Olivier Alary
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Olivier Alary is a musician who is known under the title of his musical project 'Ensemble'.
A native of Toulouse, France, Olivier Alary is a Montreal-based musician and composer who has released his own recordings, as well as composing for film and exhibitions. 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 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 two of her songs – "Sun in My Mouth" and "Cocoon" – were released as b-sides. He went on to co-write the song "Desired Constellation" with Björk on her 2004 album Medulla.
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.
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.
Selected Discography:
'Ensemble : ensemble', second album with FatCat Records
'Disown, delete', e.p on FatCat Records
'Sketch Proposals', debut album on Rephlex records
'Sun in my mouth recomposed by Ensemble', Ensemble's 1st Björk remix ('Vespertine')
‘Mouth's Cradle’, Ensemble's 3rd Björk remix ('Medulla')
‘Desired Constellation’ on Björk’s album ('Medulla')
‘Chlorgeschlecht – Unyoga’ (Honorary mention at the Ars Electronica 2004)
[edit] Selected projects
'Up the Yangtze': Soundtrack of the feature length documentary directed by yung Chang and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. 2007
'Bascule', Soundtrack for David Wampach’s dance piece Bascule for the 'Printemps de Septembre' Art festival, Toulouse, 2005
'Proposal 9', Soundtrack for 'New Skin' an installation by Doug Aitken, for 'Sonic-Process', MACBA, Barcelona; Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2003
'Ephemere', Soundtrack for 'Radical Fashion', Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2001
