Coutoux : Incursion dans le Black Metal

Après avoir chroniqué son premier album Black Metal, le mystérieux Hellicoprion, j'ai eu envie de demander à COUTOUX ce qui avait amené un artiste plutôt accompli dans l'Electro à travailler sur un projet Metal. J'avais aussi envie de savoir si ce disque est aussi organique qu'il en a l'air.

Hello Mathias, first, can you resume your experience, as a musician?

I started out DJing back in 2005 or so. I was really into the heavy lo-fi electronic music that was coming out those years. It reminded me of the 80’s heavy thrash metal I grew up listening to. I played bass for a while in a punk/garage band, but ultimately had to teach myself everything from scratch. I started producing and creating live mixes and it eventually transformed into the macabre sound of ‘Coutoux’ today. As my music is growing and expanding, I hope to develop a much larger and complex live performance to partner with my vision of darkness.

Hellicoprion is an album with a message, what’s this message ?

This project was a very personal release for me. I have a strong love for sharks and all life in our ocean. Without oceans or sharks, we wouldn’t be alive; they are both integral to the global ecosystem. This concept album is based on the ancient shark, the helicoprion. The concept speaks on how we as humans have almost pushed these beautiful creatures to extinction while polluting the ocean’s waters. Thus, the material depicts the true natives (sharks) of this planet taking back what they own. “Hellicoprion” stems from my misunderstanding, hatred, and inner rage towards humanity and those who take this planet’s natural beauty for granted.

What are your musical influences for Hellicoprion?

There were many different musical influences. On top of this, I was going through some dark stuff and decided to get it out through music. I stayed up for days at a time and produced the entire record in one week. I was pretty manic by the end of it. Inspiration came when I was recently introduced to other one-man metal bands. As a lo-fi artist, I have always been particularly drawn to the raw aggression of black metal production: combining drone sounds from doom metal, sinister ambience from black metal, and the speed of thrash metal to manifest into my own vision.

How does Hellicoprion fits with your discography ?

I believe it fits perfectly. I feel through time, my music has been progressively building to this point. I have always wanted to produce a full-length metal album but never had the tools or skills. It was just the right time I guess. After headlining for one of the biggest metal acts to come out of my home town, “The Serpent Son”, I felt even more inspired to push through with this project.

Hellicoprion is your firs Metal album. How did you decide to move from your Electro / Darkwave background to a more “organic” project ?

I felt that I had hit a writer’s block with producing. I wanted to create something new, something fresh, and something raw. As an artist, I wanted to challenge myself and also keep my listeners engaged.

Did you worked with other musicians on this album?

This album was all written and produced by me; I recorded my vocals on a laptop in my garage. I had a few friends send me over some guitar feedback samples to create a more organic sound, but otherwise I stuck to what I know best: Logic Pro.

Can we expect other Metal influenced records ?

I definitely know there will be more metal-influenced projects, but I can’t say that there will be another one exactly like this. Combining my influences into my own work has always been my goal - I always strive to maintain a distinct sound. My next project will be released through Kill All Music records. It is already complete and currently being mastered. The new album is certainly dark and heavy, but that is about all I can give away at this time.

Merci