tellier to their own
Record Makers imprint.
Tellier recorded the tracks for his debut album,
L'Incroyable Vérité ("The Unbelievable Truth"), between September 1999 and March 2000, playing most of the instruments and producing the sessions. After
L'Incroyable Vérité was released in June 2001,
Tellier toured with
Air extensively. He then began his second career as a film composer with the score to Gilles Lellouche and Tristan Aurouet's 2004 comedy
Narco.
In January 2004,
Tellier returned with his second album,
Politics, which was produced by
Cassius'
Philippe Zdar and featured
Mr. Oizo,
the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, and Nigerian drummer
Tony Allen of
Fela Kuti fame. The album included the track "La Ritournelle," a song whose popularity was reflected in its numerous remixes by artists such as
Metronomy.
Politics reached 123 on France's Top Albums chart. The following year,
Tellier re-recorded a batch of his songs acoustically with pianist Simon Dalmais and released them under the title
Sessions in April 2006 (in the U.K., the collection was called Universe and included pieces from
Tellier's
Narco score). In 2007,
Tellier reunited with
Mr. Oizo on the soundtrack and score to
Oizo's first feature film, Steak.
For his next record, February 2008's
Sexuality,
Tellier signed up
Daft Punk's
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo as producer and ended up with a more polished electronic sound than heard on his previous outings. The first single from the record, "Divine," was chosen as France's entry in the 2008 Eurovision contest. Though he didn't win, his appearance and the controversy surrounding it (many French commentators felt that the English lyrics of the song meant it wasn't "French" enough to represent the nation) boosted his profile around the world.
Sexuality became a Top 40 album in France and also charted in Belgium and Sweden. A remix album,
Sexuality Remix, followed in 2010.
Tellier returned in April 2012 with
My God Is Blue. A spiritually minded set that featured co-production by
Mr. Flash and
Pavle Kovacevic as well as a collaboration with
de Homem-Christo on the title track, it reached number 17 on France's Top Albums chart. The following October saw the release of
Confection, a collection of tender instrumentals inspired in part by the death of his grandmother. Featuring pieces he had originally written for an unreleased soundtrack, the album peaked at 52 on the French charts. Also in 2013,
Tellier collaborated with
Chairlift's
Caroline Polachek on the single "In the Crew of Tea Time." For his next album,
L'Aventura,
Tellier added sunny yet mysterious Brazilian elements to his music. Largely recorded at
Jean Michel Jarre's studio in Bougival as well as in Paris, the album's basic tracks were expanded on in Rio de Janeiro by Brazilian luminaries such as percussionist
Robertinho Silva and arranger
Arthur Verocai. Upon its July 2014 release,
L'Aventura peaked at 53 on France's Top Album chart.
In 2016,
Tellier worked with
Jarre on the latter's album
Electronica, Vol. 2: The Heart of the Noise. That year, he composed the scores for the films
Marie et les Naufragés and Saint Amour as well as the web series A Girl Is a Gun. He also collaborated with
Dita Von Teese on a version of
Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" that appeared on an amfAR benefit compilation, setting the stage for his writing and production work on her 2018 self-titled debut album.
Tellier returned in 2020, first appearing on
Salvatore Ganacci's February single "Boycycle," and then in May with his own full-length
Domesticated. Inspired by his day-to-day life at home as a husband and father, it included production work by
Jam City and
Zdar. That November,
Tellier issued
Simple Mind, a collection of reworkings of favorite songs from
Domesticated,
Sexuality,
My God Is Blue, and
L'Aventura. ~ Heather Phares & Bryan Thomas