Step into a conversation with Bonnie Banane and you immediately sense she’s not your typical pop artist. She’s a provocateur, she’s a shapeshifter, she’s someone who delights in catching you off guard. Mention her latest music video “Hoes Of Na” to her and she greets comparisons to cults, yoga, and body horror with a sly, self-aware grin. There’s a sense of constant play in the way she approaches her work, a refusal to stand still, and a joy in turning clichés upside down.
“Hoes of Na” unfolds in a surreal blend of satire, horror, and cult-like showmanship. The video begins with the calm ritual of a yoga class before twisting into something altogether darker, shifting quickly from mindful practice to an unsettling spectacle marked by obsession and body horror.
Banane’s career is all about surprises. Ever since she stunned the French scene with her first video drop “M U S C L E S” in 2012, she has thrived on subverting expectations both sonically and visually. “People would have never expected another video, let alone expected this from me at this point. I really want people to feel this surprise effect, ‘Oh, she can do this.” And so, she’s the artist who’ll slip satire into a trance, twist a yoga class into a dystopian spectacle, or collaborate with avant-garde fashion directors just to see how far she can push the concept of “pop.”
The initial spark for the video of ‘Hoes Of Na’ came as Banane was producing the song in the French countryside, riffing on vocal notes recorded in a subway months earlier. Closing her eyes, she envisioned “an army of yoga girls,” their synchronised poses morphing into a fascist-like spectacle. This unsettling daydream laid the foundation for the narrative shift in the video, which starts off as a mindful wellness practice before spiraling into obsession and cult-like body horror. Banane’s improvisational approach let ideas flow organically from sounds and images rather than literal meanings, and the first line “welcome to Namaste” became a sardonic entry into the world she wanted to create.
Her playful skepticism of wellness trends shines through. She recounts how the Sanskrit word “namaste” is awkwardly transplanted into French yoga classes, stripped of its cultural depth. Instead of authentic spirituality, she sees a performance for “attitude”, an appropriation turned empty ritual. Her vision for the video involved exaggerating this into satire: a cult led by a perverse, indigenous guru who subverts traditional yoga into something “bigger and a bit scary,” intentionally twisting the classical yoga setting into a horror scenario.
The video’s aesthetic was a product of collaboration with directors Alma de Ricou and Manon Engel from high-fashion backgrounds such as Chanel, Dior and Rick Owens, whose expertise lent the project its refined, dark, and sometimes dystopian edge.“I always knew that this video needed big ambition. I could not do this with any type of production company, and I know they would be the one and only to do this,” Bonnie says, expressing deep gratitude for her creative partners.
Banane stressed the video’s satirical intent, ensuring it wouldn’t be mistaken for a straightforward promotion of yoga culture. Costume choices fused elements of ballet and yoga, creating a futuristic vibe that was both visually striking and unsettling. The influence of figures like a microphone-wearing yoga “guru” (a nod to real-life personalities in documentaries) informed the character Bonnie embodied on screen – dominant yet insecure, seductive yet subversive.
Bonnie’s long-term collaboration with the production company Division drove the ambitious scope of the video. She recounted meeting the directors and forging creative bonds, with many ideas evolving collectively. The editing process introduced additional narrative twists, such as the transformation of her character mid-video – a concept originated by the directors.
“On set, there were many highlights, but for me, the biggest one, was when one of the dancers called Chris Farjeot did an improvisation on the whole song on stage. It was insane and an absolute privilege to witness.” These moments embodied the video’s essence: artistry, surprise, and visceral impact. Bonnie’s deepest satisfaction comes from these moments of creative synergy “the perfect timing, the perfect people” that transformed a tiny seed of inspiration into something magical.
Bonnie wants viewers to experience something unexpected. She is drawn to unconventional song structures, much like those seen in works by Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator. “All I want is for people to have chills and thrills. We want to be out of boredom. We want to feel something,” she confides, and it’s clear she loves sweeping her listeners out of the everyday and into something just left of centrefield.
With Bonnie Banane, you’re always in for a few twists – a performer who wears her underdog status as a badge, who prefers artistic risk to easy trends, and who’s as comfortable skewering pop culture as she is leading you through her latest surreal, unforgettable vision.