JOEL ROSE, HOST:
Angine de Poitrine is French for the kind of chest pain that sometimes precedes a heart attack. It is also the name of a microtonal math rock duo from Quebec.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE'S "FABIENK")
ROSE: The band rocketed to fame this year after a video of their high-intensity live performance for Seattle's KEXP went extremely viral.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE SONG, "FABIENK")
ROSE: The band consists of just two musicians who build complex musical structures with a loop pedal, and they do this while wearing full-body, polka dot suits and huge paper-mache masks. The members of Angine de Poitrine perform anonymously. They claim to be 333-year-old space travelers in interviews like this one, from the Canadian TV show "Tout Le Monde En Parle," where they answered questions in an alien language.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TOUT LE MONDE EN PARLE")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Inaudible).
(LAUGHTER)
ROSE: Angine de Poitrine is about to launch their first U.S. tour this week in New York City. That show and most others on the tour are already sold out, an impressive feat for a band from any planet. Their manager, Sebastien Collin, serves as a translator to maintain their privacy, and he has come here today to speak for them. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE SONG, "FABIENK")
ANGINE DE POITRINE: (Vocalizing).
SEBASTIEN COLLIN: Yeah. Thanks for inviting us.
ROSE: The costumes really are an amazing hook. Can you describe sort of how they look onstage? Can you paint us a picture?
COLLIN: If you haven't seen, (laughter), imagine two people with polka dots and giant masks, and the guitarist have a double-neck guitar, the nose of the drummer just flopping while he's playing [laughter] .
ROSE: There's something about those noses that really does sell it. I don't know what it is, but it's - yes, the noses are compelling.
COLLIN: You tend to judge people by their nose.
ROSE: I want to ask you about the instruments that they play, in particular that double-necked guitar that has both a guitar and a bass. And both of those necks have more than the regular number of frets so that they can play what are called microtones. Let's listen to an example of how that sounds on the song "Sherpa."
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE SONG, "SHERPA")
ROSE: How did the band come up with that, and why?
COLLIN: (Laughter) What I think happened is that those two musician were playing together for so long, just two of them playing together. And they just want to push their music to have more complexity and more space to make new things.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE SONG, "SHERPA")
COLLIN: Having the bass guitar and the double neck give more loudness to a two-piece band and the microtonal gives so much opportunity. Just imagine having double the notes that you can make. So I think it's a way to make something more innovative, more creative.
ROSE: What's an example of when that really works? Like, is there one particular song that shows how that sounds?
COLLIN: I think that the song "Sarniezz" is the best example. The first riff - I don't know if I'm going to sing it well but (vocalizing).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SARNIEZZ")
ANGINE DE POITRINE: (Singing) Yo.
COLLIN: It's the perfect example. It's like (laughter) if those musician want to learn microtonal to a new planet, I think I would do, like, a chromatic approach like that (laughter) so people can just hear so well the notes that you shouldn't hear when it's not microtonal. It's like the chapter one of how to learn microtonal having a chromatic approach - (vocalizing).
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE SONG, "SARNIEZZ")
ROSE: You know, they play with incredible precision together, like, the kind of chemistry that takes a long time to develop. How long have they been playing together?
COLLIN: Those two musicians play together since they are teenager.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE'S "ABABA HOTEL")
COLLIN: All their life, they were always jamming together - at the beginning in the basement of one of the (laughter) mother. Yes. So that vibe is just a lifetime friendship and musician friendship.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE'S "ABABA HOTEL")
ROSE: Have you known them since before they were Angine de Poitrine?
COLLIN: Yes. I know them before they were active musician in the scene, and I know very well the scene in the Quebec province.
ROSE: Are you one of them?
COLLIN: No (laughter). I'm not one of them (laughter).
ROSE: You're sure?
COLLIN: Yeah. I'm pretty sure (laughter). You can see there's some picture of me with the two musicians. I can't be them.
ROSE: Well, there are two people in those costumes. I don't know who they are.
COLLIN: (Laughter).
ROSE: Why do you think that they have become such a viral phenomenon not just in the U.S. but around the world? Like, what is it about this that has made them such a phenomenon?
COLLIN: People are proud of that happening. I think that people want something weird becoming popular. They think that the weird music deserve it (laughter), and they have been chosen for this.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE SONG, "MATA ZYKLEK")
ROSE: I mean, I love that an instrumental math rock duo in paper-mache costumes went viral. And I guess I'm rooting for it, too, but I just didn't know there were that many other people who felt that way (laughter), I guess, is what's a little surprising.
COLLIN: Yeah (laughter). Yeah. It's crazy to have so many people talking of the band and coming to the shows. And, like, it's like a big community of people that we don't know but are with them (laughter).
ROSE: We've been talking to Sebastien Collin. He is the manager of Angine de Poitrine. Thank you very much for your time, Sebastien.
COLLIN: Yeah. It was a pleasure. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANGINE DE POITRINE SONG, "MATA ZYKLEK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
