By Rosine Alleva – Rock At Night Eu Editor
SUBLIME TRAGEDIE is the meeting of virtuoso Monegasque guitarist Nicky Dee and flamboyant dandy Garbo Dastorg (Scotland). These two partners have formed an eccentric and original duo across numerous projects for over a decade. Joined by exceptional drummer Jarkko Rantala (Finland), a Berklee College of Music graduate and the bass player Kid Max.
Sublime Tragédie tells the story of mixed experiences like a wild diary where passion, hope, ambition, pride,sadness and rebellion bounce against each other and finally brew. Sophisticated and wild! Determined to carry the flag of the Principality high, spreading their bluesy tainted rock worldwide, 2026 started with exciting news!
Our interview took place in Nice before heading to L.A. to perform at the Whisky a Go Go, the famous venue known for having great legends like the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, and many more! Rock At Night wanted to know more about it when they returned! Check them out! Nothing less than a “sublime” rock band!
Interview
RAN– “Sublime Tragédie”! How did this project come about?
Nicky Dee– We’re old complices, We’ve been around the block a few times musically. We’ve made solo albums, been in lots of bands, and for the past ten years or so we’ve been working on joint projects. We’ve done cabaret, played rock and punk. We haven’t done many covers, but we’re big fans of the Stones, for example, and both of us are quite influenced by Keith Richards. After taking a bit of a break, we wanted to go back to a more classic formula: verses, with very chanted, very sung choruses, with keyboards, synthesizers, guitar solos… real rock, simpler than cabaret.
Garbo– More around the 70s. That hardly exists anymore. We’re really more focused on the old school, everything that made up the great roots, the ones we call the dinosaurs.
Nicky– With more modern sounds
Garbo– So, we’re not talking about vintage, about copies, or recreating a bygone era, not at all, but rather using what are ultimately our roots.
RAN– Speaking of sound, I love that song where you use a Stratocaster!
Nicky– Ah, I find it very difficult to put down my Stratocaster. I’m lucky enough to have an original ’68 Strat. ’68/’69 were the golden years of rock ‘n’ roll. Everyone knows Jimi and those great musicians. For me, it’s a huge stroke of luck. And that signature sound with that Strat from that era…To talk more technically it’s these hand-wound pickups, which you don’t find anymore. We still have a very distinctive sound. Garbo plays a lot on a Les Paul Junior, yes Johnny Thunder, it’s more punk, from ’59. We love that slightly vintage sound, and our sound engineer Ludwig Laperche (Ludirox Studio) understood that and managed to get that sound out of us. We’re very happy.
RAN– It’s a great album, an excellent discovery!
Garbo– I think there’s real strength in the tracks; they’re not just “filler”. There are real tracks with real atmospheres, and each one is different.
RAN– It was an excellent choice for the title “Memories” to close the album.
Nicky– It’s a strategic choice because it’s a song with a rather melancholic feel to it. It’s a power ballad, something that was lost in the 90s.
Garbo– Sublime Tragédie; we have several strings to our bow. There are many different atmospheres of ballads without ever compromising.
Nicky– Knowing that we improvise a lot when we play live. “Trash That Fate” for example, is very representative. The intro is very bluesy in its chords (I’m a big fan of George Harrison), followed by a pretty powerful ballad with guitars and acoustic guitars on top. And when playing live, we already have a big part that’s very, very rock, and we end it with several minutes of blues that aren’t on the album. So, on stage, it’s a song that we’ve already pushed to 15 minutes.
RAN– How do you compose? Who writes the music and who writes the lyrics?
Nicky– Usually, we work a lot together . I suggest guitar riffs to Garbo, he often suggests some, and we try to mix a bit the two. Garbo has a lot of ideas for everything related to melody, vocals, and lyrics. Overall, I’m a bit more involved in writing the music, and Garbo is slightly more involved in the writing of the melody, but in the end, we don’t do anything without each other. For the album we’ve selected our best tracks, but we’re trying out new things and we have five times as many tracks in the pipeline. We write a lot like that. Not everyone may have this musical fusion.
Garbo—It’s pretty natural, no need to get lost in endless explanations. I know exactly where we want to go and vice versa. Nicky sends me guitar riffs, I try to graft melodies onto them, and we make a choice.
RAN– You said earlier that you make music that isn’t made anymore.
Garbo– There is a heritage that is very present but which, unfortunately, is overshadowed by the business world that wants modern, postmodern. There is a huge demand, an audience. The roots run very deep.
Nicky– The positive side of all this is that Rock n’ Roll is one big family with dozens of different branches. It all comes from the same roots, blues, bluegrass. When I played the banjo, I didn’t feel out of place compared to the guitar, for example. There are so many branches of rock music that it’s something that never dies.
Garbo– We saw it when we were playing live in the street this summer, people were coming to tell us it was a great feeling, they loved it and immediately felt like they were going back in time. We felt that this is missing.
RAN– When did you get your actual lineup?
Nicky– Like many bands these days, we had trouble finding the final lineup. It’s been a year now since we finalized it. Until we had our final lineup, we didn’t get started on that project. And now we’re very happy about it. Technically speaking, we often use sounds like synthesizers live. If only we could find a keyboard player…It’s the vacant position.
RAN– How long has Sublime Tragédie been around and who played on the album, as you Nicky, are multi-instrumentalist.
Nicky– We started composing at the end of 2023. We recorded the album in January 2024. I played the bass on the album, I wrote the synthesizer lines, we could have made the entire album together with Garbo. But for the drums I play more as an amateur. We needed a drummer with a more precise beat.
Garbo– Yes, the drummer on the album is someone we met on another project for a Stones tribute in Paris. Very precise, very accurate. By the afternoon, he had finished all the drums. He arrived the day before and left the next day.
RAN– Ludwig Laperche, who recorded and mixed your album, must have been digging your music!
Nicky– Yes, That’s the feedback he gave us. Since a few years there is really a surge of Metal. Ludwig is recording a lot of Metal albums and is less working on Rock projects. He’s a super guitarist and a great friend. I just finished a solo album with him.
RAN– Nicky, in Monaco you play with the Prince’s Carabinieri Orchestra!
Nicky– To be part of this orchestra, you have to be carabinier. I am quite proud to be the first Monegasque who is not a carabinier to have been invited to play as a soloist in official concerts with the Prince’s Carabinieri Orchestra for His Excellency. It’s a source of great pride, and I’ve brought a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll to it. I also had the chance to play on the square of the Palace. It’s an honor to wear one’s country’s colors.
RAN– You mentioned doing a lot of improvisation on stage. How long is a live “Sublime Tragédie” show?
Nicky– Technically speaking we have about ten songs with quite a few improvisations. We had a tour in Finland last summer with an hour and a half concert.
Garbo– And it’s not only instrumental, it’s a show, Nicky and I are wireless, we walk through the audience and people just love this you know! It doesn’t happen anymore, we like to entertain our public. It’s extremely important.
RAN– How did the Finnish audience react?
Nicky- We had a very warm welcome. It’s funny, we got a lot of feedback on our stage presence. It even came before our music. We’re both very influenced by Prince, as for the way he always moved, danced during concerts.
Garbo– In the Nordic countries, they are used to metal music. To them, our show is very Latin, it’s the “Comedia del Arte”. As I mentioned before, dancing on stage, interact with the audience must be part of the show!
RAN– How did you have this opportunity to play at this famous venue Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles?
Nicky– Our fashion model looks, we’re so good looking, Hollywood was waiting for us! 😁. No, we’re working with Volcano records who are very guitar focused. And so they did propose us this journey to L.A. We participated to the Namm show, followed by the concert at the Whisky a Go Go where we opened for Saving Abel and also recorded our new single. So with our rocker souls, being able to play on the same stage as artists like Jim Morrison was just awesome!!!
RAN– How was your concert and what’s your impression after this trip?
Garbo– We’re a bit jet lagged right now! Yes, everything went well. We recorded the new single, “Heal Me,” at Steakhouse Studios. The sound is just amazing; the Americans really outdo us in that regard. The concert at Whisky a Go Go was really cool, with a very responsive audience and great sound. Now let’s ride that wave!
RAN- It was a real pleasure to meet you and looking forward to seeing you perform in a live concert!
Discover Sublime Tragédie album on Spotify and Deezer
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From Belgian and Italian parents, I grew up with music, dance and big fun! I love singing since I'm a little girl, I still am, haha. When I was 14, I saw my first concert: T-Rex. Later it was FrankZappa, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Fela, Canned Heat, Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, Earth, Wind and Fire ....
I dreamed to have a chat with each of them 😀 Before interviewing bands, I used to sing (and still do) and met lots of great musicians. I had the chance to be the support band to Joe Cocker in 2007. I love to communicate and meet people (Italian blood).
Working for magazine, a few years ago, l met José Oliveira! We were working at the same festival in Colmar. 2 people from the South with the same passion just recognized each other...and we stayed in contact since then. Here I am! Enjoying concerts, covering interviews and articles with José for Rock at Night!!
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- Chatting with the Cinelli Brothers at the Yecla Jazz Festival in Spain - October 18, 2025
- Yecla Jazz Festival – Spain with The Next Movement - October 16, 2025
