Rouge Tonic was an electro-pop duo made of Paul Zakarivan (guitar, lyrics, vocals) and myself (drum machines, turntables, synths, back vocals, samples). The project was born in July 2015 and ended in September 2018.
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Rouge Tonic was the result of Paul and I’s mutual love of lush synth sounds, groovy basslines and hard-hitting drum beats. Rouge Tonic’s sound could be described as nostalgic ode to trip-hop, 90’s hip-hop and British rock. It was very much influenced by bands such as Massive Attack, Portishead, Gorillaz, The Cure, Oasis and Depeche Mode.
A self-titled EP, containing five tracks, was released on March 11th 2016 at Studios de Rouen‘s Studio #110. It featured Olivier Beauchemin on flutes, Barbara Finck-Beccafico on back vocals, Jeff Moseley on guitar and was mixed by Nick Schofield.
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During the course of the band’s existence, various live musicians have joined us on stage: Olivier Beauchemin (flute), Jeff Moseley (guitar), Sophie Quirion (back vocals), Catherine Laurin (back vocals), Louis Lafontaine (guitar) and Andrea Mercier (saxophone).
Notable achievements include opening for Aliocha, creating Eldorado: les échos de la ville, a multimedia performance and happening, playing on the opening night of La Factrie, Café culturel in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and creating our very own concert series, Les Saturnales, at Montreal’s M Bar.