A conversation with Coeur...
This evening we have an interview brought to you by Scottish twosome, Coeur. After cementing themselves a place in the Scottish music scene, they're setting their sights further afield and introducing their 80s inspired, electronic focused music to the masses.
Straight away I picked upon the fact you are a two piece - does that come with any difficulty?
It is actually easier than having more in a band. When there is a number of people, you have several opinions, a lot of walls. When it’s just us two, and especially given we get on really well, it provides a much more productive atmosphere.
Royal Blood are doing really well with that set up at the moment - are you a fan of them?
They are definitely a good act; loud, driving rhythms, catchy tunes. I think the duo act for a band can be particularly effective live as people probably still see it as unusual.
Let’s expand on the name ‘Coeur’. Does it represent you in some way or have a particular meaning?
Coeur is French for heart. Danny had the idea of using the French translation as he likes all things European... and voila! We become Coeur.
You’re a Scottish act so have you only gigged in Scotland or have you branched out further?
As Coeur we have so far only ever gigged in Scotland. Hopefully with our album coming out later in the Spring this year, and with the 2015 festival season, we can get down to England as well. Scott does have happy memories of one or two previous shows down south though!
Picking up on that, would you say shows differ between Scotland and England? Especially with the fans and the venues…
Danny has been a roadie before touring with bands in England (Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle). These places are all renowned for their music scene so the crowds have always been really responsive. Here in Scotland it really can depend on the venue as much as anything. We have been lucky to play to decent crowds at famous Glasgow venues such as King Tuts Wah Wah Hut which always provides for a good night!
Looking at audiences, where are you more interested in being heard? There are so many platforms like Soundcloud, Reverb Nation etc…
Personally we would like to be heard most on YouTube as we really take the time in making videos to complement our songs. The likes of the video for Social Contract completely changes its feeling when it’s watched with the video rather than just on its own. The videos give us the chance to extend our artistic ideas from a sound to a much more thought provoking canvas. We are heavily influenced by the British Synth movement of the early 1980s, which was a time which created iconic music videos (Vienna, Girls on Film, Glittering Prize) so our sound and style tend to follow that.
When did Coeur form? You seem like a fairly new band…
We were both previously in guitar based bands over the last decade, into our school days. Before joining together, we both hadn't played in a band for around two years. We decided around April 2014 that we should start something just out of necessity because there comes a time when you start itching to get back into writing and the whole band scene. We decided though that we were so exhausted with the whole guitar, bass, drums format, we looked for something new, not only for something fresh for us, but something challenging that would throw us out our comfort zone.
So is this why you decided on the electronic genre?
Danny had always wanted to make electro music and was a big fan of it. His dad loved Ultravox and Spandau Ballet and really got caught up with that whole New Romantic scene so it’s a very nostalgic sentiment for him. Bands like Depeche Mode, Killing Joke, Cult, Duran Duran.... all excellent bands live and recorded, a mixture of bright pop and darker, edgy synth music and goth rock, these were the real draw for Scott.
It seems like those bands made a real impression on your style…
Danny's idea was to take this music that we listen to and try and put down our take on it, something a little different for the more modern electro scene happening at the moment, so between April-June 2014, we got the software, the equipment and started trying to make head and tail of how to record with it. The initial idea was just to play synths but we realized that we could trigger synths to play as backing tracks which gave me the freedom to layer with guitar, or give me more freedom to perform without having to stand behind keyboards. That helps us give a better visual dynamic as well on stage.
Finally, when can we expect more material from you?
We’re releasing our second EP online at the end of January and following it up by releasing our debut album in March. Hopefully we’ll have a tour with support then too!
Facebook: Coeur
Twitter: Coeur Official
YouTube: Coeur Official
Reverb Nation: Coeur5
