Ben Mazué: french singer-songwriter

1. Tell us about your very first memory connected to art.



Ben Mazué: My father is an architect. He designed our family home and finished building it around the time I was born.

That house was, in itself, an introduction to art. It was painted in red limewash and made up of a series of buildings connected by walkways and winding little passages.

We lived in the hills above Nice, in Biot, near Antibes. From our house, you could see the sea in the distance beyond the rugged foothills of the Alps. It combined both intricacy and vastness.

My father had corner windows because he loved them, and ever since, so have I. There was also a small courtyard where he planted an orange tree whose blossoms filled the entire house with their fragrance.

The garden took twenty years to become what it eventually was: the most beautiful place in the world. The scent of lavender, jasmine, roses, mint and thyme.

©Romain Philippon

The rows of bright green pittosporum shrubs against the deep red walls of our home. The olive grove where I spent my childhood playing. It was paradise.

My parents also had a small replica of Bernar Venet's 115.5 Degrees in the living room. I remember wondering whether that arc could move me emotionally and, if it couldn't, whether I would still consider it art.



2. What is your relationship with art today? How important is art in your life and in your work as a musician?

Ben Mazué: I'm both a spectator and a creator. To me, artists are people who observe existence, interpret it and give it meaning, sometimes at the expense of fully living it themselves. I feel like I belong to that part of society.

3. How would you describe your music? What makes it unique?



Ben Mazué: I write and perform French chanson. I'm not sure what makes my music unique.

What I do know is that I make music to release an emotional imbalance, to understand it, give it shape and share it with others. In the end, it's all very straightforward.

My songs are driven by words. There are lots of lyrics, lots of storytelling.



4. What inspires you in everyday life, and where do your ideas come from?



Ben Mazué: I draw inspiration from my life as a father, a friend, a citizen, a lover, a son, a brother, even a neighbour and, occasionally, from my life as a singer though that's actually the least frequent source.

©Romain Philippon