Who is Sofiane Pamart, the virtuoso and "limitless" pianist that rappers are fighting over?

He graduated with a gold medal from the conservatory at the age of 23, interpreting Maurice Ravel's Alborada del gracioso and Chopin's 4th ballad to perfection, before becoming "the pianist of rap" that French-speaking MCs are fighting for. The virtuoso Sofiane Pamart, 31, is not an artist to let himself be locked into boxes. While the Lille native released a delightful first solo piano album, Planet, in 2019, then its augmented version Planet Gold at the start of the year, we wanted to take a closer look at this prodigy that we sense at the dawn of a resounding career. His melodies, as delicate as they are catchy, seem touched by grace. Whether it's the sentimental neo-classicism of his solo album, made up of very short pieces capable of sketching landscapes in listeners' brains in three minutes, or the expressive themes on which rappers like to lay their rhymes to underline a climate, Sofiane Pamart hits the mark and hits every time. Sixteen years of conservatory have passed by.

Objective: the world or nothing

In his compositions, we clearly hear echoes of his 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. Making "popular" music is moreover the main objective of the man who proclaims that he wants to become "the world number one in the piano" - not to see it as an arrogant posture but a self-fulfilling mantra for top athletes -.

"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 accomplishing my dreams, transcending myself, elevating myself", he continues. "I'm 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 the pirates. It's a way to surpass yourself."

Perfect pitch and strict upbringing

Sofiane Pamart has perfect pitch. She was detected very young, while he was listening to the music heard on television. "Around four years old, I played the credits of Dragon Ball Z and especially the music of The Godfather on the little red toy piano with twelve keys that my parents had given me," he recalls. In his family, however, 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 loves Brel and Ferré, and I love the passion of those voices".

His maternal grandfather, of Berber origin, had come from southern Morocco to work in the mines of northern France. His mother, a literature teacher, had to struggle to "tear herself out of her 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 has 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 that we made with our parents: their sacrifice is unlimited but we In exchange, we must go as far as possible in what we have chosen, and be the best in what we do."

Not all good memories of the conservatory

At the conservatory, Sofiane enjoyed "discovering from the inside" Chopin, her favorite musician, as well as Ravel and Debussy. But he also admired the jazzmen Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, as well as Thelonious Monk, whose style and rebellious personality continue to fascinate him, and could not escape rap, that of 113 or NTM, towards which his generation naturally pushed him. .

Inevitably, for this strong freedom-loving personality, the conservatory did not always go without saying. We had to bite the brakes and go against his nature. "At the conservatory I felt both super in my place and not at all", he rewinds. "I learned a lot and I had the chance to rub shoulders with great masters there. What was heavy was the school side, the culture of error and the injunction to play in a certain way by constantly being compared to others."

"When I found myself a teacher 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, the efforts are then limitless."

Travel, a powerful source of inspiration

Inspiration, today, often comes to him in a "dazzling" way. "But all the rest of the time I put myself in condition for those moments to happen," he confesses. Except for Medellin, which can be described 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, I dreamed of it, it came to me at night and I couldn't get rid of it. I couldn't wait to play it and record myself on the piano", says- he. "But Medellin is very linked to the track Havana. I had seen a concert by the Buena Vista Social Club in Cuba, whose rhythmic playing and the way of telling the story inspired me with these two themes, which came in stride." Travel is the main source of inspiration for her debut album, Planet, and her expanded Planet Gold edition, most of whose tracks are named after cities or places. "Chicago, Berlin, Cairo, Carthage: I know all these cities and they inspired me these melodies. The only place I haven't been is Alaska, a frozen desert fantasy. I like to travel but I also like the fact of 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 fleeting and ephemeral something. immortalize in my music." It only takes one listen to be seduced by its catchy melodies. The effect is instantaneous. Is it science or some kind of magic? "I think that after the conservatory we have to unlearn what prevents us from transferring our emotions directly. Because technique is both an asset and a hindrance", explains Sofiane Pamart.

When the piano rears up

The piano is the privileged partner with which he has chosen to express himself. A demanding choice. "The piano is an incredible instrument which constantly sends the musician back to his own limits. Even at the highest level you will never find yourself strong enough because the instrument has to be tamed, it is really very wild: no matter the level, it there's always something you can't do," he said. "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 requires more effort to get a sound, it allowed me to strengthen my fingers more."

A non-conformist look that defies clichés

His difference, this non-conformist also cultivates it with panache in appearance: in his clips, we discover his flamboyant outfits, half-flashy rapper, half-dandy chic, and his "grillz" (tough tooth jewelry), which may surprise. Rap and urban culture, Sofiane Pamart has been immersed 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. "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 person contributes to deconstructing clichés. "Because of my singular history with rap, I bring the codes of it into my style. As a child, I would have loved there to be someone with a different look that I could identify with. Today Today I want to represent that for others."

The pianist of rappers... and others

The Lille resident is also one of the secret weapons of current French-speaking 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 lay down their rhymes.

"What I like in rap and in rappers is spontaneity. We don't go to school to learn to rap and that therefore creates something very direct in the emotion. We are in pure, raw expression. It helped me a lot in my way of telling things without filter 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.

However, the pianist with broad ideas does not work only with rappers. He recently collaborated with the singer Kimberose, "one of the most beautiful soul voices at the moment", and with the electronic collective Bon Entendeur. He also revisited this year the repertoire of the Belgian singer Arno in piano-voice versions on an entire album (Vivre). "I am not at all limited to one style of music", confirms Sofiane Pamart. "My collaborations are often stories of encounters because for me music can take all possible forms, I have no limits."

Today, the musician is teeming with projects, including film music (even if he can't reveal the details yet). He who admits his admiration for James Blake and the singers Jorja Smith and Rosalia, says he is thinking "of more international collaborations". No signs of letting up on 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 that will criss-cross France in 2022. He has just announced a date in Paris Bercy (AccorHotel Arena) on November 17, 2022, which he promises as a big meeting different from his two planned dates Salle Pleyel on March 10 and 18 and which are already sold out.