Paris Suit Yourself makes classical music modern again
A boy from Arkansas who has the word fun tattooed across his throat and another boy who is distinguished as just someone from France are Paris Suit Yourself. You would never imagine that they are both classical musicians when you see them for the first time.
With their band project Paris Suit Yourself they are part of the Berlin underground music scene but despite their rock ‘n roll attitude both are classical musicians who can easily discuss the world of Wagner, Verdi and Bach. We meet up with them to talk about the classical input in their music and how classical music evolved into being modern again.
You are all from various parts of the world with completely different backgrounds.
Joe: It‘s funny. We all met at a party in Paris I was late for, and on my way there I stumbled over this box of records with loads of stuff, from Strawinski, Verdi and composers like that. Either way I stood in front of this party and was browsing through the records when I met Luvinski (vocals) and we started talking about classical music. A couple of months later he called me and told me to fly over to Bordeaux because he wanted to have me in his band badly.
Victor: So one day we were sitting all together in Bordeaux. It was long and difficult until we finally got along with each other, especially musically. And then we started loving Joe with his expressive drum playing.
You both are connected to classical music, right?
Joe: Yes, I studied classical music, composition and was born into a very musical family, but I want the music I play to be sexy and rhythmical but at the same time loud. So I developed from classical to Metal and from Metal to Paris Suit Yourself where we created our own style.
Victor: I play the piano since I was 5 years old. My mother wanted me to be a concert piano player, with side parting and all those fancy things but no, that‘s not my world. Instead I studied Film and musically I went into a complete different direction.
How much is your sound inspired by something like that?
Joe: That differs. On the one hand we are influenced by the places we lived, the backgrounds, the influences everyone is bringing in and above all the converging aim in music we all have.
Viktor: When I first arrived in Berlin I had a time were I was hugely influenced by techno and minimal. At the moment I am living in Neuölln, a very Turkish influenced part of Berlin and due to that I am listening to a lot of Turkish music. Turkish guitar music from the 80‘s which is pretty sexy and rhythmical. Rhythm is important above all in fact you can say we are playing techno without electronics. Especially the repetitive moment in electronic music.
Something you can find in classical music too.
Joe: Yes. Sure. The Bachs fugues have many similarities to minimal. But at the moment our music is strongly influenced by Berlin. We sounded different in Brooklyn then in Bordeaux and in Berlin we got our influences from techno which reminded us strongly at baroque compositions.
Viktor: But instead of violins or celli we use the drum.
What are you going to do in the future, what’s your new project?
Joe: I started composing chamber music again so what happens next is a classical chamber music concert, in which we will play piano in two different places and it will be live broadcasted to a gallery where the composition will be put together again and then melt into one composition.
Listen to what contemporary classical music sounds like: