Hyphen Hyphen is a French electropop band from Nice, consisting of members Santa, Line and Adam. They have released three studio albums — Times, HH, and C'est La Vie.
History
Early years (2011–2014)
In the French Riviera, near the Promenade des Anglais, beyond Florida beach, United States Quay, and Coco beach, the band was formed at the lycée Masséna in Nice, South of France.[1] They chose the term Hyphen from Ancient Greekὑφ᾽ ἕν (hyph' hén) standing for "in one"[2] through the looking-glass.[3]
Santa and Adam are childhood friends, and met Line and Zac in high school.
In March 2011, Hyphen Hyphen self-released their first extended play titled Chewbacca I'm Your Mother.[4]
The band has taken part in many national and regional music contests. They notably won the Prix du Jury of Les Inrocks Lab, and the Biennial of Young Creators from Europe and the Mediterranean.
In 2012, they released their second EP Wild Union.[5] The first elements from their current visual identity began showing with these projects, including tribal signs. They would later use the term Wild Union to describe the bond they formed both within the band and with their ever-growing audience.
On 18 September 2015, their debut album Times, with all tracks written, composed, arranged and produced by the then four members, was released in France.[12] They recorded the voices of Just Need Your Love at Villa Coco Beach.[13]
In Conservatory of Nice, they study plastic arts. The group designs the visual of their album covers.[3]
On 12 February 2016, Hyphen Hyphen won the Award for Revelation Scene (Best New Live act) at Victoires de la Musique, the French Music Awards, with their memorable performance of Just Need Your Love.[14] In September 2016, the film director Jalil Lespert chose this music for his short movie Paris Je t'aime (Paris I love you) featuring Astrid Roos.[15]
In September 2017, the band released the fifth track from Times, Closer to You, as a single. The song was then featured in Armani Sì Passione Perfume featuring Cate Blanchett.[16]
On 25 May 2018, Hyphen Hyphen released their second album HH[17] and went on tour for over one and a half-years. They performed more than 150 shows all around France, Belgium and Switzerland. The album has been recorded in Studio Atlas Paris.[18]
On 7 January 2019, the second track from HH, Like Boys, was used in Yves Saint Laurent's Rouge Volupté Shine lipstick. On 22 March 2019, the single Lonely Baby featuring Kiiara was released internationally. In the following April, Like Boys was featured in Lacoste's French Panache perfume.[19]
C'est La Vie and solo project (2020 – present)
Santa - Hyphen Hyphen in 2016.
During the years 2020-2021, the band began the writing and production of their fourth album, C'est La Vie. They wrote and autoproduced most of the songs during lockdown. The album was recorded in ICP Studio, Brussels, where the band also recorded their first album Times in 2015.
On 21 June 2022, the band performed a batch of new songs in a rainy Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, during the Summerstage Festival.[20]
Hyphen Hyphen released the first single of their new album on May 13, 2022, titled Don't Wait for Me. Two weeks later on May 30, the band released the single Too Young, which was chosen by the French TV network TF1 and FIFA to be the official anthem for UEFA Women's Euro 2022.[citation needed]
In September 2022, the band officially announced their new European Tour C'est La Vie Tour, with performances in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg beginning in January 2023.
On 2 December 2022, Hyphen Hyphen released the album's third single Call My Name. The band did an intimate-release performance for the album in Paris. This show marked the comeback of the band on-stage with new songs.
On 6 January 2023, prior to the launch of the tour, the band released the fourth and final single from the album, called Own God.
On 20 January 2023, Hyphen Hyphen release their fourth album C'est La Vie (That's life!).
The tour begins in Europe.
Hyphen Hyphen surround themselves with the producer Glen Ballard.[21] He is the coauthor of Don't Wait for Me. He introduced the band to the mixers Mike “Spike” Stent (Too young) and Dan Grech (Call my name).[22]
In July 2023, Santa performs Salty popcorn, her first love song in French from her personal EP 999 (/ˈnaɪnəˈnaɪnəˈnaɪnə/), in a cloud[23]above Brussels at the Summer Pleasures event before the final popcorn rain.[24]
In August 2023, Hyphen Hyphen go on tour in North America.[25] In Montreal, not so far from Le Plateau-Mont-Royal so called la Nouvelle-France (the New France), Santa proudly deploys a rainbow flag — High With Her — in the prism of beams of light to celebrate "the love of the stage, à la française".[26]
Santa – lead vocals, guitar and synth. Santa is of both French and American descent, and the daughter of a singer.[22] She trained with the vocal coach Guy Roche;[18]
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
**Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts nor the bubbling under Ultratip charts, but was registered in the Ultratip charts as an extra tip.
^"Hyphen Hyphen". UK Festivals Guides. 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
^Fall, Azzedine (25 August 2012). "On y était : Rock en Seine 2012" [We were there: Rock en Seine 2012]. Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
^"Les lauréats du FAIR" [Winners] (PDF). Rock Action and Initiative Fund (in French). 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
^David, Mathieu (6 February 2013). "Prix Best Live 2013" [Prize]. OÜI FM (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2023.