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Olivier Alary

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Olivier Alary
Background information
Born1975 (age 48–49)
France
Occupation(s)Composer, producer
Years active2000s–present
LabelsFat Cat Records
Websitewww.olivieralary.com

Olivier Alary is a Montreal-based musician and composer who has released his own recordings, as well as composing for film and exhibitions.

A native of Toulouse, France, and a former student of architecture, Alary created Ensemble in 1998 as a musical persona through which to explore the encounter between melodic noise and disjointed pop. He moved to London to study music and in 2000 he released his first album Sketch Proposals under the name Ensemble with Rephlex Records.

Sketch Proposals caught the attention of Björk, and Alary's remixes of three of her songs – "Sun in My Mouth", "Cocoon" and "Mouth's Cradle" – were released as B-sides. He went on to co-write the song "Desired Constellation" with Björk on her 2004 album Medúlla.

Alary's follow-up album, the self-titled Ensemble, blends symphonic wall-of-sound with intimate folk-pop vocals, and was released in 2006. It features vocal performances by Chan Marshall (of Cat Power fame), Lou Barlow and Mileece; drums by Adam Pierce; and orchestral arrangements by Johannes Malfatti, performed by Germany's Babelsberg Film Orchestra.

Ensemble's third album Excerpts was released in January 2011. A beautiful, sophisticated record of orchestrated pop songs on the theme of fictional and false memories, the album features collaborators Johannes Malfatti and vocalist Darcy Conroy.

Olivier has also composed music for several exhibitions at London's Victoria & Albert Museum; contributed to an installation by Doug Aitken at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris; and has received an honorary mention at the Ars Electronica Festival for his project Chlorgeschlecht. He has also collaborated with photographer Nick Knight. Since 2007, he has also provided soundtrack for several feature-length films and documentaries, some of which have received prestigious awards and screenings in Europe, the US and China.

Discography

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Albums

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  • Apparitions (Vol. 1) (as Olivier Alary) (LINE)
  • u, i (as Olivier Alary; collaborative project with Johannes Malfatti) (130701)
  • Fiction / Non-Fiction (as Olivier Alary) (130701)
  • Pieces for Sine Wave Oscillators (as Olivier Alary) (LINE)
  • Excerpts (as Ensemble) (FatCat Records)
  • Ensemble (as Ensemble) (FatCat Records)
  • Sketch Proposals (as Ensemble) (Rephlex Records)

Eps

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  • Envies d'Avalanches (FatCat Records)
  • Disown, delete (FatCat Records)

Collaborations

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  • "Sun in My Mouth", recomposed by Ensemble, first Björk remix (Vespertine)
  • "Cocoon retangled by Ensemble, second Björk remix (Vespertine)
  • "Mouth's Cradle" recomposed by Ensemble, third Björk remix (Medúlla)
  • "Desired Constellation" on Björk's album (Medúlla)
  • "Chlorgeschlecht – Unyoga" (honorary mention at Ars Electronica)
  • "I Bowed" and "Falling Away" with Derek Piotr, 2024

Selected film soundtracks

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References

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  1. ^ de la Fuente, Anna Marie (October 21, 2015). "Mexico: Up Next! Karina Garcia". Variety.
  2. ^ Mayorga, Emilio (November 18, 2019). "France's Promenades, Canada's Peripheria Produce 'Kidnapping Inc.'". Variety.
  3. ^ "'The Great Darkened Days' ('La Grande Noirceur'): Film Review | TIFF 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. 10 September 2018.
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