MUSICAL WORK

Reconciling death metal with trip-hop and baroque music: an impossible mission? The answer is yes, at least for most people, but Gautier Serre (the mastermind of Igorrr) is no ordinary musician. Based in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand, he is a producer, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist music lover and a free spirit who dares to do what others don’t.

 

In the early 2000’s, his first self-released demos unveiled a promising style: mixing acoustic instruments with drum programming. This was only the beginning of a long list of releases, as Igorrr or Whourkr (his electro-grindcore side project). The latest addition to this impressive career is Savage Sinusoid, Igorrr’s new sample-free album.

Many guests have been invited to Igorrr’s magnificent and apocalyptic party: drummer Sylvain Bouvier, vocalist Laurent Lunoir and baroque singer Laure Le Prunenec, Travis Ryan (singer in the US band Cattle Decapitation), Teloch (guitarist for Norwegian band Mayhem) and accordionists Adam Stacey (from Secret Chiefs 3) and Pierre Mussi. Gathering different backgrounds and nationalities is not an obstacle here. On the contrary, everyone brings their own personality, their own instrument (the usual gear for metal music, but also a sitar, a harpsichord, a mandolin…) and this very special blend is awe-inspiring. The reason why Igorrr has a triple final consonant is not disclosed, but it could possibly mean ravishing, roaring rebellion.

 

To realize Savage Sinusoid as a completely sample-free record, Serre reunited with vocalists Laurent Lunoir and Laure Le Prunenec, along with drummer Sylvain Bouvier, and collaborated with more musicians than on any of his previous releases – one of those guests being Cattle Decapitation‘s Travis Ryan. “Viande” also sees Teloch (Mayhem) contribute some guitar/bass work, while “Houmous” features accordionists Pierre Mussi and Adam Stacey (the latter of whom is in Secret Chiefs 3 – a project by Mr. Bungle‘s Trey Spruance). While Savage Sinusoid draws from a plethora of genres, Serre has no intention of baffling or alienating potential listeners. As he explains:“I just want to make the music I love, without asking myself if it’s gonna be too complex or too far from what people like. I want to make the music which has sense to me, with no restrictions, like a big party with metalheads, electronics nerds, classical and baroque-heads and gypsy violinists getting drunk and joining together to bring the best of every genre.”