Hammershøi ist ein französisches Elektro-Duo, das 2020 gegründet wurde. Nach ihrem Debüt Hammershøi haben Anne Dig und Ben Montes im letzten Jahr ihr Album Cathédrales beim Schweizer Label Dark Nights veröffentlicht. Mit ihrem 80er-Sound, der durch einen kontrastreichen und herausfordernden Gesang begleitet wird, erschaffen Hammershøi kraftvolle Rhythmen aus fesselnder Elektronik für die dunklen Tanzflächen.
Who is behind Hammershøi? How did the project come into being?
The Hammershøi project was born in April 2020 during the first lockdown in France. We made music to pass the time, we loved doing that. The friends who listened to the first pieces encouraged us to continue.
How did your band name come about, and what does it mean to you?
We looked for something that had a meaning for both of us. Hammershøi is a painter that we discovered together – we felt love at first sight.
Can you tell us a few things about the connection between you two and your journey into the music?
We are a couple in life, it was love at first sight there, too! Ben has founded several groups and has been part of them for fifteen years. He has always been passionate about synthesizers and learned a lot on his own. Anne has a musical piano background.
If you had to describe your music in terms other than music, what would you say?
A mixture of several universes around synthesizers. We don’t forbid ourselves anything, we play synthwave, EBM, and minimal. It depends on the moment.
What are you looking for in music?
To surprise ourselves and surprise the people who listen to us … and make people dance.
What is sound to you?
Mainly looking for a synthesizer sound. Find dancing notes, simple but effective.
What are your first musical memories? When did you first fall in love with sound?
Our first musical memories are necessarily linked to the music our families listened to. Then through encounters, friendships, wounds …
Which person, artist or incident inspired you when you first started making music?
Mainly all groups of the synth scene in Europe. We started this project by listening every day to a German band called Nacht Analyse. Later we took a lot of inspiration from the catalogs of German labels.
What impact do your surroundings have on your music?
The impact is very strong. Our music is inspired by what we love (literature, painting, music) and also by our personal history.
Where does your inspiration for music come from? Which sort of mood produces the best song?
Inspiration comes from our respective lives. Our album Cathedrales describes exactly the history of our union. From its tormented beginnings to its flight!
Your album Cathédrales came out last year. How does the birth of a new composition happen for you? How does your compositional process work?
Ben first composes a base, often a rhythmic one. Then we compose the melodies, look for the synthesizers and the structure. Ben puts it all together. Afterwards, we write, either together or separately. Then we record the voices, we do a lot of testing, throw a lot of things out. Finally, we send the sound to our friend Vincent Faure who makes the mix. There are a lot of exchanges and understanding between us, which allows us to quickly achieve what we want.
How would you describe the world you are trying to create during your performances?
A world of painting in which the words, in French of course, are mixed. Our two voices respond to and accompany each other.
What’s next for you? What are you most looking forward to?
We are finishing the concerts that accompanied the release of our album Cathédrales. Then we will start a new project which will be much more ambitious than the previous ones.
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