ensemble

From the FatCat website:
FatCat Records are thrilled to announce that Excerpts, the gorgeous new album from Ensemble (aka French-born Montreal resident Olivier Alary) will be released by FatCat on January 17th 2011 in the UK / Europe and January 25th in the US.
A middle ground between lush orchestration, absorbing pop, guitar-indie, experimental sonics and beyond, it offers no obvious or straightforward reference points, yet here is an album full of maturity, sophistication and romance, architectured carefully and atemporally. A loose comparison could be made with the larger scale music of Matthew Herbert in its sublime eccentricity, or even to Yann Tiersen's gentle nods to chanson fran�aise, but behind Alary's musical charms is an overarching, unique personality that interweaves wide-ranging musical cultures and influences.
Far closer to traditional songwriting or to film score composition than to a "studio project", Excerpts heavily features collaborator/arranger, the award-winning film/theatre composer Johannes Malfatti, as well as a hand-picked brace of extra guest musicians - singers Darcy Conroy and a complete string quartet included.
Ensemble has previously worked with Bjork, Cat Power and Lou Barlow, composed music for several exhibitions at the V&A museum; contributed to an Audio-Video installation by Doug Aitken at the Centre Georges Pompidou and at the MACBA in Barcelona; and received an honorary mention at the Ars Electronica Festival. 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. His film work includes the score for the 2008 film The Last Train Home, directed by Lixin Fan, which recently received a Sundance screening,
Yung Chang, director of Up The Yangtze (also scored by Olivier Alary) created the beautiful above video to Before Night, a choice cut from the forthcoming album.
The single Envies d'Avalanches will be released digitally on Nov 29th, featuring a stunning UB40 cover as an exclusive b-side. Click here for more information and ordering details on the single.