Parisian musician, composer, and producer Pierre Lefeuvre, better known as Saycet, today releases his anticipated fourth studio album, Layers. Championing a blend of powerful, melancholic sounds, and experimental electronic productions, Layers is inspired by the art of scoring music to moving imagery.
Progressive sound narration and the ability to conjure highly emotive audio storytelling are traits which Saycet has become so famed for across his vast discography. Layers is the next phase of the multi-faceted artists’ highly unique career, which sees his productions span both the realm of experimental electronic sounds to original film and television scores.
The new 10-track album was recorded and produced in Saycet’s Parisian studio over the course of six years – highlighted by the title track Layers, which was the central production of the soundtrack composed for French actress and director, Noémie Merlant’s new film, Mi iubita, Mon Amour.
The album strikes an ideal balance between minimalism on tracks including Timelapse, melodic electronic sounds through Solaris and productions such as Mountaineers which are fit for the club setting, the album is the perfect showcase of all sides of Saycet’s creative psyche.
This record is the result of six years of work. The compositions were nourished mainly by the desire to return to my electronica roots while maintain a certain modernity and avoiding the pitfalls of nostalgia- Saycet
For Saycet, collaboration has always been a key ethos across many of the projects which he touches. From working with Laurent Garnier, the vocal ensemble Les Métaboles, Phoene Somsavath, composing reworks for artists including Niklas Paschburg and many more, Layers includes a classically composed composition titled Murmuration, which features the Parisian composer and pianist, Joseph Schiano di Lombo. Originally enlisted as an arranger, the French musician, poet, and illustrator wove himself so naturally into the Layers universe that he ended up co-writing the album’s sole collaboration.
Over the years and in the lead up to the release of Layers, Saycet’s journey may seem peculiar but in reality, it is extremely fluid. A backward evolution away from our current era, which churns out artists non-stop – a path that has made Saycet for the last 15 years, a key figurehead in the French electronic music landscape.
After release his first album, 2005’s One Day At Home, Saycet built upon a genre that had fallen into relative disinterest. Deliberately melancholy, errant electronic music made somewhat more accessible by pop melodies and experimental sounds. An outsider by nature, he was nonetheless spotted by influential media outlets, finding an international fanbase that would remain faithful to him through the years.
With time, Saycet’s creative work became more refined, and his influences merged into a highly personal approach that succeeded in linking cerebral music with an opening to a wider audience. 2010’s Through The Window and 2015’s Mirage continued the project’s evolution towards a more timeless sound that shone through its arrangement work and an asserted versatility. Tours of Asia and collaborations (with Juliette Armanet and Yan Wagner among others) helped Saycet grow further (yet still outside of the mainstream’s radar) nonetheless finding his niche on the international music map. His approach to live performances cemented his place as an innovator, always in search of new aesthetic grounds, with stage shows that implemented video projection as a source of lighting rather than as mere visual illustration, creating a truly immersive experience in the process.
Somewhat accidentally, Lefeuvre opened the doors to composing via images – a logical, uncalculated continuation for this production artisan, whose composition work is nourished by visual art and cinematic culture. He created his first score for the 2019 feature Un Vrai Bonhomme and started making headways into the circle of pop music composers who collaborate with filmmakers.
In September 2020, Saycet composed the music for the Canal + documentary The Bastard King which was produced by Bonne Pioche along with featuring previously unreleased tracks and co-scored by revolutionary techno producer and DJ, Laurent Garnier. Announced in September of 2021, Saycet and Laurent Garnier’s soundtrack won the award for the ‘Original Soundtrack’ category at the 2021 Jackson Wild Media Awards. The official soundtrack is available to stream and purchase here.
Aired last year, Saycet also scored the original soundtrack for La Révolution. Netflix France’s latest historical drama series set to the backdrop of a fictionally revised French Revolution – 1787. Composed by Saycet and also featuring four new reworks, including of Haendel’s Sarabande, the official soundtrack is available to stream and purchase here.
Arguably one of his most intriguing and latest projects saw Saycet invited to take residence at one of France’s most culturally important heritage sites, The Palace of Versailles. Over the course of seven days and seven nights, Saycet used the original instruments and acoustics of the Palace to recreate an acoustic adaption of recent single, Solaris. The project and accompanying video received national media support across France including from LCI, France 3, France Musique and can now be watched here.
Saycet’s most recent original soundtrack work featured at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, as part of renowned French actress and director, Noémie Merlant’s new feature-length film, Mi iubita, Mon Amour.
