Upclose with The Penelopes
French electro-pop duo The Penelopes infuse their dramatic, high-energy live set with plenty of synths, snares and handclaps. Leeann Bennett talks to the boys.
HK Magazine: You gave up studying medicine and law for music. Ever regret it?
The Penelopes: Not at all. It was all a pretext to stay studying as long as possible, and stay young. Being a student affords more freedom, and it gave us time to decide what we really wanted to do, which was make music.
HK: How did you decide it wasn’t just a hobby?
TP: It was always a big part of our lives. I think it is the purest art form too, over photography or cinema, which we are both interested in. After composing some of our own tunes we realized we should get together and do it for a living rather than work hard in a factory or office cubicle – something we’ve always dreaded.
HK: And now you’re described as “theatrical electro-pop”...
TP: Actually, we started off with rock music. But we didn’t want to be a copy of other rock bands. Trance and techno is big in Europe, so despite not being fans of the sound, we learned to use electronic music equipment. Now we’re a kind of bridge between rock and electro - rock with electrical instruments, classical guitar with bass guitar. We love the mix between strong and sensitive...
HK: What’s the most frustrating part of your job?
TP: The music industry doesn’t want to take risks. It’s very difficult to release an album because the whole process takes ages – mainly because people in the business prefer the easy stuff, short albums that they know will sell.
HK: Worst moment on stage?
TP: Once, this cop came on stage and tried to stop the music. No one ever jumped on stage before. It kind of sucks that the only guy who addressed us on stage was a cop.