FRENCH GUITARISTIC
Feb 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By Simona Rabinovitch
At first association, house music and guitars might not seem like the most natural pairing. Neither do music and psychology. But for French dub-house collective « Rinôçérôse », both combinations go together like espresso and croissants. Named after a misspelled painting by a psychiatric inmate, « Rinôçérôse » gave themselves an unusual challenge for their sophomore album: to create house music using only guitars.
The result of their resolve is Installation Sonore (V2, 1999), a sophisticated collection of melodic grooves, discofied funk and truly impressive guitar and bass riffs that somehow capture the hypnotic flavor of dance music without losing the excitement of live performance.
“The original idea was to make house music with live bass and guitar without computers, without samplers,” says Patrice Carrié. “We got the idea from our influences: psychedelic dub, electronic rock and French pop.” Carrié (aka Patou), together with longtime boyfriend Jean-Philippe Freu, form the creative nucleus of the band. Reflecting their quirky intelligence, Patou and Freu are also psychologists; Freu is a college professor, and Patou writes educational CD-ROMs. Yet few people in their sleepy hometown of Montpelier, France, know about the couple's secret rock-star life.
“We try to keep things separate,” says Patou. “Music is our secret garden. I never speak of it.” Freu adds, “We are known more internationally than nationally, so I just don't tell them.” This ironic humor is also evident in the album's song titles, which include witty wordplay such as “No, We Are Not Experienced,” “Dead Can Dance” and “Highway to Heaven,” to name a few.
Most of the United States was introduced to « Rinôçérôse » when their hit “La Guitaristic House Organisation” appeared last year in a Volkswagen commercial. Despite their cool French-chic mystique, « Rinôçérôse » are neither the next Air nor the next Daft Punk. Unlike their youthful electronic counterparts (to whom they give major props), both Freu and Patou are actually experienced rock musicians who paid their dues for years in Europe's live circuit as part of indie-rock outfit Les Maracas before they founded « Rinôçérôse ». Patou is a trained bassist; Freu is a guitarist.
Relying on programmer Johnny Palumbo to mix and warm up all the analog sounds, the band recorded Installation Sonore in Le Magasin studio, a MIDI-equipped facility known across Europe for its vast selection of guitars. “Fabuleux,” raves Patou, explaining that the duo's song-writing process usually starts with a guitar riff generally inspired by new wave or heavy metal. “We pick a tempo, add the bass. We are always discovering things. There are lots of ways to use a guitar — like the E-bow, which makes it vibrate — ways to make the mic talk like Peter Frampton.”
Onstage, it's ‘live electronic,’” says Freu, who explains that no computers are used in the collective's show. Instead, bassist Patou, three guitarists (including Freu), flautist Franck Gauthier and live percussionist Fred Pace (who gets crazy on the bongos) dominate the stage. A synth player tinkers with a Minimoog, a Roland Juno 107 and a Fender Rhodes while a DJ “sur-la-scène” projects images that go with the music. Palumbo is stationed at the mixing desk.
All that's missing to make the picture complete is the mysterious psychiatric patient — but mystery is what makes « Rinôçérôse » so compelling.
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