After ten years of singing with his group, Santa, takes a solo break to offer a more intimate “neo-variety” album. The EP was released on September 9.
Hyphen Hyphen (hyphen in English) is the story of three high school students from Nice, Santa, Adam, and Line, who formed a music group in the early 2010s. “It’s been ten years already”, says Santa wistfully. The trio released two albums a few years later, Times in 2015 and the next HH in 2018. A style of their own, electronic pop rock with English lyrics.
Their Victoire de la musique in 2016 for the group revelation scene was a major event in their career. And more recently their song Too Young has been chosen to be the official anthem of the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship. “VSIt was a great moment, women’s football is the future of football. This song was not written to be an anthem, but it was already made to resonate in large spaces. It was truly a consecration,” says the Franco-American singer.
Santa, real name Samanta Cotta, has decided to completely change register for her first solo EP, in French this time. For her, it was urgent to write this album which is a “compilation of all [ses] flaws”. This parenthesis allows him to more easily evoke his intimate feelings and his vision of the world. Santa confesses that itand EP is another side of her that she explores.
The 28-year-old singer defines her album 999 like neo-variety. “I am inspired a lot by old school French variety like Véronique Sanson, Michel Berger or Daniel Balavoine”, she confides. With an American and rocker mother, Santa got to know French music late in life, but she finds herself in it a lot now. Through her songs, she brings modernity and freshness to variety while paying homage to the greatest voices of this genre.
In this EP, we travel, we go from an intimate piano ballad, Salted Popcornto a more rock song, Paris in August, with guitars that saturate: “In this track there is energy and rage and I think the guitar is the right way to express it. This song is also about regaining power over your emotions.”, details Santa. And then there is Who has the rightan intimate questioning which, little by little, becomes universal, accompanied by a beautiful melody.
The title of the album : 999, “it’s the choice of the good side”. “This name came instinctively… 666 is Evil, and 999 is Santa, Good.” adds the artist.
“I go where I have fun. I had no expectations for this album but the number of positive messages makes me want to try the experience again, maybe”. In the meantime, Santa gives his first solo concert at Paris Paradis festival on September 16 in the Villette park. And with her group Hyphen Hyphen, she resumes a European tour in a few weeks and releases a third album in January. Appointments not to be missed.
Album “999” (Warner) available September 9 – Santa in solo concert at the Paris Paradis festival on September 16 at Parc de la Villette