The artist and his companion, the singer Emilie Quinquis, have chosen to travel from port to port, by boat, in order to limit their carbon impact. The duo will perform across the Channel for the summer festivals.
The musical couple Yann Tiersen and Emilie Quinquis are about to embark on a tour that is a bit atypical but totally in tune with the times. The duo embarks on a sailboat for a great musical journey in the Celtic countries. Two and a half months of concerts and performances that will take them from port to port to the Faroe Islands. A new musical and human adventure that concretely responds to the climate emergency.
Minimalist
A few hours before departure, Yann Tiersen and Emilie Quinquis review each piece of luggage they are going to take on board their sailboat. In the suitcases, the essential concert kit: microphones, speakers, synths, foldable piano, all in miniature version. “It’s not that much, normally we have a whole bus”, laughs Emilie Quinquis.
For the couple who live in the heart of nature on the island of Ouessant (Finistère), the Ninnog tour (named after their sailboat) came naturally enough. “It’s completely irrelevant to spend days with a bus running 24 hours a day, going from town to town and burning gasoline for nothing. It’s a vicious circle, it’s expensive, so you have to do a lot of concerts and therefore you have to move quickly. Anyway, I wanted to do something else”, explains Yann Tiersen.
Emilie Quinquis sings in Breton, the language of her ancestors. For her, as for her husband, the defense of cultural identity is essential. During their stopovers, they dream of recreating the link between their Celtic cousins, thanks to words and navigation. “It simplifies everything and restores spontaneity with people. It’s a positive message, we are not in the market but we are in exchange and sharing”, ensures the singer.
A tour guided by improvisation
During their Celtic epic, Yann Tiersen and Emilie Quinquis intend to be surprised by encounters and landscapes. “Our program is written in the wind! Although we would like to have precise timetables, our trip is at the mercy of the weather, and our arrival times can fluctuate like the tides.”, they write on their site.
If the tour is scheduled in concert halls, the music can spring up at any time during improvised performances at the invitation of the inhabitants. “It can be in someone’s living room, outside if the weather permits, we will also offer film-concert sessions around our boat”, details Emilie Quinquis.
The Ninnog tour sets sail for Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and the Faroe Islands. Before returning to Morlaix in Brittany on September 1, 2023. A voyage of more than 2000 nautical miles (3700 km) supervised by two professional skippers.
Ninnog tour by Yann Tierson and Emilie Quinquis from June 12 to September 1, 2023