A conversation between Guillaume Sorge (Dirty Sound System) and Maxime Buechi (Sang Bleu magazine).

Why did Guillaume Sorge of the Dirty Sound System collective, who is currently in charge of the programme for the new Parisian space 12 Mail, choose to give carte blanche to the magazine Sang Bleu, represented by Maxime Buechi? We got them together to find out more.

Guillaume, why did you choose the magazine Sang Bleu (Blue Blood) for the inauguration of your new gallery space on rue du Mail (12, rue du Mail, 2nd arrondissement, Paris)? What attracts you about the approach of this Parisian tattoo magazine ?
— GS: I have known Sang Bleu for several years and, not being involved in the tattoo world myself, I appreciated the way that Maxime and his network of contributors played with the codes of this world without falling into the awful folklore that it can sometimes be associated with. This publication has more than one definitive vision of tattooing. For me, Sang Bleu is first and foremost a very beautiful publication which brings together photos, texts and illustrations... tattooing is its point of departure but it goes beyond this. As a big consumer of media, I had the feeling that I had stumbled upon a publication that is a cut above the rest, which is extremely rare.
— MB: In my case, the first thing that caught my attention about this project was something that is little seen in the magazine, but which is very important to me: music. I have known Guillaume for a while now, on a personal level at first, but also through his work as selector for the magazine Uovo amongst others. I was moved by his (their) very intelligent and erudite approach, but also conscious of what the public wants. My involvement in this project is clearly linked to the compilation that I had the opportunity to curate on this occasion. I did exactly what I wanted concentrating only on my editorial goal with respect to the people involved in the project. I was never very good at doing what was expected of me !
Since we're talking about Uovo, do you intend to integrate music into the Sang Bleu magazine ?
— MB: Not necessarily in it... I would like to develop this aspect independently from the magazine, in relation to it but independent from it... The music industry doesn't interest me much, I have an emotional and very immediate relationship with music that is not very analytical. You need to have a detached perspective to address certain subjects in the media. I prefer to be on the production side of music as such.
What are your references in magazines internationally ?
— GS: There are a number of magazines that have influenced me, and continue to do so: ID, Purple at the beginning, Butt, Les Inrocks when it was a monthly, Kilimanjaro, Useless, Metal Hammer... This list keeps on evolving. In any case, I read everything that I get my hands on. Even supermarket catalogues !
What is the difference for both of you between art and culture ?
— GS: For me, culture is the sum of many parts: knowledge, experience, education... Art, on the other hand, can exist in a primitive form, without any cultural references.
— MB: Art is a product generated by a specific group: artists. To be an artist, is not an intrinsic quality, it is an education, a degree, and then a very precise set of actors, places, references... You can be a good or a bad artist just like you can be a good or a bad accountant. Culture, is an abstract set of references and codes practiced by a group of people. In its primary sense, the term “culture” doesn't only apply to creative or “artistic”practices. It results from much larger fields of personal and human activity. Even though you need to take into account certain distortions in the way that people use these terms these days...
Could you dedicate a track to each other ?
— MB : this one's for Guillaume !
Frank Zappa - Valley Girl
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— GS: here is an eternal hit, quintessential French pop that can actually travel, which, I'm sure, you will appreciate !
El Chico - Don Quichotte
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— MB: kind of like this video (I still have the 45!)
Chagrin d'Amour - chacun fait (c'qu'il lui plaît)