Pink Parte: „Some people forget what it is to be a human“

 

„Drei Vollblutmusiker“ – so werden die Pink-Parte-Mitglieder Romain Vicente (Schlagzeug, Gitarre), Judith Retzlik (Geige und viele andere Instrumente) sowie Frontfrau Maria Schuster (Gesang, Gitarre; bekannt auch als Schauspielerin in „Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten“, „Soko Wismar“, „Antikörper“ u.a.) häufig bezeichnet.

Interview: Saudia Young

Das Trio spielt mit laut Kritikern „virtuoser Musikalität“ eigene Interpretationen rumänischer Folklore, kombiniert mit französischem Chanson und deutschem Pop. Saudia Young interviewte die 2016 gegründete Band für uns.

The Berlin based band „Pink Parte“ interviewed by Saudia Young.

Saudia: Who are you?

Maria: We are a Berlin based band. I come from Romania, Romain from France and Judith from Celle in Germany. Judith and Romain met first and were working together for two weeks, thinking about what kind of music they wanted to do. Judith was asked by a theater to make a Romanian evening. As she is from Celle and he comes from France, they did not have any material.

Romain: We thought we could just google that shit, and we will find some Romanian songs, but we couldn’t speak the language. Maria came to one of my shows (17 Hippies, Roncalli Circus ua., die Redaktion). Hi, I am from Transylvania and I said, ‘you’re hired!’ and that was it.

Saudia: So, what is the music that you guys do?

Romain: The base is that we are trying to take some music from Romania, with original songs we write on our own and make it more, let’s say, west Europe-ish, but mixing a lot of styles. Judith lived in Portugal and France and speaks many languages, so we sing different languages.

Saudia: How do you Collaborate? You are three and you have original songs. How do you do it?

Judith: One brings a little part. Someone starts with a melody, someone has an idea for text, we as well write the text together sometimes, the final version we do it all together.

Romain: It’s real collaboration because as soon as someone brings a little something to the song, it changes the song completely. Just today we were working on a song, it was kind of dark and almost monotone. We almost recorded everything except the violin. Judith came in and she said „can you change that chord“, and it changed the song completely. Now it is kind of a Brit Pop acoustic song. Just because she showed up and said „hey, let’s do this …“

Maria: But on this song, he’s playing trombone, she’s playing trumpet and I am playing bass. He is also playing the guitar and she is playing the violin and I sing but they sing as well so …

Romain: It’s CHAOS!

Judith: The trombone is the most beautiful instrument we have in the band so far …

Romain: No, you are.

Romain is wearing the Ethletic Black Cap Trainer in „Pale Denim“.

Saudia: Who is the Vegan in this family?

Romain: First I became vegetarian but not on purpose. I moved with the parents of a very good friend of mine in Berlin and they are all activists, protecting animals, fighting against Monsanto basically. They try to defend the little pigs in the Öko Markt (health food markets). So, when I moved to their place from France, I read a lot and watched a lot of documentaries and spoke a lot with them. Slowly but surely, I became a vegetarian without even realizing it. I was super proud of myself when I realized how many animal products are in food and everywhere. I tried to become Vegan for one month, and I freaked out to see how many products that I used had a little bit of animal product inside. From there I thought being vegetarian is fine but if you really want to do it, be vegan. That’s what I did basically.

Saudia: What do you think the role of the artist is in revolution?

Maria: We all should go on the street or on the stages and tell what we think and help others, especially now that there are a lot of refugees from the Middle East and from the Arabian countries, and I think, as a white European, you have so much strange information in your head about these North Africans and Arabian people and it’s very, very important to get to know the people. To get to know them, to speak to them. A lot of them are coming with their children, there are a lot of women. I got to know a lot of people because my sister in law runs a 177 person peoples place (housing unit for refugees) here around Berlin. She cares a lot. Well, everybody just wants peace and freedom somehow.

Romain: For me, it is a way of thinking.

Showing people who have forgotten what it is to be a kid and a human. What it is. Like sometimes you could play something, draw something, just give a feeling that reminds some who are fighting against others for bullshit that we are all the same.

Judith: I think music is way of expressing yourself, if you go to a revolution, it’s because you want to express yourself. For me it’s the same. If you have some ideas and you want to transport them by talking or by playing.

Saudia: What is your favourite recipe?

Romain: I do very often an Indian ratatouille, of course vegan. I went to Sri Lanka so that kind of curry where you use lots of ginger, garlic, curcuma, and then you cook all of the vegetables you have, in the order of how long they need to be cooked. Puts some coconut milk and some curry and some rice on the side and in fifteen minutes you have an amazing vegan Indian ratatouille Romain style.

Saudia: Ok, you’re making me hungry! So, ladies-women, how is it to work in this three way. Three is kind of a magic number. One guy, two women. You have all of the magic stuff.

Maria: We all three are so different and we all three like people. For me it’s not so much. I mean okay, I think they are the most beautiful people I know, except for the outside (all laugh), they are great musicians, so, when we do music it’s not so much about male or female because we all have female and male parts inside of us, I would even say mostly half and half …

Judith: It’s just about being beautiful! (laughing)

Romain: It’s about the look! The sound doesn’t matter. No. But I agree with Maria. I will go with what you said. I think today we are really in the middle of it. This gender changing, accepting thing, in my opinion, I think nowadays if a woman wants to dress as a man, it is fine, but if a man has one tiny inkling of the feminine, it does not have to be gay or anything, but then it’s a problem. Then it’s questioned. ‘Oh, why do you wear (blue nail polish on Romain’s hands are flashed) – ‘because I like it’ – ‘are you gay?’ – ’No’ … What does this have to do with anything? In this band, I like it because Maria is a very strong woman but still a woman. All of us, we have different women and men inside of us.

Maria is showing off her Trainer in Troical Green and Maria just took the Classic Black Cap in Black.

Saudia: What is the most important thing. To grow personally or politically?

Romain: Personally – definitely! Because you can’t be political if you don’t stand on your feet.

Judith: You really can’t separate political from political.

Maria: Personally. I am too much ego. I need to think of myself and then the world.

Saudia: What is your favorite hero moment?

Maria: Prince playing purple rain guitar solo live – my absolute mega super hero moment!


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