He left the conservatory gold medal at 23 years old, interpreting to perfection theDawn of the funny by Maurice Ravel and the 4th ballad of Chopin, before becoming “the rap pianist“that French-speaking MCs are snapping up. The virtuoso Sofiane Pamart, 31, is not an artist to be locked in boxes. While the Lille resident released in 2019 a delightful first solo piano album, Planet, then its expanded version Planet Gold at the start of the year, we wanted to take a closer look at this miracle that we can imagine at the dawn of a resounding career.
It is because his melodies, as delicate as they are catchy, seem touched by grace. Whether it is the sentimental neoclassicism of his solo album, made up of very short pieces capable in three minutes of drawing landscapes in the minds of listeners, or expressive themes on which rappers like to put their rhymes to emphasize a climate, Sofiane Pamart hits the mark and hits the mark every time. Sixteen years of conservatory have gone through this.
In her compositions, one can clearly hear echoes of her models Chopin, Ravel and Debussy, but Sofiane Pamart, who often evokes the purity of childhood, above all cultivates simplicity – an apparent simplicity that does not exclude hard work.
It also has a modernity, flexibility and fluidity in the game that make it irresistible and eminently accessible. Make music “popular“is besides the main objective of the one who proclaims to want to become”the world’s number one piano player“- do not see it as an arrogant posture but a self-fulfilling mantra for a top athlete -.
Simplicity is what I’m aiming for. I want my music to be popular, it’s very important.
The pianist Sofiane Pamartat franceinfo Culture
“Simplicity is unifying and when I say that I want to be number one on the piano, it’s a way of putting myself in a trance to succeed in fulfilling my dreams, to transcend myself, to elevate myself”, he continues. “I am a big fan of manga and they inspire me in this quest, like Luffy, hero of the manga One Piece, who wants to be king of pirates. It’s a way of surpassing yourself.“
Sofiane Pamart has perfect pitch. It was detected as a child, while he was listening to the music heard on television. “Around four years old, I was playing the credits of Dragon Ball Z and especially the music of Godfather on the little red twelve-key toy piano that my parents gave me“, he remembers. In his family, no one was a musician.”At home, we listened to everything. Both classical music and French variety, traditional Moroccan music, raï, and even a little rap thanks to an uncle. My father also adores Brel and Ferré, and I love the passion of those voices“.
Her maternal grandfather, of Berber origin, had come from southern Morocco to work in the mines in northern France. Her mother, a literature teacher, had to fight for “tear himself away from his condition“. It was she, whose strict upbringing he praises, who enrolled him in the conservatory at the age of 7 and continually pushed him to strive and surpass himself.”My mother always believed in us (Editor’s note Sofiane has a younger brother and sister who also went through the conservatory). It’s like a contract we made with our parents: their sacrifice is unlimited but in return we must go as far as possible in what we have chosen, and be the best at what we do.“
At the conservatory, Sofiane liked “discover from the insideChopin, his favorite musician, as well as Ravel and Debussy. But he also admired jazzmen Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, as well as Thelonious Monk, whose rebellious style and personality continue to fascinate him, and might not escape rap, that of 113 or of NTM, towards which his generation naturally pushed him.
Obviously, for this strong personality in love with freedom, the conservatory has not always been taken for granted. We had to chomp on the brakes and go once morest his nature. “At the conservatory I felt both great in my place and not at all“, he rewinds.”I learned a lot and I had the chance to meet great masters there. What weighed heavily was the academic side, the culture of error and the injunction to play in a certain way by being constantly compared to others. ”
Me, I needed to compose my songs and impose my own interpretations. However, the way of teaching at the conservatory did not encourage composition. I first had to earn the right to express myself by mastering the classical repertoire.
Sofiane Pamartat franceinfo Culture
“When I found myself professor at the conservatory I rather wanted to transmit self-confidence and creation from an early age. I think that this is not incompatible with the requirement or the culture of excellence . When the passion comes from the child, then the efforts are limitless. “
Inspiration, today, often comes to him in a way “dazzling“. “But all the rest of the time I put myself in a position for these moments to happen“, he confesses. Except for Medellin, which we can qualify as a “hit” from his first album, which came to him in a dream, like Yesterday had come in a dream to Paul McCartney. “The melody of Medellin, dreamed of it, it came to me at night and I mightn’t get over it. I mightn’t wait to play it and record myself on the piano“, he says.”Most Medellin is very related to the song Havana. I had seen a concert in Cuba by the Buena Vista Social Club whose rhythmic play and the way of telling the story inspired me these two themes, which came in stride..”
Travel are the main sources of inspiration for his first album, Planet, and its enriched edition Planet Gold, of which most of the pieces bear the names of towns or places. “Chicago, Berlin, Cairo, Carthage: I know all these cities and they inspired me these melodies. The only place I haven’t been to is Alaska, a frozen desert fantasy. I love to travel but I also love being in a place and having to leave it at some point. It creates a sense of urgency in me that makes me want to capture this ephemeral something and immortalize it in my music.”
It only takes one listen to be seduced by its catchy melodies. The effect is instantaneous. Is it a science or some kind of magic? “I think that following the conservatory we have to unlearn what prevents us from transferring our emotions in a direct way. Because technique is both an asset and a barrier“, explains Sofiane Pamart.
I try to be as instinctive as possible to transfer my emotions to music. So I tried to reconnect with the raw purity of childhood but with the technique that I have behind.
Sofiane Pamartat franceinfo Culture
The piano is the privileged partner with which it has chosen to express itself. A demanding choice. “The piano is an incredible instrument that constantly pushes the musician to his own limits. Even at the highest level we will never be strong enough because the instrument is to be tamed, it is really very wild: no matter the level, there is always something that we cannot do.“, he confesses.
“The piano to which I am most attached is my first real piano, the one I had at home during all my years of learning at the conservatory. It is very imperfect, but with its heavy touch, which takes more effort to obtain a sound, it allowed me to strengthen my fingers..”
His difference, this nonconformist also cultivates it with panache in appearance: in his clips, we discover his flamboyant outfits, half flashy rapper, half dandy chic, and his “grillz” (the teeth jewelry of tough guys), that may surprise. Rap and urban culture, Sofiane Pamart has bathed in it for a long time alongside classical music. His look, “it’s my way of staging myself, it’s my way of telling my emotions visually“, he laughs.”Ever since I was little, I’ve been used to not being taken for what I am, it’s only when I sit down at the piano that looks change.”
By cultivating an unexpected style for a pianist of his caliber, this rebellious man helps to deconstruct clichés. “Because of my unique history with rap, I bring the codes into my style. As a child, I wish there was someone with a different look that I might relate to. Today I want to represent that for others.“
The Lille is also one of the secret boots of current French rap. Rappers like Vald, Kery James, SCH, Médine, Grand Corps Malade, Demi-Portion, Laylow, Dinos or Scylla (with whom he has produced two albums), have called on his services in recent years and benefited from his sensitive harmonies. to put down their rhymes.
“What I like regarding rap and rappers is spontaneity. We don’t go to school to learn to rap and that creates something very direct in the emotion. We are in pure, raw expression. It helped me a lot in my way of telling unfiltered things with my piano“, he analyzes. Between the rigor he acquired at the conservatory and the dissipated side of the rappers, there is no friction, he assures.
My natural energy is very close to that of rappers. By nature I am not at all scholar nor rigorous and I hate the routine. Like them, I work a lot but I don’t realize it because everything is done out of passion.
Sofiane Pamartat franceinfo Culture
However, the pianist with broad ideas does not work only with rappers. He recently collaborated with singer Kimberose, “one of the most beautiful soul voices at the moment“, and with the electronic collective Bon Entendeur. This year he also revisited the repertoire of Belgian singer Arno in piano-voice versions on an entire album (To live). “I’m not at all limited to one style of music“, confirms Sofiane Pamart.”My collaborations are often stories of meetings because for me music can take all possible forms, I have no limits.“
Today, the musician is teeming with projects, including in film music (even if he cannot yet reveal the details). He who admits his admiration for James Blake and the singers Jorja Smith and Rosalia, said to think “to more international collaborations“. No sign of slacking off in this workaholic.”It’s true, I never stop but I’m so passionate that it makes me happy to be like that.“
Sofiane Pamart is embarking on a major tour in January which will crisscross France in 2022. He has just announced a date in Paris Bercy (AccorHotel Arena) on November 17, 2022, that he promises like a big date different from its two dates scheduled at Salle Pleyel on March 10 and 18, which are already full.