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.
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.
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.