Hannah Featherstone

Hannah Featherstone is Franco-British artist. Her voice glides through styles and ranges, her piano sets a steady groove. Her music blends the catchy riffs of electro pop with the off-beat  meanderings of jazz. 

Born in England and raised for the most part in France, she’s never been able to choose between these two countries and finds herself at home somewhere between these two worlds.

Brought up in a musical family, she was immersed in music from a very young age. Studying classical piano as a child led her to set foot on stage at an early age. As a teenager, she threw herself into composition and song-writing. Her extensive experience of singing in classical and gospel choirs but also in jazz, world music and pop ensembles, nourished an eclectic and unique sound, allowing Hannah to develop the flexibility of her voice. She treats her voice as a stand-alone instrument, playing around with rhythms, dynamics and the meaning of words.

« The word creates, the word confines »

Her new album, WordBound, explores the both creative and reductive power of words, using both her lyrics and their musical settings to provoke reflections on what lies beyond what we see, beyond our social constructs, beyond our own framing of the world. What is left when labels are stripped away ?

I’m drawn to contrasts. I get bored if everything is simply either black or white.

What makes Hannah’s music stand out is her ability to create her own honest and unique sound. Her catchy tunes and riffs are set against her quirky chords. The vulnerability of her lyrics meets the raw presence of her voice. Her tone switches at will from warm and powerful to airy and gentle. Humour and irony temper the somber nature of some of the themes captured in her songs.

In collaborating with Estienne Rylle, a young French music producer, and with established drummer David Allevard, Hannah has developed a subtle and powerful electro backdrop for her pop-jazz harmonies. Her relentless pursuit of a new sound has paid off : WordBound is all at once fun to listen to and unsettling in its exploration of themes, harmonies and rhythms. A truly unique album, coming out in May 2018.

Hannah makes herself at home on any stage, in both small and large venue, fashioning her own space with a relaxed vibe that quickly spreads to the audience. From backing vocalist to solo headliner, Hannah has performed in iconic venues and festivals, including the Olympia, the Boule Noire, Zèbre de Belleville, Bellevilloise, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Bath International Festival.

In all this, Hannah likes to stay close to her audience. She offers a range of lounge concerts, providing an engaging event for a smaller number of guests.

I love people, and I believe that should be driving force behind anything I set out to do.  

Whether in a solo concert with her loop station or in a trio with her two partners in crime Estienne Rylle and David Allevard, Hannah shares music in all humility and honesty. As a result, every concert ends up feeling like a real heart to heart between her and the audience, whether they are there in their tens or in their thousands. Each concert is jam packed with fun energy and breathtaking technicality.