Hard To Tell: “The biggest challenge for the scene is to make everything real again”
From underground warehouses to world-class festivals, electronic music duo Hard To Tell has established themselves as masters of hypnotic, extended sets that blend Detroit Techno, House, cold wave, and breakbeat.
Photo credit: Hard To Tell – Official
Through their upcoming debut album on DGTL Records and releases like the anthemic ‘Area 88’ on Innervisions’ Secret Weapons compilation and ‘Feeling Alright’ on Laurent Garnier’s COD3QR imprint, the pair has forged a distinctive sonic identity.
With their debut album set for release in April 2025—featuring eight tracks that showcase their diverse musical palette—EG sat down with Hard To Tell to discuss their recent releases and future endeavors.
EG: Hi, guys! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now? How did you kickstart the year?
Hard To Tell: Hey everyone, we are happy to be here with you! Right now we are at the studio working on our upcoming album. We just came back from nice gigs in Tulum, Milano, and Athens—the best way to start 2025!
EG: First of all, congratulations on the release of your latest single, ‘Feeling Alright’! You must be excited to have this one out and about! What has the initial reception been like so far? Do you remember the first time you played this one live?
Hard To Tell: Thanks a lot for the kind words, yes we really love this track! So far we got really good feedback from artists that we appreciate and also from the media, Spotify, and more. The first time we played the track was in our set on the boat at Lisbon, Portugal—the set is available on YouTube.
EG: So, ‘Feeling Alright’ signals your debut on Laurent Garnier’s revered COD3 QR imprint. What does this particular milestone mean to you?
Hard To Tell: Actually, it means a lot to us because Laurent is one of our biggest idols ever—as a DJ, as a producer, and most importantly, as a real person! Also, we love and play the music that is coming out on the label, so for us to release it there is a big honor!
EG: And what can fans of Hard To Tell expect to find on ‘Feeling Alright’? What was the creative process for this one like?
Hard To Tell: This track is a bit different from what we’ve released up until now. They can expect to find our “new” Detroit sound in it. That’s what we are making at the moment, something between Techno and House.
“In this album we put all of our hearts”
EG: And this is not the only bit of exciting news with your debut album scheduled for release this April via DGTL! Congratulations! Is there anything that you can anticipate on that front? When will we hear the first singles?
Hard To Tell: Oh yeah! Thank you guys! We are really excited about our first album including 8 tracks in it! The first single will be out on March 7th. In this album we put all of our hearts; when you listen to this, you’re gonna understand what Hard To Tell is all about.
EG: How did the decision to approach a fully-fledged LP come about? What would you like for listeners to take away from the experience?
Hard To Tell: Till now we released only EPs and singles, but our vision and our dream was always to make an album spanning a few genres, from Ambient and Breakbeat to Detroit House and Techno. We want the people to see and know that we have a lot of different colors in our music.
EG: Now, let’s go back to your origins… what were your first interactions with electronic dance music like? What was it that drove you to music production and DJing? How did you guys connect?
Hard To Tell: We connected back in 2018. We found out that we both love the real underground electronic music and then we hung out a lot together and listened to a lot of artists. We don’t remember our first interactions but for sure something about the sound and about clubs and about the people just connected us, so we started to make music together. As DJs, we have been playing for more than 12 years now.
EG: On to the state of the scene… What do you see as the biggest challenge for the music industry in the next few years, and how do you think artists can adapt?
Hard To Tell: We think the biggest challenge for the scene is to make everything real again; to focus on the music and the art and not to think only about social media.
“‘We want the people to see and know that we have a lot of different colors in our music”
EG: Finally, what’s next for Hard To Tell? What new milestones are you looking forward to in 2025? Where can your fans catch you next?
Hard To Tell: So for our upcoming album we will make a tour, and for now we can say that we are gonna play in Portugal on March 22 and in Athens on March 29. In 2025 we will release a lot of new music on new labels and also we will open our own label. So many more things to come!
EG: Thank you so much for your time, guys! We wish you all the best for the future. Take care!
Hard To Tell: Thanks guys for having us, we wish all of you an amazing year with your family and friends—a lot of good music and nice moments around the world!
Hard To Tell’s ‘Feeling Alright’ is now available on COD3 QR. Stream and download here.
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