It was the soundtracks to films and cartoons that first brought Sofiane Pamart to the piano in Lille, northern France. When he was just three years old, his mother, a literature teacher, noticed that he was reproducing the tunes of The Godfather and E.T. on a twelve-key toy piano. When he turned six, she enrolled him in music school.
Classical music was new to the household. His father preferred chansons by Brassens and Léo Ferré. His mother, the daughter of Moroccan immigrants who moved to northern France to work in coal mines, felt both fascinated and removed from the classical music world. For her, Pamart said, classical music was "noble, classy, powerful, majestic." He spent a lot of time, in his own words, chasing his mother's dream.
He became a gold medallist at the Lille Conservatory. Then it was his work within France's rap scene that really captured the public's imagination: collaborations with Koba LaD, Vald, Maes, Dinos, and others, showing how classical music has both space and a duty to interact with contemporary discourses. In 2019, his debut solo album Planet earned Gold Disc status in France, selling 50,000 copies.
Known as the Piano King, Pamart is famous for a rock-star persona built around wide kimonos, chunky rings, and sunglasses. He became the first pianist to sell out the Accor Arena in Paris, famously setting his piano on fire during performances. In 2024, he performed John Lennon's Imagine while floating down the Seine at the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. He has collaborated with Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc.
