Exclusive! PIERRE PASCUAL Interview

You may remember a few months ago I came second in a remix competition for the French artist Pierre Pascual. Well, I have been a fan of Pierre's work for a while, and with the release of his new EP "Spanish Summer Sex Party" I decided to send him some questions for Menergy:

Who is Pierre Pascual?

A long time ago I stopped asking myself that, it helps me to be free. Sometimes I’m producing music for myself or other artists, videos, participating in exhibitions, doing shows, writing, etc. Most of my work is related to music, first for my first musical project Chose Chaton and now, under my real name.

What made you want to make music?

Music has been a very important part of my life since i was teenager, a way of escaping from a world I did not understand very well and, as I was very shy, music & writing were my only ways to express myself and share intimate things. After that, I studied cinéma & dramatic art, but i always wrote songs and finally it became my full time job after years. That is still a way i love to share things, and that is also for me a great way to mix different media I work on like video, sound design, production, acting…

Who are your main musical influences?

A lot of things! Crystal Castles is the band i really love to listen all the time, I admire their musical approach, the mix/production, the energy. I also love The Knife, Robyn, PlanningToRock, Roisin Murphy… Pop with an experimental approach. Experimental artists like Meredith Monk… Some of Kate Bush's albums are also some of my all time faves, and I also love eurodance/italo disco/hi energy/retrohouse and new beat from the 80’s and 90’s.

You just directed your first video - how was it?

Really great. It was decided one week before the shoot. I met a girl, Olga who had that empty three level parking lot, and I said to her, let’s do a video here. I had that spanish cover "Mi Novio es un Zombi" coming out and it was the perfect place… I wanted something very fresh and instinctive, just a reunion of people from the underground… That is the first time I have worked as a director, even if I am always very involved in each video with the artistic direction. I really want to thank Julie Reumont who helps me filming all that, Nicolas Olivier for the lights and everyone in it. I like what we have done, it is very close to what I am actually.



Lady Gaga or Beyonce?

Sorry, i don’t wear perfume.

No, to be honest, i like some of Lady Gaga stuff, even if i think she could
sometimes try some radical, different things. I feel close to people who can do things with a certain sense of humour

Paris is the city of love - do you think this is true?

Two days ago, the parliament rejected a law proposed by the opposition to
allow gay people to marry in France. That is very sad cause France has become
a very conservative country, very late in all social changements… The French
government is homophobic, a lot of people are saying it, more and more…so
the city of love only for some people, sadly. I want to be more involved in
fighting for equality and visibility in France, i try each day to do what i can.

How is the gay scene in Paris?

Quiet. But thanx to internet, there are new gay/queer bands emerging and
i hope soon we all have more visibility and places/clubs/parties to show our
work. That is sadly kind of difficult in Paris if you compare it with some other
cities like Berlin, Madrid, London…

Who are your main style/fashion influences?

The street, garbage, rebels & old English ladies. And all my stylist friends
who are very talented.

Are you coming to the UK any time soon?

I’d love to come soon! I had a show in London in 2008 at the Arches for the
Act Art Festival. Great memories, i really love UK and British people, they are
so créative and free …



You can buy the "Spanish Summer Sex Party" EP here. For more info, visit: www.pierrepascual.fr. And you can find Pierre on Facebook.

VOGUING - House Of Ninja

Probably the most famous voguing house in the world is the House of Ninja, formed by the legendary Willi Ninja back (I'm guessing here) in the early 80's or late 70s. Even though drag balls already existed, as did the dance, Willi Ninja is regarded as the godfather of voguing, and is featured heavily in both the Paris Is Burning film and the "Deep In Vogue" video by Malcolm McLaren. In anticipation of our own Fierce Ruling Divas Ball on Saturday, here's a selection of some of the best moves by the house, that can also serve as a kind of introduction to how voguing (and "houses") work.

First here's "Overall Mother" Willi Ninja in Paris Is Burning. This is the perfect introduction to this dance style:



And here is the "Deep In Vogue" video, though I have to say, the quality of this upload sucks, and the extended 9 minute mix is much better (with more dancing in the video). Still, it's worth a watch as it's some of the best voguing on film, IMO:



Here's another clip of Willi doing his thing in a club, and the catwalk/fashion connections are more clear here (as are the clubby origins of the dance):



Unfortunately Willi died in 2006. Thankfully, the house is still going strong - here they are in a group performance, and this clip also gives some insight into the voguing scene and its participants.



There are three main types of voguing, "new way", "old way" and "femme". Here is Aus Ninja demonstrating old way vogue, the classic style as seen in the late 80's videos:



In a nutshell, new way is more athletic and faster, and came to prominence after 1990. Here is rising star Javier Ninja showing some new way moves:



The third type of voguing is "femme" and has to do with extreme posing (in a very feminine style), coupled with some more acrobatic moves. Here is a clip of Danielle Ninja at the House of Mizrahi's 2006 Willi Ninja-tribute Latex Ball. (Note the signature vogue "dip" move where the dancer falls on to her back but with her leg tucked up under her bum):



Voguing is also closely related to "waacking", in which hand and arm movements are the focus. Here is Javier Ninja again with an amazing performance from the same House of Mizrahi's Latex Ball. Note how the MC Selvin Mizrahi is left speechless - THAT is how you dig status:



Perhaps the most famous current memnber of the House of Ninja is Benny Ninja, after his appearnace on America's Next Top Model teaching the contestants how to pose. This clip makes explicit the links between voguing and modelling, and the dance and fashion scenes. Benny appears around three and a half minutes in (so skip to that if you're not interested in some serious mega-bitchery).



Benny was given the title of Father of the House of Ninja by Willi himself before he died. And as the saying goes, "boys learn, men teach". Here's Benny giving a demo at a workshop in Paris:



And here's one of my favourite clips of all - House of Ninja performing at a party thrown by the SoBe drinks company, with Benny Ninja dressed in a giant lizard outfit (after the company's logo). With him are Javier and (I think) Aus, and they work to Madonna's "Vogue". What starts off looking like just some people messing around soon turns into an incredible routine:



So, hopefully this will teach all you budding children what you need to know for Saturday - doors open at 9pm (fashion show at 10pm) and the voguing/drag ball takes place at midnight. So come down, look fierce, throw shade and BRING IT!

"Paris Is Burning" Director & Drag Queens, Joan Rivers Show! 1/6

Paris Is Burning

Another one of our favourite documentaries ever - "Paris is Burning". This is goddam essential viewing for anyone with any interest in underground culture, disco, dancing, clubbing, fashion, even just social anthropolgy. The story of the poor drag queens in NY who gave birth to Vogue culture, it is IMMENSE.