Thomas Fersen
Encyclopedia
Thomas Fersen is a French singer-songwriter.
During his childhood, he was part of a punk
group before playing the piano in café-theatres. He released his first album in 1993; it gave him immediate name recognition.
Fersen is an accomplished poet who regularly plays with language, using puns, rich rhymes, symbols and images taken from the realms of plants (vegetables, fruits) and animals (birds and various beasts) to tell stories or original fable
s, to recreate moments from daily life, impressions and sentiments, and also the dreams of ordinary people and their failings and faults. His deep and gravelly smoker's voice gives a particular tone to his songs, which belong to different musical styles depending on the album (rock, folk
-rock or jazz
and blues
).
He was one of the first singers to join the label Tôt ou tard
.
During his childhood, he was part of a punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group before playing the piano in café-theatres. He released his first album in 1993; it gave him immediate name recognition.
Fersen is an accomplished poet who regularly plays with language, using puns, rich rhymes, symbols and images taken from the realms of plants (vegetables, fruits) and animals (birds and various beasts) to tell stories or original fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
s, to recreate moments from daily life, impressions and sentiments, and also the dreams of ordinary people and their failings and faults. His deep and gravelly smoker's voice gives a particular tone to his songs, which belong to different musical styles depending on the album (rock, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
-rock or jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
).
He was one of the first singers to join the label Tôt ou tard
Tôt ou tard
Tôt ou tard is a French record label, founded in 1996 as a break-off from Warner Music Group, which has been independent since 2002. It can be translated as "Early or late," or more figuratively "Sooner or later," in French...
.
Discography
- 1993 – Le Bal des oiseaux (The Ball of the Birds)
- 1995 – Les Ronds de carotte (The Slices of Carrot)
- 1997 – Le Jour du poisson (The Day of the Fish)
- 1999 – Qu4tre (Four)
- 2001 – Triplex (triple album live)
- 2003 – Pièce montée des grands jours (Pièce montéePièce montéeA pièce montée is a kind of decorative confectionery centerpiece in an architectural or sculptural form used for formal banquets and made of materials such as confectioner's paste, nougat, marzipan, and spun sugar. Although the ingredients are typically edible, their purpose is purely decorative,...
for the Great Days) - 2004 – La Cigale des grands jours (La Cigale in the Great Days) (public recording at La CigaleLa CigaleLa Cigale is a theater at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex that is connected to Le Trabendo and the Boule Noire. The hall can accommodate 1389 people or 954 people...
; a DVD of the concert also exists) - 2005 – Le Pavillon des fous (The Insane Asylum)
- 2007 – Gratte-moi la puce – Best of de poche (Scratch My Fleas – Best Of The Worst )
- 2008 – Trois petits tours (Three Times Round)
- 2011 – Je suis au paradis (I am in heaven)
Other musical involvement
- 2005 – on the Plutôt tôt Plutôt tard album by duos from the Tôt ou tardTôt ou tardTôt ou tard is a French record label, founded in 1996 as a break-off from Warner Music Group, which has been independent since 2002. It can be translated as "Early or late," or more figuratively "Sooner or later," in French...
label, the songs Escobar with JP Nataf, Le bouton with Bumcello, and La barmaid with Jeanne CherhalJeanne CherhalJeanne Cherhal is a French singer-songwriter.-Biography:After spending her younger years in Erbray near Châteaubriant, Cherhal studied philosophy before moving to Paris. She started her singing career playing piano – solo, or accompanied by her guitarist Éric Löhrer in small concert venues. At the... - 2006 – Cover of Sacré géranium by Dick AnnegarnDick AnnegarnDick Annegarn is a Dutch rock singer-songwriter who sings mostly in French, although on occasion Dutch and English...
on the compilation Le Grand Dîner