Berlin crooner Max Raabe is a dandy throwback to Noel Coward and Cole Porter. His 12-piece orchestra Max Raabe & Palast Orchester found fame performing songs popular during the Weimar Republic (1919 to 1933).
Founded in 1986 by Raabe and a group of fellow music students, Palast Orchester first climbed the German charts with their hit song “Kein Schwein ruft mich an” (meaning “not a single pig calls me”) in 1992. The orchestra has since performed on stages around the world, and will make their Montreal debut on April 16 at Theatre Maisonneuve. I recently caught up with Max for a brief but candid Q&A.
Your orchestra first performed publicly at the 1987 Berlin Theaterball, in the lobby as a secondary act. You guys were so good the audience left the ballroom to check you guys out. What do you remember about that night?
Max Raabe: It was the last chance for us because we had rehearsed for over a year and couldn’t get a job. It’s difficult to keep young musicians together that long – after a while, they need to move on, they need to get work. I was not surprised at the reaction that night, but I was glad it all finally worked out.
What attracts you to the music of the 1920s and 1930s?
I think it is the most elegant pop music we ever had. Pop music is very powerful and has a lot of energy, but in that time irony and humour were a big part of the message. You do not find any irony in pop music nowadays.
You are such a dapper, dandy dresser. Where do you get your personal style?
I have to admit that I am a lazy dresser and it is easy to choose a beautiful suit. I like to a green suit, a brown suit or a black suit onstage. I like my tails. It also helps me get into my persona onstage.
You also write your own songs and perform more contemporary songs, such as Sex Bomb.
We did Sex Bomb once, it was a joke. If people want to hear it, we can play it. But our main repertoire is music from 20s and 30s.
In 1999 you performed in The Threepenny Opera alongside punk and new wave icon Nina Hagen. What was that like?
Nina Hagen is strange but wonderful and has been a hero of mine ever since I began listening to music. It was a gift to be able to perform with her.
In 2007 you succeeded German comedy legend Loriot as honorary MC for the annual Berlin opera gala of the German AIDS foundation.
I was very honored to succeed Loriot who asked me to do it. This is a way I can help contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS, which is still very important, even in this day and age when treatments have improved.
What can we expect from your concert in Montreal?
This is our first concert in Montreal and I hope the audience will enjoy our show as much as we are happy to visit your city for the first time.
Max Raabe & Palast Orchester headline Theatre Maisonneuve on April 16.
Click here for the official Max Raabe & Palast Orchester website.
