Olivier Alary is a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

-based musician and composer who has released his own recordings, as well as composing for film and exhibitions. A native of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and a former student of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, 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 Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists ...

. ''Sketch Proposals'' caught the attention of

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

, 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 ''Medúlla'' is the fifth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 30 August 2004 in the United Kingdom by One Little Indian Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. After the release of her electron ...

''. 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 Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

(of

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

fame),

Lou Barlow Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock mus ...

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 Darcy, Darci or Darcey may refer to: Science * Darcy's law, which describes the flow of a fluid through porous material * Darcy (unit), a unit of permeability of fluids in porous material * Darcy friction factor in the field of fluid mechanics ...

. Olivier has also composed music for several exhibitions at London's

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

; contributed to an installation by

Doug Aitken Doug Aitken (born 1968) is an American artist. Aitken's body of work ranges from photography, print media, sculpture, and architectural interventions, to narrative films, sound, single and multi-channel video works, installations, and live perf ...

at the

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

in Paris; and has received an honorary mention at the

Ars Electronica Ars Electronica Linz GmbH is an Austrian cultural, educational and scientific institute active in the field of new media art, founded in Linz in 1979. It is based at the Ars Electronica Center (AEC), which houses the Museum of the Future, in the ...

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

Albums

*''u, i'' (as Olivier Alary; collaborative project with Johannes Malfatti) (

130701 FatCat Records is an English independent record label based in Brighton. The label's output reaches into many styles including experimental rock, electronica, psychedelic folk, contemporary classical, noise and post-punk. Notable artists that ...

) *''Fiction / Non-Fiction'' (as Olivier Alary) (

) *''Pieces for Sine Wave Oscillators'' (as Olivier Alary) (LINE) *''Excerpts'' (as Ensemble) (

FatCat Records FatCat Records is an English independent record label based in Brighton. The label's output reaches into many styles including experimental rock, electronica, psychedelic folk, contemporary classical, noise and post-punk. Notable artists that ...

) *''Ensemble'' (as Ensemble) (

) *''Sketch Proposals'' (as Ensemble) (Rephlex Records)

Eps

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

Collaborations

*"Sun in My Mouth", recomposed by Ensemble, first Björk remix (''

Vespertine ''Vespertine'' is the fourth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 27 August 2001 in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. Production on the album ...

'') *"Cocoon retangled by Ensemble, second Björk remix (''

'') *"Mouth's Cradle" recomposed by Ensemble, third Björk remix (''

'') *"Desired Constellation" on Björk's album (''

'') *"Chlorgeschlecht – Unyoga" (honorary mention at Ars Electronica)

Selected film soundtracks

*2020: ''

Night of the Kings ''Night of the Kings'' (french: La Nuit des rois) is a feature drama/fantasy film directed by Philippe Lacôte and released in 2020. The film is produced by Delphine Jaquet (Banshee Films, France), Yanick Letourneau (Peripheria, Canada), Ernes ...

'', fiction film directed by

Philippe Lacôte Philippe Lacôte is a film director from Côte d'Ivoire. He is most noted for his 2014 film ''Run (2014 film), Run'', which was a Lumières Award nominee for Lumières Award for Best French-Language Film, Best French-Language Film at the 20th Lumi ...

*2019: ''

La femme de mon frère ''A Brother's Love'' (french: La femme de mon frère, lit=My Brother's Wife) is a 2019 Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Monia Chokri. It had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. ...

'', fiction film directed by

Monia Chokri Monia Chokri (born 27 June 1982) is a Canadian actress and film director. Life and career Born in Quebec City in 1982, she began her acting career after she completed her studies at Montreal's Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in 2005. Her mother is ...

*2018: ''

The Great Darkened Days ''The Great Darkened Days'' (french: La grande noirceur) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Maxime Giroux and released in 2018. Set during World War II, the film centres on Philippe (Martin Dubreuil), a draft dodger from Quebec who is living as ...

'', fiction film directed by

Maxime Giroux Maxime Giroux (born 16 April 1976) is a film director from Quebec, Canada. Giroux was born in Montreal, Quebec. He has directed several short films, videoclips and commercial videos. In 2006, his film '' The Days (Les Jours)'' won the prize for be ...

*2018: ''

First Match ''First Match'' is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Olivia Newman, based on her 2010 short film of the same name. The film stars Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome, and Jared Kemp. The film pr ...

'', fiction film directed by Olivia Newman *2017: '' Allure'', fiction film directed by Carlos and Jason Sanchez *2016: '' Resurrecting Hassan'', documentary directed by Carlo Guillermo Proto *2016: '' Oh What a Wonderful Feeling'', short fiction film directed by François Jaros *2015: '' Ville-Marie'', fiction film directed by

Guy Édoin Guy Édoin is a Canadians, Canadian film director and screenwriter, whose debut full-length film ''Wetlands (2011 film), Wetlands (Marécages)'' was released in 2011. Originally from Saint-Armand, Quebec, Saint-Armand, Quebec, Édoin studied at th ...

*2014: ''

Felix and Meira ''Felix and Meira'' (french: Félix et Meira) is a 2014 Canadian drama film directed by Maxime Giroux, and starring Martin Dubreuil, Hadas Yaron, and Luzer Twersky. It is about an improbable affair between two Montreal residents - one a married ...

'', fiction film directed by

*2014: ''

Corbo ''Corbo'' is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, written and directed by Mathieu Denis.

'', fiction film directed by

Mathieu Denis Mathieu Denis is a Canadian screenwriter and film director from Quebec. He is best known for his films ''Corbo'', which was a Canadian Screen Award and Quebec Cinema Award nominee for Best Picture in 2016, and ''Those Who Make Revolution Halfway ...

*2014: '' Yo'', fiction film directed by Matias Meyer *2014: '' Juanicas'', documentary film directed by

Karina Garcia Casanova Karina may refer to: People *Karina (name), a female given name (including a list of people with the given name) *Karina (American singer) (born 1991) *Karina (Spanish singer) (born 1946) *Karina (Venezuelan singer) (born 1968) * Elda Neyis Mosque ...

*2012: '' China Heavyweight'', documentary directed by

Yung Chang Yung Chang is a Chinese Canadian film director and was part of the collective member directors of Canadian film production firm EyeSteelFilm. Chang is a graduate of Concordia University's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal (BFA 99), the ...

*2011: ''

Jo for Jonathan ''Jo for Jonathan'' (french: Jo pour Jonathan) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Maxime Giroux and released in 2010.Charles-Henri Ramond"Jo pour Jonathan – Film de Maxime Giroux" ''Films du Québec'', February 21, 2011. The film stars Rapha ...

(Jo pour Jonathan)'', fiction film directed by

*2009: '' Last Train Home'', documentary directed by

Lixin Fan Lixin Fan (範立欣, Fàn Lìxīn), b. March 1977, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China,範立欣
覓趣 (Miqu) is a

*2008: ''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

'', short fiction film directed by Anthony Green *2007: ''

Up the Yangtze ''Up the Yangtze'' is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the ...

'', documentary directed by

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alary, Olivier Living people French emigrants to Quebec Musicians from Toulouse 1975 births French film score composers Canadian film score composers Musicians from Montreal FatCat Records artists