“I'm doing fifteen days – fifteen days.“Between Paris and Biarritz, singer-songwriter Patxi Garat found his life balance. Attached to his childhood territory, the participant of the third Star Academy is defined as “almost Parisian“. After 20 years of living in the capital, he regularly returns to Basque CountryMore precisely in Biarritz where he recently purchased a house.
For Patxi Garat, the Basque Country is first and foremost a story of roots. He grew up in Sare, a typical Basque village in the mountains made up of “white houses with red and green shutters“, with “a pediment for playing Basque pelota“. “It really is a postcard!“Patxi first lived above the pharmacy, because her mother was the village pharmacist, then in a house in the mountains.
“I first learned to speak Basque, at home, at school, in the village.“
As a child, Patxi did her schooling in school moment“a Basque school where you learn all the lessons in Basque“He really liked this learning model: “I was a bit of a teacher's pet and at the same time the one who led the others into doing stupid things.“
“It’s always different to belong to a village than to a city”
Patxi leaves her childhood home for her studies at Bordeaux, before living for some time London. His participation in the musical talent show Star Academy in 2003 was widely followed by the inhabitants of his village. He remembers his return: “A few days after my elimination, I came back to meet the children and people of the village, I received a very touching welcome.“
For the singer-songwriter, it's “always very different to belong to a village than to a city, because we all know each other, we are part of a whole. When one of the members of this collective stands out in sport, politics, music or any discipline, everyone is quite proud of the one who represents the village.“
20 years in Paris, in the “heart of the reactor”
For 20 years, Patxi has lived in the same district of the capital: the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It resides more precisely near the Etienne Marcel metro stop. The artist claims to have recreated himself “a kind of small village“, having approached both traders and neighbors: “We manage, even in a large whole, to find small places which are more accessible and easier to live in.“
Paris is for Patxi”the reactor core“of his life as an artist, a city where”there is always something to do” with concerts, parties, studio recordings… It's not easy to escape!
A Basque house in Biarritz
Return live half the time in the Basque Country allows Patxi to find her roots and a certain serenity, close to her childhood village, her friends and her family. It's also an opportunity for him to write new songs and “work more peacefully“, “to reflect on“, “think“.
Patxi recently purchased a house in Biarritztypical of the Basque Country, dating from the 1930s, with white walls and green shutters. He appreciates the quality of life there: “It's incredible, in the morning, to leave the house and be able to walk by the water, reflect, think and let yourself be carried away by inspiration.“Between mountains and ocean, the Basque Country is for him”an extraordinary territory“. Basically, between Paris and the Basque Country, the artist is “a mixture of all that, of the routes and roads taken“.
Patxi Garat has released a new album, The world is beautifulin September 2024, in Basque.
