When Cannelle was 11 years old, she asked her father to paint her room entirely blue. This was long before the French model-turned-popstar had ever released a song or adopted the signature pastel blue hair that has become her visual calling card. Yet, those formative memories of growing up in Aix-en-Provence—editing vlogs, navigating early heartbreak, and absorbing the musical influences of her family—are the emotional bedrock of “BB Blue,” the tender centerpiece of her debut mixtape, CINNA.
“It just represents me perfectly,” Cannelle says of the track. “The lyrics are super personal.” Despite her penchant for nostalgia, CINNA is a forward-thinking exploration of French electropop. Produced by a collaborative team including Oscar Scheller, Chicken, Warpstr, and Umru, the bilingual project invites listeners to shed their inhibitions and embrace a high-energy, dance-ready aesthetic.
The Creative Evolution of CINNA
The journey to CINNA was one of intentionality. Cannelle explains that she began conceptualizing the project while designing the cover art, a DIY-inspired collage that reflects her desire for authenticity over polished perfection. “I didn’t necessarily want it to be something that felt like a picture or a photoshoot,” she notes. “I wanted this mixtape to feel DIY. There’s a lot of Easter eggs in that cover art, like random screenshots from my favorite movies and family pictures.”
The mixtape’s sound is equally deliberate, channeling the brash, brawny energy of electroclash icons like SebastiAn or early LMFAO. Songs like “Stereo” and “Dis-moi” showcase her ability to oscillate between English and French, chasing euphoria both in the club and in the quiet moments of reflection.
Collaborative Dynamics and Artistic Growth
A significant portion of the project’s identity was forged in the studio with Oscar Scheller. Their working dynamic, which Cannelle describes as “genial” and high-energy, allowed for a sense of creative freedom. “We’re just screaming every time we have an idea,” she says. “It just felt super easy and I didn’t feel pressured to have a perfect song. My thing is I hate feeling pressured—I just like making music that makes me happy.”
Beyond her collaborations, Cannelle has taken a more hands-on approach to the production process. “I feel for this mixtape I definitely helped on the songs and I’m really happy to have my co-producer credits,” she adds. This involvement is evident in the sonic textures of the tape, particularly on tracks like “BB Blue,” which evolved through multiple iterations to become the two-part blend that appears on the final record.
Visual Storytelling
The visual component of CINNA is just as vital as the music. The music video for “Stereo,” directed by Mathias Adam, leans into an editorial, vampiric aesthetic that Cannelle describes as her favorite to date. The process was a labor of love, involving months of preparation and the inclusion of her close friends in the production. Looking ahead, Cannelle is already preparing for the release of a video for “Sunshine,” which was filmed across four cities in Japan. “It’s one of my craziest projects so far,” she teases, promising a nostalgic, summertime vibe that continues the momentum of her debut.
