Pia and Hugo are the artists behind Make Sense Music. While not limiting themselves to their creativity, they release mostly electro-pop songs, combining vocal and electronic melodies. A couple of their songs are accompanied by stunning video clips directed by our talented Kevin Pagès. Watching how this creative team has put together a new wonderful piece, we were intrigued to know more about their project
Pia comes from a family where almost everyone is a musician. She started playing the piano around the age of five and naturally started singing to accompany herself on the piano when she was about 12 years old. For her, music was an obvious choice. When she was 15, she posted a few cover videos on YouTube for fun and on the recommendation of the rock music band she had at the time. One day, someone contacted her parents because they had seen these videos and were looking for a singer. She was then offered to come and record songs in a studio in Paris, which she did. It was at that moment that music went from being a hobby to something really serious because soon she signed with a record label and went to Paris every weekend to record songs.
Hugo started playing the accordion at the age of five. He doesn’t necessarily come from a family of musicians, but music has always been omnipresent at home and he built himself surrounded by music all the time. He started playing the drums at the age of six because he didn’t want to learn music theory. Even at that age, he knew which direction he wanted to go in. Much later, at the age of 15, it was the After Movie of Tomorrowland 2012 that inspired the next step. David Guetta was mixing in front of thousands of people with flags from all over the world; Hugo was amazed and moved by the happiness of everyone. It was at that moment that he knew what he wanted to do with his life – Evoking such happiness within people through music. He started doing electronic music production on the computer and that’s how Hugo’s great passion for electronic music began.
The first time we met, we both had our own musical projects: Hugo had his electro group called HUKO, and I (Pia) had recently released my first EP in French pop. Thanks to a mutual acquaintance, we started working together on a cover of a song where I was going to sing and Hugo with his group was going to do the electro remix. Even though the music never came out, we got along well. A few years later, Hugo contacted me again because he was looking for singers to collaborate with on music he had made. We started working together again, but this time it was just the two of us, and we really loved it. It was at that moment that we realized it made perfect sense for us to form this duo because we both tremendously enjoyed what we were doing and complemented each other in our artistic work.
It’s really enriching to work as a duo, artistically we bring each other a lot and we push each other forward. As a singer and a producer, we have different perspectives and approach music distinctively. A singer will often build around their voice (more like songs), whereas a producer may have a more aesthetics-based approach, focusing on melodies and sound texture. So when we combine these two universes and go back and forth between these two creative approaches, we can create compelling tracks. The most important aspect is that we can quickly put our ideas together without needing external elements: at any time, we can find a melody for the vocals or a chord progression on the piano, and in a very short time, we can come up with a demo of a new track.
At our studio, there are no rules: whenever one of us has an idea that inspires the other, we simply let our creativity flow. Typically, one of us will come up with piano chords or a melody, then Hugo will work on it using his computer to add his personal touch. Next, Pia will write lyrics with a Topline that we came up with together, and finally, we record everything to have a first demo. Sometimes, this process can go really quickly, sometimes in just one or half a day (like our first single SKIN). We are really balanced and permissive in our creative process. We leave a lot of room for each other’s ideas, and it’s usually very fluid, which allows us to convey a lot of sincerity in our music.
Our style is rather particular, or unique. To understand our universe, you need to know where we come from: Hugo comes from the world of electro, and Pia from the world of pop/song. The combination of both simply gives us Electro-Pop. But we admit that we prefer to define our music as Future-Pop. For us, future pop means creating international pop songs while having a modern, very electro aesthetic based on synths and worked and refined textures. We really seek to stand out with a quality of production that is as musical as it is visual. With the term Future-Pop, we don’t limit ourselves in terms of genre. For us, it can have indie pop codes as well as very electro-melodic-techno (you’ll probably notice it at the release of our EP!)
What sets us apart from other artists is our very distinctive universe: musically by Pia’s voice and Hugo’s sharp productions, but also visually by the artistic direction of our project and the fact that we are a male/female duo on an equal footing. We aim to appeal to a broad but demanding audience. We really care about being recognized for our work and not limiting ourselves to a specific genre. Let’s say we do things that “make sense” to us 🙂
Creating music is “easy” for us in the sense that we can do it whenever inspiration crosses our minds. Since we live together, we don’t have the “obligation” to create, we do it when it comes to us. For us, creating songs is a bit like cooking or doing sports for others… It’s something obvious, almost vital.
“Fade” is one of our most recently released songs and is a perfect example of the creative freedom we give ourselves. We wanted to create something like a meditation with an introspective side. The idea with this track is to close your eyes, cut all ties with reality, let go, and be carried away by the ambiance of the music. The name “Fade” comes from this idea of “fading away” in your mind or dreams as mentioned in the song; it is a pretty personal song. That’s also why the video has a very contemplative aspect. It’s in line with the music… We let ourselves be carried away and it was truly an incredible experience…
We decided to go to Iceland for several reasons. Our music is cinematic, so visually we can do amazing things as well. In Iceland, there are a lot of possibilities, including a great variety of colors which makes filming easier since we can completely change the scenery in just an hour’s drive. We also had the chance to get to know Kevin Pagès, who is a friend and has been living in Iceland for several years. In addition to being a photographer, he is a drone pilot and director of “Fade”. He helped us a lot in setting up the shoots. He knows the places, the moods, and the constraints, so we saved a lot of time.
With “Fade”, Kevin managed to capture what we wanted to convey. The contemplative aspect was the central point, and we just let ourselves be transported by the beauty of nature. We wanted a simple, minimalist editing style that was still rich in what nature gives us. We felt that was what best suited “Fade”. Aside from watching the video, we invite people to listen to this track either with headphones or earbuds to be in their own bubble or on good speakers to really soak up the “sonic emotions.”
We are very proud of the result. Finding our artistic voice has taken time, and every time we release a song (with video) that conveys just who we are or what we wanted to express, it feels incredibly fulfilling. However, this has required and still requires a lot of work. This would also be our first tip to other starting musicians: Before wanting to succeed, you have to work. It takes time to find your artistic style. Creating a piece of music these days is relatively accessible, but having a true artistic proposition and a unique and well-thought-out universe requires genuine reflection and depth of work. Don’t forget that today, music is primarily about image and storytelling. So, if you have a good song but not necessarily a concept to promote it, you risk missing out on your biggest success. Also, keep in mind that in music, everything moves very quickly: tastes and trends change, and your way of making music can evolve a lot in just a few years. What you would do at the age of 18 will probably be very different from what you will do when you are 25.
Therefore, the most important advice we could give is to be patient and determined because wanting to make a living from your music as an artist can be incredible but is not easy. Many successful artists know that there are ups and downs and that success doesn’t happen overnight. And above all, the most beautiful thing is not necessarily success, but the journey that led you to it.
As we’ve mentioned before, both of us had our own projects when we first started out in the professional music world. Over the years, we had several career highlights either individually or together, that shaped our journey.
Pia: I had signed with the major record label Universal and released an EP with them, which allowed me to perform as an opening act in several Zeniths and large stages throughout France (including Bercy, a legendary venue in Paris). But in reality, my greatest success is being where I am today with Make Sense: we have a great project, music that I believe in with all my heart, a team that believes in us, and artistic freedom both in the visual and musical direction… I really feel like I’m in my place and for me, there’s nothing more important. That’s my greatest success.
Hugo: I would say that my greatest success is a combination of many little things: I’m fortunate to have some experience in several areas of the music industry. I’ve worked as an artist performing at concerts and festivals in front of thousands of people and been played thousands of times on the biggest French radio stations… But I’ve also evolved in music as a composer/arranger for other artists. I’ve worked on albums, remixes, and EPs. I’m also a sound engineer: I mix and master albums for other artists… If you add up all the tracks I’ve worked on, it amounts to over 30 million listens, and that’s something I’m really proud of. Today I make a living from my work in music and it makes me really happy. I truly appreciate the opportunity to do this, and that’s my greatest success.
And our journey continues… Many exciting things are coming very soon! We have several new songs and an EP that are already prepared and will be released soon. We are really looking forward to sharing them with you. There are some ideas for collaborations with other artists, and of course, concerts! Some are already scheduled for this summer, and we hope to do more festivals and a tour one day. We are at the beginning of Make Sense, and the best is yet to come, so stay tuned!
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