Suits You: Paris Suit Yourself (Interview)

Hailing from Bordeaux, Paris Suit Yourself, who are signed to Big Dada, are unique, with the determination of pushing and breaking the boundaries of music. Their music is acknowledged all over the world, most particularly in Berlin where their sound seeps through the walls of illegal warehouses, nightclubs and squats. Marie Boye (the band’s bassist and vocalist) spared some of her time to discuss the talent behind and origins of this aggressive and intriguing, yet disturbing musical phenomenon.

The obvious place to start is your name – what’s the story behind it?
 "There’s not much to say, we found a name because people needed one to promote us when we started playing live shows. If it was just us, we wouldn’t even have a name. You know what they say after all, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

How would you describe your music and is there a message you try to convey through your music?
"A screaming orgasm interrupted by the first measure of the philharmonic orchestra of Munich playing the symphony of the new world from Antonin Dvorak, itself mixed with my mum yelling that it’s time for dinner. And no, there’s no message, just feelings."

That’s cool, what would be your ideal collaboration?
"Anyone who’s ready to perform naked - if we ask him or her."

How did you guys meet?
Randomly through the paths of destiny…the meeting is actually way less important than the “recognition", but that’s another subject…

How do you organise yourselves musically? Who comes up with what, how do you work together in rehearsals?
"That’s the secret recipe of our creative process, I can’t give that away."

What do you prefer, live gigs or recording an album in your own time and why?
"Well we only recorded one album, and played dozens of gigs, so a comparison would be inappropriate."

Seeing as you’ve played many gigs, which were your favourite?
"A frozen lake in Sweden, the machine room of an abandoned swimming pool, the ball room of a 5 star hotel...in a way, we enjoyed them all."

And when you play these gigs, how do you feel?
"Depends on what happened during the day, they seem to mix with the vibes of the sound, so with the same song you can make people feel super happy or deeply suicidal."

 Heard you get up to some pretty weird stuff up at your gigs like ‘Marie leading а crab-walking, hooded Atche on to the stage by a leash, all singing, "You can touch my private parts”’ – what inspires you with these interesting thoughts.
"For those kind of deliriums, most of the time it’s been last minute ideas born with what we had around us a couple minutes before going on stage, like the leash for example."

 What’s your favourite lyric?
"I like to move it, move it."

 If you were to make a music video, and you had an unlimited budget and you lived in a fairytale world where anything in your imagination could happen, what would you do?
"We would take the cash, shoot home-made cheap crap, and then go shopping."

 Who are you watching (band wise this year)?
"No one in particular really, but there seem to be a new generation of hip hop kids who have really fresh ideas and may renew the scene, that's pleasant."

Do you see anyone emerging who’s going to be worse than Justin Beiber?
"Good and bad are things that are completely subjective; I just wish his hair stylist was dead."

What can we expect from you guys in 2011? – Apart from worldwide domination of course.
"If I tell you now, it won't be a surprise anymore, so read the label: "Do not open before Christmas"