An experimental approach to club music : in conversation with Hanna & Robbie

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Music

A conversation with Léo and Paul from the Bordeaux-based project Hanna & Robbie. Between an experimental approach and a club-oriented vision, the two artists have just released their first EP, Planet 42, on the local label Grape City Records.

This interview is published simultaneously on Le Type and the UK media outlet Ransom Note, as part of a partnership aimed at highlighting artists from the Bordeaux scene on a European scale. The conversation can be found in English here and in French on Bordeaux-based platform Le Type, as part of a partnership between the two media outlets to promote the Bordeaux music scene.

Rooted in the Bordeaux scene for several years, Paul (Alpine DJ) teamed up a little over two years ago with Léo to form the project Hanna & Robbie. Spotted on rare occasions on regional event stages (at the SUPERCAMP festival or at Les Vivres de l’Art), the duo—which becomes a trio with Laurène once in the studio—offers hypnotic and captivating music, in a live machine format, as well as through its productions.

On February 4th, Hanna & Robbie will release its first EP. Across five tracks, Planet 42 brings together a plurality of aesthetics. Psychedelic influences, trip-hop, progressive trance atmospheres, percussive rhythms, obsessive grooves: the EP confirms the hybrid artistic strength of a project carving out a singular line within the local electronic landscape.

Vincent Boutineau (Le Type): We have been able to catch glimpses of your project live on rare occasions in the region (at SUPERCAMP in 2023, more recently at Les Vivres de l’Art for an event by the Helix collective…), and you are now releasing your first EP, Planet 42, at the beginning of this year. What has been the trajectory of the project since its launch?

Paul / Alpine DJ (Hanna & Robbie): I met Léo three years ago through a big coincidence. When we met, we talked about music and realised that we had the same tastes. So we decided to launch the project. As I was involved with the SUPERCAMP festival, I was able to get us to play there for Hanna & Robbie’s first date.

Why a live machine project?

Paul / Alpine DJ (Hanna & Robbie): Léo has a lot of experience with live hardware. On my side, I had always wanted to do it. We start from the idea that a live performance with a computer on stage can be a way of spreading yourself too thin. Having machines makes it possible to spread yourself less.

Léo (Hanna & Robbie): Originally, I had started doing live shows with a computer. It’s a great tool, but using machines makes it possible to reframe the live performance. That said, I have a lot of respect for those who manage to keep something coherent with a computer. Personally, I find it difficult!

We found each other well with Paul because we are both relatively perfectionist. We are really happy with the result: we didn’t let go. This project still represents two years of work!

It’s always delicate to put labels on the music you produce, but how would you describe your approach? What is the “sound” of Hanna & Robbie?

Léo (Hanna & Robbie): We tried to do something hybrid: to combine club music and an experimental approach. I come more from the experimental scene, whereas Paul has more of a connection to the club scene. Hanna & Robbie is therefore both about partying and about music you can listen to at home. We try to mix these two visions, to bring these two worlds together to create our own identity.

Paul / Alpine DJ (Hanna & Robbie): There really are these two approaches. On one hand, we have in mind the music we want to produce and release. It is different from what we offer in our live shows, which are focused on partying, with punchier and more rhythmic sounds.

Which musical scenes inspired you during the creation of your EP?

Hanna & Robbie: We share a strong common base revolving around the music scenes of the 1980s and 1990s. With artists gravitating around trip-hop and experimental or even drone music. And there is also all the club and contemporary culture since the 1990s!

From a technical standpoint, how did you manage to create the sound textures of this EP? What equipment and working methods allowed you to reach this result?

Léo (Hanna & Robbie): We used a lot of synths and drum machines. There are also parts that we recorded ourselves. This is the case for the drums and the guitar. We also used excerpts from films. The idea was to assemble our ideas with what we had at the moment. Paul being a guitarist and me being a drummer, we complement each other well!

Your first EP is being released on a new Bordeaux-based label, Grape City Records: can you tell us about the connection with this project, which marks its second release (after your EP Illusions, Paul, in 2025)?

Paul / Alpine DJ (Hanna & Robbie): We set up this label with my brother Thibault (aka Juniore Super). Initially, we launched this project to release our own music. So we manage this label directly ourselves; it’s a bit our grape, we connect everything through it!

This first EP will be distributed by One Eye Witness, a name that immediately gives strong credibility to the project. How did the connection started?

Hanna & Robbie: One Eye Witness is a distributor, part of Kalahari Oyster Cult, run by Rey Colino. We wanted to work with them because we know them, they are friends. And it’s a great opportunity for us: they have a large catalogue that is recognised within the scene. It effectively gives us strong visibility. Both for us and for the Grape City Records label.

After the EP, what other projects do you have in mind? Do you have any upcoming dates planned?

Hanna & Robbie: We would like to work on an album that will follow on from our EP. It will be more focused on listening, while still maintaining our live shows. We want to continue working on them, to make them always just as danceable.

We have a date planned in Lyon on May 2nd for Everybody Trance in an open-air format. We will be in quadraphonic sound, which is ideal! We will also be on February 6th at Frac MÉCA in Bordeaux for the opening of the exhibition Chambres, ghosts & digitales.