Satellite Voices

Paris / Français

Inside/Out: Joachim Roncin

November 7, 2011

City inspirations with the boss of Le Musique, an innovative young t-shirt label

• Text by Celine Puertas

Joachim Roncin is the creator of the t-shirt brand Le Musique (with every design based on a funny French translation of a cult English pop song), half of the DJ duo B?lind and co-founder of the event agency Deaf.

Satellite Voices: What’s your occupation... a) during the day & b) at night?
Joachim Roncin: My main occupation is to find a way to be creative. From browsing on internet the latest creative techniques to writing a movie about a translator or imagining new models for Le Musique, my days are busy and each day is different from the other. I guess it could look very empty for someone watching me, like someone watching ants in an antfarm but it is truly exhausting. My nights are mainly committed to resting but with a kid of two, who loves to test my skills of parenthood at any time of the night.

SV: Where do you live and what inspires you about that area of town?
Joachim Roncin: I live in the 12th district of Paris, next to the Aligre Market. It's a small town in a big one! I know that a lot of people say that about their neighbourhood but I can assure you that this district is really like a village next to the very touristic district of Bastille. Everything is very inspiring in Paris not only my neighbourhood. I find the 16th District calmness very inspiring as well as the 20th cosmopolitan hysteria very resourceful...

SV: How long have you lived in your city and what brought you there?
Joachim Roncin: I've always lived in Paris, even though I travelled a lot as I was a kid, I never found myself more at home than in this city.

SV: What does your city mean to you?
Joachim Roncin: Paris means different times and moments of my life since I moved a lot. But I see that Paris has changed over the past decade, and not in a good way. The creative energy that I used to see when I was a kid in the Frigos de Paris is know confined to a museum. Today, if you want to see something a little bit eccentric you have the Palais de Tokyo or the 104. I guess that Paris is becoming a giant postcard like Venice. My point of view is pessimistic but we have a lot to learn from cities like Berlin or Barcelona for instance, youth and its creativity are at the center of their dynamic.

SV: Can you talk about the best creative youth cultures in your town?
Joachim Roncin: I guess the best creative youth culture happens in nightclubs and its satellites. The French music scene in electro and rock are very interesting and always trying to be on the edge of novelty. Whenever there is a new music stream or strain there will be a declination of it, in fashion and design. Music labels are not just sound providers but definitely trend providers, such as Ed Banger, Kitsune, Kill the DJ...