Artists Index: Erik Satie

Erik Satie (b. 1866 Honfleur, France – 1925 Paris, France) Erik Satie was a French musician and composer. His most famous compositions, the Gymnopédies, were written in 1887. In addition to his body of music, Satie also left a remarkable set of writings, having contributed work for a range of publications, from the Dadaist 391 to Vanity Fair. Satie was an influential figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde, his work a precursor to later artistic movements such as minimalism and absurdism. In 1917 he coined the term ‘musique d’ameublement’ (‘furniture music’) (sometimes more literally translated as furnishing music) for background music originally played by live performers, which informed strands of ambient music and muzak.