Oxmo Puccino: “Take an interest in a cinema that can surprise you, look towards other cultures”

I have a fairly ambivalent relationship. Cinema is the seventh art, that is to say the one which brings together all the others. When you watch a credits sequence until the end, you understand the scale of the work, you see that it takes a lot of time, people and money. It’s an art that undoubtedly makes you dream, but I’m very aware of the colossal issues it involves. It’s a bit like when children discover that the piano does not exist on its own: we suddenly understand that it requires rigor and coherence. I therefore have immense admiration for those who manage to practice it on a daily basis.

Are there any films or cinematic genres that directly inspired your lyrics and songs?

World cinema inspired me enormously, particularly when I started. My hip-hop generation was built without real special effects, so we were forced to cling to strong stories and characters. Without big means or briefcases full of tickets, we relied entirely on the textual. I remember very well that after seeing a kung fu film, the next day at school, we all dared to fight in the playground! The inspiration came deeply from the stories.

Your fourth album « Lipopette Bar » can just as easily have an atmosphere of film noir as you can imagine…

Absolutely, it was a mise en abyme directly inspired by the autobiography of singer Billie Holiday. The story evolved in a very complex and very dark world, that of clandestine bars and jazz. However, I did not address the question of racial segregation which marked his time.

You have also composed music for the screen. Is it complicated to comply with a director’s expectations?

It is above all psychological work. Often, the director has a purely audiovisual point of view; he is absolutely not a musician. There is therefore often a communication problem between his dream and the practical reality of the musician, who sometimes composes in his pajamas at home. In today’s cinema, music is unfortunately often the fifth wheel of the carriage. When the film was released, she became a central protagonist but at the time of production, with mechanical and financial pressure, other priorities inevitably took precedence.

As a film buff, are you attracted to particular genres? Which cinema would you recommend?

Be interested in a cinema that may surprise you, look towards other cultures like Korean cinema or Iranian cinema. Art is often born from constraint. Where freedom of expression is not total, artists must find other means of expressing themselves, which brings immense subtlety and true poetry. Today, we are experiencing the standardization of platforms, a Turkish series resembles a Croatian series which itself resembles an American series. This is just box filler. Instead, go see how stories are told elsewhere.

“I love chance, it’s always on time”

And for your own music videos, do you give yourself carte blanche as was the case with Kim Chapiron for your song “Have friends”?

Absolutely. I am not at all interventionist. From the moment I entrust a painting to a competent person, I have no whims of self-sabotage out of ego. I fully respect his work, in exactly the same way that I demand respect for mine.

Let’s talk about your latest album “The Height of the Moon†which you will perform in Rochefort at the end of June. What is its thematic theme?

The first major theme of this project is love. Then there are the truths. Today, we see that everyone has their own truth with absolute certainty, but the whole world paradoxically aspires to total peace. However, moving towards peace is undoubtedly the most difficult path to take with regard to others. So it’s an album about truths: mine, yours, theirs, while trying to entertain the public who are interested in it. Finally, human nature often has nothing to do with the notion of truth.

On this album, we find guests like MC Solaar and Vanessa Paradis.