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Baker's Dozen

In Place: Yann Tiersen's Favourite Albums
Fred Bowler , November 2nd, 2016 09:56

With his ninth album, EUSA, out now, the French composer and multi-instrumentalist takes Fred Jage-Bowler from the Velvets to Bill Callahan via NEU!, Vashti Bunyan and Joanna Newsom on a tour of his favourite records

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Joanna Newsom – Ys
It's the first album that I heard from her, and it's just beautifully written. But on top of that, it references a legend from Brittany [about the mythical city of Ys]. It's a story about a city that will sink, because of the king's daughter who has lots of lovers and stuff like that. So she's flooded the city. It's kind of a Christian legend. In a way, the princess also embodies the beginnings of feminism; in the legend you can see her as someone fighting for women's rights. It's great. And it's funny that Joanna Newsom chooses as a sample something from Brittany. So the album also really resonates with me on that level of local myth.