Yann Tiersen's knack for exploring a single concept from widely differing perspectives comes full circle on
Kerber Complete, the conclusion of his equally ambitious and approachable Kerber project. The four-volume set returns to Kerber's roots with previously unreleased solo piano versions of the compositions that provided the foundations of the project's many incarnations. Like 2016's
Eusa -- another work dedicated to chronicling
Tiersen's home base of Ushant -- these performances are delicate but far from simple. Like a musical cartographer,
Tiersen maps out complex moods, lifting "Kerlann"'s plaintive yet resilient melody on buoyant arpeggios and letting some pensive shadows creep into the otherwise cozy "Ker Yegu." Returning to Kerber's origins enriches the journey the music takes elsewhere. Composer/producer
Gareth Jones helps
Tiersen reconfigure it on the original
Kerber, adding artful layers of samples and electronics that imply multiple histories and memories piled atop each other on pieces such as "Ar Maner Kozh."
Laurel Halo,
Iku Sakan,
Beatrice Dillon, and others transform the music further on
Kerber Remixes, foreshadowing the project's ultimate reinvention as
11 5 18 2 5 18. Created in preparation for
Tiersen's set at the 2021 Superbooth Festival, the driving electronics of "11 5 18. 1 12. 12 15 3 8" and the ethereal electro-pop of "13 1 18 25 (6 5 1 20. 17 21 9 14 17 21 9 19)" sound unlike anything else in his body of work. No matter how much
Tiersen experimented on Kerber, it always remained a highly personal project, and
Kerber Complete allows listeners to fully appreciate it as a study of his music, homeland, and sense of self. ~ Heather Phares
