LETTER

It’s rare to encounter a musician who enjoys equal success in the worlds of classical music and rap. Sofiane Pamart is one of them. Blessed with a formidable technique born of his years at the Conservatoire de Lille music school, the French pianist has also collaborated with many of France’s greatest rap artists, and his acclaimed 2018 album, Pleine Lune, beautifully combined Belgian rapper Scylla’s raw vocals with his intimate accompaniments. “Playing with rap artists has made me very free,” Pamart tells Apple Music. You’ll hear a similar freedom all across LETTER, a solo collection that also demonstrates this boundary-breaking pianist’s love of movie soundtracks, French chanson, and Chopin. “At its greatest, Chopin’s music is pure simplicity,” he says of the 19th-century Romantic pianist, a clear influence on tracks like “SOLITUDE” and “ALBUM.” “He had the ability to write a very simple melody, even if it’s surrounded by so much richness.”

There’s a simplicity—an almost childlike sincerity—to this album’s message too. The sentence spelled out by each track’s one-word title is an expression of deep gratitude to Pamart’s listeners, who, it says, “saved me from solitude forever.” It’s a nod to a relationship that began in 2020, when lockdowns put an end to live concerts and Pamart invited his online fanbase to vote on which pieces they wanted him to play. LETTER may have been released in a more opened-up world, but it continues to offer us an intimate look into Pamart’s musical soul. “I wanted to do an album that was like a story of my life,” he says. “From early on in my life, I have been inspired by so many great composers, and I think you can hear them all in each of my tracks. I want this album to be listened to from the first track to the last, like a movie.” Read on as Pamart guides us through LETTER, one track at a time.

“DEAR”
“‘DEAR’ is like the beginning of a movie, like saying ‘once upon a time.’ I see someone taking their pencil to write on a page, and as the music dances, so the pencil dances on the paper. This music is very intimate, but at the same time it moves forward.”

“PUBLIC” 
“This track is like a dance. I’m really inspired by Latin music, tango, and the Buena Vista Social Club. ‘PUBLIC’ is a dialogue between the audience and me. I think you can feel the attraction.”

“YOUR” 
“This is one of the most mysterious songs on the album. It’s like a possession, something that is very precious to you and that you hide from the world. It’s like the second part of ‘PUBLIC.’ You could listen to them both as one track, in fact.”

“LOVE”
“‘LOVE’ is the most romantic song of all the tracks. I wanted to express the power of long-distance love, because in my artist’s life, I’m always far from the people I love. At the same time, however, it feels as if they are with me.”

“SAVED” 
“This track is a version of ‘LOVE.’ I love to play in the very high register of the piano when I think about wounds that need healing. There’s something very light about it, like a music box. It’s like when you fall down, and your mother is there to take care of you. You take comfort in these very high notes.”

“ME”
“‘ME’ is like a journey within myself. And there are three songs in the album that are like this: ‘ME,’ ‘I,’ and ‘SOFIANE.’ ‘ME’ uses chords that I love, that I use a lot, and that express myself. This track is about fire, about passion, and also about craziness. The more I played about with the theme, the more it drove me crazy! I had it in mind, going round and round. I think that the more you question yourself about something, the more it can drive you crazy. I find that really interesting in an artistic way.”

“FROM”
“This track asks the question of where do we come from? I wanted to express that in a very delicate way, but at the same time a mysterious way.”

“SOLITUDE”
“There’s something very attractive about solitude, but at the same time, it’s something you want to run away from. And this is why I wrote this piece in the style of a waltz, because it’s like we’re dancing with it. And I really think this feeling is in some of Chopin’s music too.”

“FOREVER”
“I composed this piece in Vietnam on an upright piano that was a little bit out of tune. The only pieces I could play on this piano were piano-bar pieces. And this is how I composed it, in a very calm and peaceful way. At the same time, I remember my manager was smoking a big cigar and we were drinking whiskey together. It was just so peaceful.”

“SINCERELY”
“My sister [Lina Pamart] plays the violin on this track. I couldn’t think of anything more sincere than expressing a song with my sister. My family history is always in my mind. My grandfather came to France to work in the mines, and his struggles drove the family onwards. I wanted to compose a song that expressed something very noble, but which you need to work hard for. This could be the movie soundtrack to my family.”

“SOFIANE”
“For this track, I did one take with the piano and then I played over it with another piano. This song could have been called ‘SIGNATURE’ instead of ‘SOFIANE.’ It’s like the last song of a life. I wanted to imagine something very noble, with a struggle again, but also with hope.”

“P.S.”
“The sentence was over, but I still wanted to write something else. So, I added a ‘P.S.’ I wanted to compose a song that was like a journey towards a new beginning. And that’s why, on this track, I added more special effects. I wanted to express travel through time to another dimension.”

“I”  
“‘I’ is similar to ‘ME,’ because while I found a different way to explore myself, this piece is about the same subject: the passion and the fire.”

“WROTE” 
“When I was studying some composers as a kid, including Brahms, I imagined them as very wise, old people who had experienced a lot of life and wrote those experiences into their music. It was like they were taking a pencil and writing down their own adventures. And in this track, I see Brahms, this very wise and calm old guy, thinking about life.”

“THIS” 
“I wanted ‘THIS’ to be a gentle and simple song and for it to bring comfort and not to ask too many questions. It’s that simple.”

“ALBUM” 
“This song is like a short version of the album—like a movie trailer, if you like. The music takes you through mystery, adventure, melancholy feelings, and all in this Chopin style.”

“IN” 
“I always try to describe my music with feelings, emotion, and stories. I try not to think about the technical theory behind it because I think that it’s important for the music to be inside. So, this music is all about learning new things in life, and how that helps you find your own identity.”

“ASIA”
“If ‘DEAR’ is ‘once upon a time,’ ‘ASIA’ is like the conclusion of the whole story, the end of the fairy tale. And I wanted it to be like a question—was it a dream? I find Asia so fascinating, almost like a dream in itself. I think the further you go in the world from where you are, the more surprised you’ll be about everything, and this is why I was so attracted to Asia. And this last piece really sums up that feeling for me.”