La Valse des monstres (international English title: The Waltz of the Monsters) is the first album released by Breton composer Yann Tiersen. It includes several pieces he wrote as an accompaniment for short films and plays, together with original material. Most tracks had been used for the theatrical adaptation of Freaks, a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Tod Browning, or for the classic Japanese musical drama The Damask Drum, rewritten by Japanese author, poet and playwright, Yukio Mishima in 1955. Only 1,000 copies of the album were pressed when it was released in June 1995 by Sine Terra Firma. It was subsequently reissued by Ici d'ailleurs in 1998 in both CD and vinyl formats. Background Born in 1970 in Brest, Yann Tiersen grew up in Rennes starting to play the piano at the age of four and the violin at the age of six. The thriving musical scene in Rennes provided a background for Tiersen's musical development. Influenced by punk rock, when he was thirteen, Tiersen broke his violin, bought an electric guitar and started to play in rock bands. Over time, all his bandmates left to pursue other interests and Tiersen continued on his own. This eclectic upbringing would play an influence in his mature musical production. Tiersen began writing the material that would form the basis for his first studio album around 1993. In the early 1990s the musician was experimenting with synths and samplers, looping samples from existing works to create his original compositions. After hours spent listening to old records, in search for orchestral strings to sample, Tiersen decided to record them himself. He therefore had his violin fixed and started using it, alongside the piano, to compose his music. To further expand his sound palette he brought in the accordion and the melodica which would act as wind instruments in his pieces, along with the toy piano and the harpsichord, this one playing the role of the guitar. The composer spent the summer of 1993 recording over forty compositions with guitar, violin and accordion. He described his vision as guided by intuition rather than the classical canon, pursuing the idea of "musical anarchy". Some of these tracks were written for the theatrical adaptation of Freaks, a 1932 American horror film by Tod Browning, while others were inspired by Yukio Mishima's 1955 The Damask Drum and also served as an accompaniment for its representation.