Éric   Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was an   influential artist in the late 19th- and early 20th-century Parisian   avant-garde. His work was a precursor to later artistic movements sucÉric   Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was an   influential artist in the late 19th- and early 20th-century Parisian   avant-garde. His work was a precursor to later artistic movements such as   minimalism, repetitive music, and the Theatre of the Absurd, while his 1917   coinage "furniture music" would presage the development of   background and ambient music.h as   minimalism, repetitive music, and the Theatre of the Absurd, while his 1917   coinage "furniture music" would presage the development of   background and ambient music.