Electro rockers Hexagone reveal their second EP, “Horizon”

French electronic rock band Hexagone is back since today with a second EP, “Horizon”, now available on CD version. Learn more about this release and the process behind it in our new interview! [caption id="attachment_202009" align="alignnone" width="699"]
Picture by Julie Leleu & Thomas Lacquemant[/caption]

Hello Hexagone. Thanks for your time! Would you mind introducing your band to our readers?

Hi! Yes, we are a two-piece band from France, and we are obsessed with the idea of mixing guitars, synths, bass and drum machines together, to create music that ranges from electronic pop to hard rock.

You're back with a second EP, “Horizon”, out since May 12th (CD version). How long have you worked on this release?

The first song that was written was “Hurricane”(which is about and approaching catastrophe), and this one goes back to the beginning of 2020, just before covid. The rest of them were written after the lockdowns, I think it was a very interesting time because everyone sort of realized that what they’d been missing all this time were simple things in life, and that inspired us a lot I think. We finished the recording, mixing and mastering process in March 2023, so in total it took us 3 years.

How would you describe your usual writing process? How do you split the roles within the band?

It really depends on the song we are working on. “Echoes” for example was written on an acoustic guitar, I had all the lyrics ready and the chord progression as well, and then I built the whole instrumentation around that acoustic idea. For “Circles” it all started with David and I jamming with a guitar and a bass around a simple rhythm, it was the first time we would create something out of a jam, we’re not really that type of band usually. For “Ocean”, we started creating a rhythm with drum machines, then found the chord progression, and then spent hours adding layers of synthesizers and guitars, to create those sort of “waves of sound”. So it’s different every time really.

Is there one song that best describes the overall spirit of this EP? If yes, which one and why?

Yes, we have a song called “Ocean” that actually opens the EP. To me it represents everything that we tried to express in this EP. Basically, the message is that when things are going the wrong way and you’re feeling sad, lost and lonely, the best way to feel better is to go back to simple things in life, like the Ocean, and wait for better days. It is exactly what we tried to do with the whole EP, we went back to simple things, and we are now waiting for the good times.

Who's the artist behind the artwork of your EP?

There’s actually three persons involved in this artwork. I started looking for ideas with the help of AI, I knew we wanted something that would look surreal, and I found a picture of that beach with a huge weird planet behind a very tiny sun in the background. I was looking for something that would depict the place “where the ocean meets the sky”, to fit the lyrics of our song “Ocean”, and thought the image was perfect. We then worked with Porfirio Lopez who is my cousin, and Daniel Devoy, both graphic designers, to create the effect with the Hexagones, and make it look symmetrical and cool. I’m pretty happy with it because it also represents the progression of the EP. At the beginning of the EP you are sort of swimming in the Ocean, and by the last song “Dice”, it sound like you are in space, not too far from that giant planet in the background, trying to communicate with the planet Earth.

Reflecting on everything you've been through since the creation of your band: what is your best accomplishment as a band so far?

I think this EP is really our best work so far. We put everything we had in it musically, we tried to mix every kind of music we like to create our own sound, and personally I really tried to put as much emotion as I could in the lyrics.

Last but not least. What other plans have you got in store for 2023?

Well, we have a big party planned in a couple of days for the release of our EP, they’ll be 2 other bands playing and they are really talented, all of our friends will be there, so it’ll probably be a beautiful evening. Then our goal is to tour France and see where this EP takes us, the “Horizon” is the limit.