{"id":26233,"date":"2020-10-19T15:25:11","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T13:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/?p=26233"},"modified":"2024-01-24T19:04:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T18:04:35","slug":"interview-hante","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/en\/interview-hante\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Hante."},"content":{"rendered":"

We already chat with H\u00e9l\u00e8ne de Thoury last year, but on that occasion we focussed on Minuit Machine, the project that she shares with Amandine Stioui. Today, it\u2019s the turn of talking about her fall and rise in an interview that tries to complete the previous one. Also, after a tour that did not stop in Madrid, she will be moving us with her darkwave in the DarkMad that will take place during the 15th and 16th of October.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014Your musical career started when you moved to London. Did you go to the UK just because you thought it was easier to make music and get some recognition there than in France? How was your \u201cEnglish\u201d life? Curiously, we have a common friend of those days.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I moved to the UK because my English was terrible and I wanted to learn the language. Also I was tired of my job and I thought it was the right moment to do it! Once I was there, I thought it would be amazing to find an English band to play with and I put an ad online. I was very fortunate that Nathalie and Jake from Phosphor<\/strong> answered! For me, this was the beginning of a new life, it opened so many doors. I liked my \u201cEnglish\u201d life. I was working as a localization tester in a video game company (where I met our common friend \ud83d\ude09 ), rehearsing every week with Phosphor<\/strong>, playing shows from time to time, going to the pub a lot lol. But London is a huge city and you can feel isolated and lonely very easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014What happened with Phosphor? The band split up in November 2013, just half a year after releasing Youth and Immortality,<\/em> their only record. Is it because you formed Minuit Machine?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Because I missed my friends and family a lot when I was in London, I decided to move back to Paris at the beginning of 2013. However, we decided to make it work anyway. I was going to London to rehearse before going on tour and it was pretty nice. I formed Minuit Machine<\/strong> during the summer of this year to have another project in Paris. But a few months later, Jake announced that he wanted to leave Phosphor<\/strong> and we decided that it wouldn\u2019t be the same thing without him so we split up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014And in 2014 you started Hante. on your own as a side project. Have you ever felt the need to add someone to the project or for you, Hante. has to be only you?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I thought a few times about having someone on stage with me, because it\u2019s really hard to not have someone to share the experience with. But this project is so personal, I never found the right person and also for a while, it was more convenient, financially speaking, to be alone. Now I can manage to have someone with me to travel with, someone to take care of the merch but above all, someone to share those crazy adventures with.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014About your first album, can we know whose fall and rise are you talking about? Did you see the album as a story?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014It is mine! My Fall And Rise. It\u2019s how I feel constantly, like I\u2019m falling but I always find the strength to pick myself up again. The whole album is not one story but each track is a little story itself. My lyrics are usually pretty cinematographic, especially in this first album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Reading your lyrics, they seem very personal, close and real. When you write about a day of November, I think that the date is not casual, that something really happened to you in a day like that. How autobiographical are your lyrics?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I tell stories, some really happened, some not, but they are all part of my fantasy. I like to tell stories that\"\"<\/strong> moved me and there are also a lot of songs that describe metaphorically how I feel. I\u2019m sharing a lot of myself in the music and the lyrics. I guess the song you\u2019re referring to is \u201cThis Morning of September\u201d.\u00a0Actually, I had the idea of the lyrics when I was driving back to Paris, after some nice Summer holidays. I was on this straight road with lots of trees on the sides, the kind of road you think must have seen some fatal accidents and it scared me a little. On one side of the road, I saw one red flower. And I thought that maybe something happened there. And the metaphor was so beautiful (sadly morbid though I admit), I had to write some lyrics about it. So no, nothing happened this morning but this is the kind of stories that go in my mind all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In your following EP, we can find a track called \u201cLiving in a French Movie\u201d. Being French and knowing your love for cinema, in which French movie would you like to live?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Haha, actually this is quite the opposite. I\u2019m singing \u201cI don\u2019t want to live in a French movie\u201d and \u201cNothing\u2019s gonna happen, I cannot stand reality\u201d. I don\u2019t like French movies, they feel too real for me, too close from my reality. When I watch a movie, I want to dream, I want to be somewhere else. I just realized my favorite movies have French directors though Le Grand Bleu by Luc Besson\u00a0and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry but the production is American and even a part of the cast or all the cast is American\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In all your albums there is an equilibrium between songs in French and English. How do you choose the language of every song? Have you ever changed from a language to another because there were words you did not want to use or you did not like how they sounded?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I think it\u2019s really hard to write good French lyrics, it always feels a bit stupid. I would say that most of the time it feels easier to write and sing English lyrics. With simple ideas, it can sound very powerful. From time to time, if I\u2019ve got a good idea, I try to write in French because it\u2019s part of who I am and should be part of Hante.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In your following two albums, This Fog that Never Ends<\/em> and Between Hope and Danger<\/em> you continue opening your soul to the world. Which one do you think that has been more difficult to compose\/record?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I\u2019m not sure. I don\u2019t remember struggling with the compositions on those. But I composed Between Hope & Danger<\/em> in a very particular moment in my life, where everything was changing around me so it will always be special to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Fierce<\/em>, in general, sounds a bit happier or in peace with yourself. Was it a good period when you were writing it? Is it more difficult to write personal lyrics when someone else is going to sing them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I don\u2019t know, I think that \u201cSerre-moi Encore\u201d and \u201cWaiting For A Hurricane\u201d are two of my saddest songs. Maybe the mix between the emotions is more balanced! Also as you said, there are a lot of collaborations on Fierce<\/em> so maybe it puts a different feeling to the album. I didn\u2019t write the lyrics of the songs featuring other artists. I asked them to sing and write on my compositions. It would have been so weird to give them personal lyrics. Those songs are their stories, I invited artists and friends I admire to share their visions with me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014As you just said, Fierce<\/em> is an album with a lot of collaborations. How do you do to play these songs live? You do all the vocals?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014That\u2019s simple, I don\u2019t play those songs live! Apart when I toured with S\u00f3lveig Matthildur<\/strong> last year, I invited her to sing the song with me \ud83d\ude42 it was really nice to be able to play this song on stage because this is one of my favorites from Fierce<\/em>!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I remember that tour with S\u00f3lveig Matthildur, that sadly skipped Madrid. How did you meet her and get the idea of doing something together?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I was opening for K\u00e6lan Mikla<\/strong>\u00a0in September 2017 in Paris. S\u00f3lveig<\/strong> came to me and said that she really liked my music and I said, \u201cI like yours too\u201d! I loved both of her projects, her solo project and K\u00e6lan Mikla<\/strong>. When I started composing Fierce<\/em> at the beginning of 2018, I knew I wanted to do some collaborations and I thought about her right away.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014And this year you have released Fierce (Remixes & More)\u00a0<\/em>with some remixes and a couple of new tracks. What can you tell us of your new songs?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I had this idea of remixing \u201cRespect\u201d. I don\u2019t know what is happening with this song but I struggled so much with the composition! There are like 20 different versions of it. The lyrics are so important to me, I wanted to write a really good song and felt it was never enough. And this new version I was trying to create happened to turn into \u201cIn Raptures\u201d haha. And then, I wrote another version of \u201cRespect\u201d I really liked and started thinking it would be great to have some remixes from other artists I love. It felt like the perfect add-on to Fierce<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We are curious about two artists that you have chosen for the album: we were supposed to see H\u00f8rd\u00a0in Prague but we could not go due to the restrictions to Spanish travellers. And some friends have recommended us the music of Kontravoid. Why did you choose them to remix your music?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I played a few times with S\u00e9bastien\/H\u00f8rd<\/strong>, we started our projects at the same time and I always felt like he was the masculine version of me as an artist. I absolutely love his music and our emotions seem pretty close. I really don\u2019t understand why he doesn\u2019t get more attention, if you don\u2019t know his music, go check it out now!!<\/span><\/p>\n

I met Cameron from Kontravoid<\/strong> the night I was playing my first ever show in the US in August 2018. He was playing right before me, so I was listening to his music while preparing to go on stage and live an absolute dream of mine. Also, the second time we saw each other was a night he played in Paris supporting Boy Harsher<\/strong>. I tagged him in an Instagram story and after the show, he answered something like \u201cI didn\u2019t know you were here\u201d and I met Boy Hasher<\/strong> thanks to him. Which led me to tour with them in November 2019, another dream come true. Long story short, I love his music and I listen to it a lot while travelling. So all this made him someone I had to include in the Fierce Remixes & More<\/em> album lol.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You are going to play in Roadburn to a more \u201crock\u201d audience. Is it challenging to play to people who cannot be used to your style?\"\"<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Actually, I think they are opening a stage more specialized in the electronic music so I don\u2019t know if they want to attract another kind of audience or if the audience there is super open-minded and like to discover new things. Maybe both. It will be very interesting either way \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You also create the artwork of some of your albums, right? Any artist in that field that has influenced you?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I\u2019ve created all the artwork albums except the one for Her Fall And Rise<\/em>\u00a0but I don\u2019t have any references to be honest\u2026 A bit like the songs, I\u2019m trying some stuff on Photoshop with pictures and textures I like and it happens to become my covers lol<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In our Minuit Machine interview, we asked you about Hante. Now it\u2019s the time of asking you about Minuit Machine. You are going to release a new EP, right?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Yes, we\u2019re releasing a new EP on October 16th. It\u2019s called Don\u2019t Run From The Fire<\/em>. We are super excited to share this! Because we love it, of course, but also because it feels good to have some fresh news during those really hard times. As an artist, without touring, it feels a bit like you\u2019re disappearing\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014At the Garaje we are big fans of the Unknown Pleasures Label and we know that you have sang in one of their records, Damage <\/em>by Kill Shelter. How was this collaboration born?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Pete sent me an email and I really liked the song. I had some ideas for the lyrics right away so I said yes and here it is!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You have often said that OK computer<\/em> was your favorite album. Do you like Radiohead\u2019s following records? What do you think of Thom York\u00a0more electronic music?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014To be honest, they lost me right after OK Computer<\/em>. I didn\u2019t like the next albums but OK Computer<\/em> is still one of my favorite albums ever. I like a few songs of Thom Yorke<\/strong> project, the most emotional ones like \u201cDawn Chorus\u201d or \u201cSuspirium\u201d. I absolutely love his voice, makes me feel such deep emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In the last interview, we already talked about your label, Synth Religion. Any news? Have you signed any new band? I guess you must receive a considerable amount of tapes.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong>\u2014For a while, it\u2019s only been Hante.<\/strong>, Minuit Machine<\/strong>, Box and the Twins<\/strong>, Fragrance.<\/strong> and Marble Slave<\/strong> on the label. But it\u2019s gonna change soon, we would love to release some new projects. For now, nothing is signed but we\u2019re talking about it with some artists we love. We receive lots of demos yes and we don\u2019t always have the time to answer all of them so we apologize for that\u2026 But people can, of course, continue to send us their music \ud83d\ude42 This year changed our perspective a bit. We know we have to focus more on the label side.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We want to ask you about one of the bands of the label:\u00a0you have been touring with Box and the Twins and released their albums, the last of them from last year. What can you please tell us of them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014They are the most amazing people. They are kind, super talented, you couldn\u2019t wish for better friends. They\u2019re even like family now and wish we were living in the same city. We lived so many crazy adventures together, for example we toured in the US together, it has truly been two of the best weeks of my life. We met when we did our first European tour with Phosphor in 2013. Mike was promoting the show and we slept at their place. So they have been part of all this from the beginning, they witnessed everything. Also, when I heard their music, I couldn\u2019t believe how good it was! So emotional! The first thing I did when we were able to travel after lockdown was to go see them in Cologne <3<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014How has the pandemic affected your career? I know that a lot of gigs have been cancelled.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014It\u2019s been tough. And still is. Lots of disappointments and frustrations. Last year has been an amazing year for me, I\u2019ve been touring a lot, I felt like I was starting a new chapter of my musical career this year and \u201cpow!\u201d, everything stopped. Financially it\u2019s complicated since I don\u2019t have any other job besides music. Like lots of us, I just wait, try to focus on music, virtual promotion, label works, etc. We have no perspective, we just wait until someone tells us it\u2019s over. Will it be back to \u201cnormal\u201d after this? We have no idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014What can you please tell us of your future concert at DarkMad?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I JUST CAN\u2019T WAIT! I will enjoy every minute. Hope you will too \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n