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Tim Gane & Sean O'Hagan, La Vie d'Artiste

by Lauren Baggett
01/21/2008

Tim Gane of Stereolab and Sean O’Hagan of High Llamas have teamed up again for the first time since their band Turn On released its self-titled album in 1996. This go around they’ve come together to compose the score for the new French comedy La Vie d’Artiste.

The overall mood is mellow. The score’s main melody boasts ample use of violins and keyboard to soothe you and keep your head bobbing to a steady beat with shakers, techno beats and some steel drums every now and then. The tracks are quirky and perfectly fit the attitude of the film.

La Vie d’Artiste follows the lives of three separate artists trying to make it to the next level in their careers: a singer wants to leave her waitressing days behind for good, a teacher and aspiring writer struggles to find a story and an aspiring Broadway actress is stuck in a cartoon voiceover day job.

Marc Fitoussi, the film’s director, sought out Gane and O’Hagan. Being a fan of both Stereolab and High Llamas, Fitoussi wanted his composers to infuse the score’s sound with their musical backgrounds, as well as make it work for the film.

The influence of Stereolab is especially obvious. The band was inspired by 1970's rock and often combined with 1960's pop, lounge, and experimental music. Hints of Stereolab’s original sound via synthesized melodies and lounge music show up in every track.

As for a sound that works for the film? Kudos. These characters’ mundane lives are rife with comedic awkwardness that Gane and O’Hagan have captured without a doubt. Each track has a slight melancholy feel that funky beats and steel drums can’t completely hide. Still, the music is fun and catchy.

Even if the film didn’t exist, Gane and O’Hagan have created a bouncy album that is easy on the ears. Bien fait, gentlemen.