Cannelle on working with Oscar Scheller and her debut mixtape CINNA

When Cannelle was 11 years old, she asked her father to paint her room all blue. This was well before the French model-turned-popstar had ever made a song or begun wearing the pastel blue hair that has since become her calling card. But those memories of growing up in and around Aix-en-Provence in the south of France – editing vlogs in her bedroom, early heartbreak, the musical influences that trickled down from her dad and older sisters – are front and center on “BB Blue,” the tender centerpiece of her debut mixtape CINNA.

“It just represents me perfectly,” Cannelle says of “BB Blue” two days ahead of the tape’s release. “The lyrics are super personal.” But despite her self-professed nostalgia, CINNA is decidedly forward-thinking about the future of French electropop, even if Cannelle’s ambitions are simply to make a song she wants to hear again and again. Produced by Oscar Scheller, Chicken, Warpstr, Umru, and more, this bilingual full-length beckons listeners to shed their inhibitions and move their limbs, ideally wearing the most elaborate outfit in their closets.

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From lead singles “Stereo” and “Dis-moi” to album cuts like “Dollars” and “French Kiss,” CINNA channels the brash and brawny electroclash of SebastiAn or early LMFAO to deliriously danceable effect. At the heart of it all is Cannelle, whose songs swing between moods as easily as her lyrics swing between English and French, chasing after euphoria and catharsis in the club and beyond.

The FADER caught up with Cannelle on a phone call ahead of the release of CINNA to chat about working with Chicken and Oscar Scheller, assembling the digital art collage for the cover, and how the vampiric music video for “Stereo” came together.

The FADER: When did you decide it was time to assemble a mixtape?
Cannelle: I started imagining the mixtape when I did the cover art, but I didn't really know which songs would be in it. Obviously I had a few of my favorites that I specifically saved for a project that I didn't drop as singles, cuz I was supposed to drop an EP or something last summer. But then I was like, maybe I should give it another year and really wait to have a better project. Not even an album, but really a better mixtape and just see where it goes. And early 2026, that's when I was like, "Okay, we're dropping it this year and I'm not putting any more songs."

Could you talk to us about making the album art?
I started the cover art last year. I was at my boyfriend's house and we were literally stuck at his place. We were just really bored, like summertime vibe when you're staying up late at night cuz there's really nothing else to do. I was just sketching some stuff and I was like it would be cool to just sketch something for the cover art if I ever make a project.
I didn't necessarily want it to be something that felt like a picture or a photoshoot, but I still wanted to have me on the cover. I wanted this mixtape to feel DIY, I don't want a high quality picture of me. So I did something inspired by the airbrush art cuz I really like this kind of art; I think it's super cool and a lot of my favorite artists have done that. There's a lot of Easter eggs in that cover art, like random screenshots from my favorite movies and stuff like that. People can't really see it, cuz it's also kind of blurry. I didn't want it to be super clear and there's a lot of shit going on. But a lot of cool Easter eggs and family pictures. And I did the auto-portrait of my mom, so it’s kind of a symbolic cover art.

What can you tell us about the session for “Idole?”
It was my first French song that I made with Chicken. We really wanted to have this song that felt really 2010 French electronic vibe. We haven't really tried that before. Especially with Chicken, I feel like we make more dreamy electropop. And I made that song before “FILLE,” but I really wanted to drop that song first and then have “Idole” for the project.

How did you and Chicken connect?
We connected through Instagram. My friend CLIP who's a rapper, she recommended me to work with him. He just gets it – his ability to make something that feels like me but also has his distinct sound, I really respect that ability. And every time we make a song, it could be any genre. Every time we try a new vibe.

You’ve also been doing some self-prod and coproduction on the tape right?
100%. Sometimes I send specific drums or sounds that I want to the producers, or pull up to the studio: "Hey, today we're doing this." Or I literally just bring my synth and start like a melody. It really depends. Either I have an initial idea or they cook something for me and then we work on it together. But I feel for this mixtape I definitely helped on the songs and I'm really happy to have my co-producer credits. It's really exciting for me.

What was the hardest song to finish?
Honestly, the song that I changed the most and fixed the most is probably “BB Blue” because it's the oldest one and we added this little outro. It's a kind of two songs in one blending together. The outro was supposed to be a whole other track, but it sounds better [this way].

Was there a specific song or moment you felt the project was really coming together?
When we did the songs with Oscar Scheller, because I just had this feeling of a missing piece [for the project]. I wanted to have something that felt more like my references, especially the electronic French sound. So when we made “STEREO,” that’s when I was like, “Oh my god this is literally where I want to go with the project.” I wanted it to feel loud but at the same time super fun, and when we made that song, I remember just going back home and listening to it on loop. Slowed down version, pitched down version, I was obsessed.

I know you recorded a bunch with Oscar Scheller for this tape. What’s your working dynamic like?
On the mixtape, we worked on “Stereo,” “Sunshine,” “Dollars,” “Antenna,” “Hi,” and he also helped on “Telephone.” Working with Oscar is always genial, super fun. We're just screaming every time we have an idea; we're like “oh my god wait this is so good.”
It just felt super easy and I didn't feel pressured to have a perfect song. My thing is I hate feeling pressured to have a perfect song – I just like making music that makes me happy and I'm going to go home and listen to it on loop even if it's not finished or even if it's not perfect or even if I don't think this is going to have a lot of streams.
I just want to make music that I want to listen to and I think that's definitely what I did with Oscar. As I’m making the song, I'm like, "Oh my god, this is going to be in my playlist. I'm actually going to stream this song." I think it's super important to just create this for yourself first before anything else.

Also I love the video for “Stereo.” Could you talk to us a little bit about the concept and the shoot?
“Stereo” is is definitely my favorite music video so far. We worked on that one for so long. It's super funny because I remember when I met Mathias [Adam], it was literally at the Life from Earth show in fall 2025. he just grabs me. He's like, "Hey, I really want to do a video with you." I'm like, "Hey, I don't know you, but yeah, let's do it." So, he sent me a mood board after I got home and it was super sick. He had this idea of something that's kind of old pop video, but it also feels super editorial and I'm also a fucking vampire.

So we were just working together from December until the video was out.It took three to four months to have that video ready. We're just meeting every day and preparing everything: set design, outfits, who do we want in the video. We ended up having two of my super close friends in the music video, the two maids. So it was just a super fun shoot day because literally all my friends were here: the hair stylist and the two maids, we literally all know each other. It took a while especially for making the teeth cuz we had to make the vampire teeth ourselves. So it was really hard to create the shape.We had to put some kind of paste in hot water and stuff because he really wanted us to have realistic fake teeth and not costume fake teeth.

What else do people need to know about CINNA?
I have another video coming up for the song “Sunshine” that I'm super excited about. We shot that video in Japan and it's one of my craziest projects so far. We went to a lot of crazy locations and we did four different cities in Japan. So I'm just super excited for that one. I really wanted a summertime fun video for that song. It's really a nostalgic vibe and I'm super excited for that, but I don't want to spoil too much.