'We just want to beautify our daily life, and sometimes having this demanding behaviour could lead people to think we are arrogant,' he says. He's also quick to add that people don't really say he and Tremel are arrogant, although it's often a first impression.

'We have worked hard, but we have also been lucky,' says Basquiat. 'We were still students when Agnes b. helped us after a little concert in a Parisian club.'

Tremel and Basquiat have known each other since they were children, 'younger than three', Basquiat says. Growing up in the northern suburbs of Paris, Basquiat describes his childhood as 'hardcore', neglected by the French government and very poor.

'It was a very sad area ... Our suburbs are just 5km from Paris, but it's a totally different life with lots of factories and so on,' he says. 'It was kind of a dream [when all this happened].'

Perhaps even more so than when the Penelopes first broke into the Parisian music scene, it's becoming difficult to make a living as a musician in the city. 'In France, we are considered layabouts,' Basquiat says.

'The situation is becoming worse. France is losing bit by bit its devotion to art. And it's due to the new mentality - nothing has changed with our new president and the budget for art is decreasing.'

Politics is a subject Basquiat is happy to discuss, particularly when it comes to the way culture is dealt with in the city. 'There are some people who abuse [their power],' he says. 'There's the tendency to make people less clever ... not give them culture. But in France they want to keep the reputation as the country of the culture and they protect this image. Still, I'm not telling you France is a jail,' he says, with a slightly cheeky smile.

Basquiat comes off as impassioned but with a sense of humour - his political earnestness doesn't come across in the Penelopes' brand of catchy dance-pop, a hybrid of electronica and 80s rock. Electro-rock has been particularly popular in France in recent years, particularly thanks to electronic duo Justice who last played Hong Kong in 2007.

'There are some tendencies of [Justice]'s work in our music, but the Penelopes do not belong to their followers,' says Basquiat. 'We try to create our personal universe like [French ambient electronic band] Air. A lot of bands do try this sort of mix between basic rock and electro music.'

Basquiat describes their influences as the Pixies with electronica, epic 80s tunes with electro. 'The Penelopes mix dream pop and spacy melodies with electronica,' he says.

'What's strange - and makes us a bit upset - is when reviewers give us a good review, but mention all the wrong influences,' says Basquiat. 'Like, 'The album is great, it reminds me of ... ' and then the reviewer mentions something we hate.

'Generally, though, people understand that there is a musical quest to what we do,' he says. 'We came from pop music, but I think the future of pop music is related to dance culture and electronic music.'

The Penelopes earned a reputation as one of the best discoveries in electronic music after they debuted with the LP Arrogance of Simplicity. 'It's an oxymoron to say that I believe in the power of simplicity. As Peter Saville, one of my favourite designers, once said: less is more,' says Basquiat. 'I know 'arrogance' has negative connotations but the 'power of simplicity' is cliched.'

They are now touring in support of their second album, Priceless, Concrete, Echoes, produced with touches of shoegazer rock, white funk and LCD Soundsystem-style disco-electro. 'It took relatively long to record. There is a big crisis as you can see ... and we feel it in the music business, unfortunately,' Basquiat says.

One of the more interesting instruments in the band's repertoire is the Yamaha Tenori-On, a digital instrument comprising a 16-by-16 grid of LED switches that can be activated in any number of ways to create a sweet melodic soundscape.

'It's a very recent instrument that we use in our live show,' Basquiat says, 'We've been endorsed by Yamaha to use it. We use a mixture of keyboards, drum machines, real drums, bass ... [The Yamaha Tenori-On] is definitely a 'real' instrument. It's not the main instrument of the performance; it's just a visual aspect.'

The Penelopes are about to hit Hong Kong for two gigs at the Agnes b. cinema, returning to our shores after a gig at HK Live! two years ago. 'We've fallen in love with Asian culture for so many reasons,' Basquiat says. 'Asian people have finesse - they're not aggressive, not arrogant, the food is great, the climate is perfect and we're fascinated by the humidity.

'We'd like to come back as often as possible, but we're going to spend the next three years trying to break seriously into the US market. If there's one thing we've learned about success, it's the idea of staying pure, demanding, curious ... persistent.'

The Penelopes Live in Hong Kong, June 12 and 13, 8pm, Agnes b. Cinema, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai, HK$200. Inquiries: 9172 7092