Erik Satie

Alfred Éric Leslie Satie (Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925) was a french composer and pianist. He started calling himself Erik Satie when he made his first composition in 1884. He never got the recognition he deserved in his lifetime but he was well acquainted with artists such as picasso, marcel duchamp, man ray, the dadaists etc and was a part of the avant garde at the time. His songtitles include many peculiar lines like "dried up embryos" (translated) and he made "furniture music" which was music to be played in the backdrop of an interior setting and used like any piece of furniture. Satie was also in many ways an eccentric who filled his filing cabinet with imaginairy buildings made out of metal, collected umbrellas and started his very own church with himself as an only member among other things. This doesn't mean he didn't have a sense of humour though as he was often described as a witty person. His music are used on many filmscores (The Marathonman, Badlands, The Royal Tenembaums etc). Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Francis Poulenc, Blood Sweat and Tears & Frank Zappa amongst others have all been influented by his music.

Portrait by Picasso