François Tétaz
Background information
Born (1970-12-22) 22 December 1970
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genrespop, experimental, classical, world music, industrial, electronic, rock
Instrument(s)Percussion, Violin
Years active1992–present
LabelsSony/ATV, Rubber Records

François "Franc" Tétaz (born 22 December 1970) is an Australian film composer, music producer and mixer, who won the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) / Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) 2006 'Feature Film Score of the Year' Award for Wolf Creek (2005).[1]

As a producer he has worked with Gotye, Kimbra, Architecture in Helsinki, Sally Seltmann, Lior and Bertie Blackman. He won an ARIA for his work on Gotye's Making Mirrors album in 2011.[2] He wrote, produced or mixed 7 songs in the triple j Hottest 100 for 2011.[3]

Franc won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 55th annual Grammy Awards for "Somebody That I Used to Know" (Gotye, featuring Kimbra) in 2013. The record was produced by Wally De Backer (Gotye) and engineered and mixed by Wally and Franc. The song also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance as performed by Gotye and Kimbra, and the Making Mirrors album took home the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.[4]

Early life

Tétaz is of Swiss descent.[5] He grew up in a musical family on a dairy farm near Warrion, in the western district of Victoria. His mother, Heather was a music teacher; his father Frank was a dairy farmer and was obsessed with sound and music. In the 1950s he designed and built speakers to broadcast music around the farm, herding cattle to a soundtrack of Brahms and Beethoven. The family moved to Geelong so Franc and his brother Charles could attend Geelong Grammar School.

Career

1992-1997: Early years

After finishing school, he worked in Faggs hardware store in Geelong. Graeme Leak, who was artist in residence at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the time, suggested to Franc that he not go to university, but put together his own curriculum. While working, he sat in on a friend's university lectures and studied West African Music, percussion, arranging and orchestration.
In 1992, François Tétaz with Charles Tétaz and Darrin Verhagen formed Shinjuku Thief, a Melbourne-based industrial and experimental music group.[6] They released four albums by March 1994. Verhagen formed the record label, Dorobo Records, to release their latter albums including Tétaz' solo album, The Motionless World of Time Between or the Drunken Taxicab of Absolute Reality in 1997.

He scored student short films, worked on production for Paul McDermott, and The Doug Anthony Allstars.

1998–present: Composition and production

In 1998, Tetaz built a studio in a converted chocolate factory in Richmond, Melbourne. The studio was designed by Martin Gill and Roger Wood at Wood Marsh. The acoustics were designed by Chris Morton of Aro Technologies. Franc's mastering discography includes Merzbow’s Merzbox 50 CD box set of noise music for Extreme and the remaster of classic Triffids album Born Sandy Devotional for Domino.

Francois wrote choreographic scores for Chunky Move, Shelley Lasica, Kage Theatre, Lucy Guerin and wrote the soundtrack for Patricia Piccinini’s Venice biennale show in 2003. He composed the score for Wolf Creek which won the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) / Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) 2006 'Feature Film Score of the Year' Award.[7] He scored Luke Doolan’s short film Miracle Fish, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010.[8] In 2012 Francois scored the music for Underground: The Julian Assange Story, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Wally De Backer and Tetaz worked together on the Gotye albums Like Drawing Blood and Making Mirrors. He suggested Kimbra for the song Somebody that I used to Know.[9] Francois co-wrote Settle Down, Good Intent, 2 Way Street, and The Build Up for Kimbra's album Vows.

In 2012 he co-wrote and produced Bertie Blackman's 4th studio album, Pope Innocent X and the soundtrack to the light sculpture Fiat Lux with Drew Berry for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

Franc won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 55th annual Grammy Awards for Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra. The record was produced by Wally De Backer (Gotye) and engineered and mixed by Wally and Franc.[4]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details
Title Details
The Motionless World of Time Between
  • Released: 1997
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Dorobo (DOROBO 014)
Beautiful Cyborg
(with Philip Brophy & Darrin Verhagen)
  • Released: 2002
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Sound Punch Records (HURT-04)
Under the Radar (Original Motion Picture Score)
(with David Thrussell)
  • Released: 2004
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Mana Music (CD20020)
Thunderstruck (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Released: 2004
  • Format: promo CD (four tracks also on various artists commercial CD)
  • Label: Shock (20019)
Wolf Creek (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Released: 2005
  • Format: CD and MP3
  • Label: Rubber Records (RUB214)
Rogue (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Released: 2007
  • Format: CD and MP3
  • Label: Rubber Records (RUB238)
Judy and Punch (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Released: 2020
  • Format: LP and MP3
  • Label: Rubber Records (RUB3--)

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2006 Wolf Creek (soundtrack) Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album Nominated [10]
2011 François Tétaz for Gotye featuring Kimbra – "Somebody That I Used to Know" Engineer of the Year Won

References

  1. ↑ "APRA|AMCOS : 2006 Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Winners By Year – 26th ARIA Awards 2012". Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "triple j Hot 100 – 2011". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 "55th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners". Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Paul Tingen. "François Tétaz: Mixing Gotye's 'Somebody That I Used To Know'". Sound on Sound.
  6. ↑ Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara; Paul McHenry (2002) [1987]. "SHINJUKU THIEF". The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic.: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2010. Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.
  7. ↑ "APRA|AMCOS : 2006 Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "Miracle Fish (2009)". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 12 March 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Adams, Cameron. "Anatomy of No.1 hit Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye ft. Kimbra". Herald Sun. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  10. ↑ ARIA Award previous winners. "History Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 16 July 2022.
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