Biography

The world of legendary ambient producer Thierry David is a mysterious one. Subtly developing keyboard motifs, trip-hop and down tempo electronic grooves take you on a journey toward inner peace. Hidden within this slowly unfolding, deeply evocative record lies Thierry David’s secret world, waiting to be discovered.
“Rather than rush into a diplomatic or business career, I attempted the entrance exam for Berkley College of Music in Boston," he says, and was accepted into this prestigious institution. “It was a very hard school that demanded a genuine personal investment. You had to work 15 to 18 hours a day. The less passionate soon gave up, a sort of natural selection process,” he reflects today with the necessary distance. “On my return to France, I thought my education in business and music would open the door to a major record company but nothing I did in this way succeeded and eventually I accepted a job as head of advertising with the ad agency Grey. We were managing huge budgets and for fun, I enjoyed composing jingles that only I listened to. In advertising, roles are divided between commercial and creative and each has its place,” he comments. “One day, I don’t really know how, I was listening to something that I had created for a new campaign for a famous brand of underwear. It was accepted. To avoid an awkward situation and make things more clear-cut, I handed in my notice and threw myself into my music. From there, I did everything — played in piano bars, gave piano lessons, accompanied jazz groups, rock groups, heavy metal groups and more. Over time I signed my first music commissions, first radio jingles and, above all, gained in experience. A trained pianist, I learnt to create my own sound and clearly preferred creating my own musical world.”

With this clear view of his art, Thierry David fully invested himself in the burgeoning venture Koka Media, which is today recognised as one of the great musical catalogues. “The label enabled me to work with other musicians” he says, quoting a medley of names from the percussionist Steve Shehan to the guitarist N’Guyen Lé. “These have been genuine companions on my journey, artists with whom I have often worked since." David says of his musical style, “When my first commercial record Human Inhuman arrived on the shelves in FNAC, it crossed many different styles (classical, jazz, Indian, opera…), a blend of instrumental music that could be enjoyed both as relaxing background music not really needing attention or listened to more intently. Since the appearance of lounge compilations, we talk of ‘lounge music,’ which suits me as long as beyond the apparent simplicity of the compositions, there is recognition for the high degree of precision exercised by the one who takes care over the results, spending time adjusting the sounds, blending them and refining the arrangements of his compositions.”