INTERVIEW – Montreal’s Le Couleur: A Sparkling and Talented “Ménage à Trois”
On February 24th, the American bureauexport team met the Montreal trio Le Couleur to mark the release of their EP ‘Dolce Désir’ at Pianos in New York. Composed of singer Laurence Giroux-Do, guitarist Patrick Gosselin, and drummer Steeven Chouinard, Le Couleur presented its electro-pop to New York for the first time, complete with hints of retro-futuristic disco. After dancing, we had the luck to interview the band members, who spoke of their growing career and their love of Paris.
What prompted you to form a band?
Laurence: I think its like getting into a relationship. You know, for a couple, one person meets the other and then it works or it doesn’t. With a band it’s pretty much the same thing: we started working together at a music store. We started talking, going out to get beers, and discovered the three of us get along well. It works well, we have the same influences, the same tastes, and now we’ve been together 8 years. A little like a long-standing three-way couple.
When you started playing together, did you already know what direction you wanted your music to take?
Laurence: When you form a band, nothing is decided at the beginning. It is never a drastic choice, but rather a constant evolution. At a certain point, you write a song, then you decide to record, and it starts like that, little by little. These last three years, Julien [Manaud, manager of Lisbon Lux Records], really pushed us and things started to move along thanks to his help. It’s like a big cake: the musicians are the flour and the eggs, then you add the dairy and the cherries and finally you get a big, delicious cake.
There is real cohesion within the band and even a visual identity. How was this created?
We started out with four people, and then ended up with just the three of us. It worked better, and that way we all agreed.
Has the band gotten to travel?
Last year we toured Europe, passing through Liverpool. It worked out well. At first, we were a little worried because England is more of a rock scene and on top of that we sing in French. We finally got noticed because we were different, at a big music festival. We also played in Paris…
What do you think of the Parisian music scene?
Laurence : It was really great. I like Paris. I think I was Marie Antoinette in a previous life [laughs]. Lots of Parisians say Paris sucks but I don’t agree at all. I love Paris.
It’s true that when Parisians catch on to a band, they are very receptive and it can take off very fast, for example with Peter Peter…
Yeah he decided to leave Montreal and settle in Paris. We aren’t opposed to that. If it works out in Europe, we’ll move there. In Quebec, we are trying to find our way but the music market there is more folksy. Asia interests us a lot. We signed with a booking agent in Japan to arrange dates, but nothing has come of it yet even though it is a good market. We’ll see if it works out. In music, we say that nothing is official until you are onstage.
Stay tuned for a cool acoustic version of their song “Club Italien” coming soon. You can check out the original version here:
Interview originally conducted in French by Sarah Gabrielli-Cohen and Fiona Forte. Special thanks to Le Couleur, Lisbon Lux Records, and Pianos NYC. Picture taken by Catherine Fraser.
