paris, london, rome's too old for you

culture.hu: You established Palast Orchester in the 1980s. Did you feel that there was something in the air, that people were open to the world of the twenties and thirties?

Raabe: No, the desire was already in me. When I moved to Berlin, I thought there must be a band like that here. Berlin simply needed to have it.

culture.hu: Why?

Raabe: Perhaps because my grandmother who had often been in Berlin during the twenties told me about the glamorous balls where orchestras would play, everyone would drink champagne and dance elegantly on the parquet floor. After arriving in Berlin, I was looking for such balls and such bands but, of course, did not find any. So then I decided: well, I must bring back that world and sing those songs.

Seigneur, vous m’avez fait Maître-de-langue
Moi le fils du traitant qui suis né gris et chétif
Et ma mère m’a nommé l’Impudent, tant j’offensais la beauté du jour.

from "Élegie des Eaux"