CARRÉ , Trio Band Based Out of Los Angeles, CA and France

Hello, Thank you for Visiting AO Network. Please tell our audience who you are and what you do in the music industry?

We are CARRÉ, a French Touch-Industrial power trio based out of Los Angeles, CA and Paris, France. Formed in 2019, the band started releasing music over the pandemic when the world was on standby.

What type of genre does CARRÉ produce and where do you get the inspiration behind the music?

We are between a few different styles. The beginning goal of that project was to create a concept “beyond” the music.
The influences come from each member, going from electronic French Touch to industrial music through psychedelic rock and cinematic ambiance music. We tend to draw inspiration from art as well. Surrealism is a big part of the backbone of the band since day 1 (whether it is through literature with André Breton or paintings with Dali, which both of them are sampled in our songs that were already released in the last couple of years).

Love watching you guys perform live, please tell us about the stage set-ups and what was the creative direction behind the stage presentation?

The live aspect can be a little challenging at times as we’re trying to stay as close as possible to our recording and production, and being only a 3 piece with 2 drums, it requires a bit of thought process to organize it all for a live performance. Each member is dedicated to a few tasks: Julien is in charge of the drums, the percussion world and backing vocal; Jules drums, synth and also vocals; Keveen guitar, sound effects and lead vocal. We want to create an experience with lights (background visuals and other forms) and the cubic shapes motif (“CARRÉ” which means square in French) of the band.

How did you band members get together and form CARRÉ? Tell us a few backstories about the beginning stages of band formation.

Jules and myself (Keveen) started to have an idea to debut a band after we saw a performance in Los Angeles from a French band called FAIRE who was mixing electronic DJ with live drums and punk energy. We brainstormed for a while and landed with our third partner Julien. The concept of a double drum set paired with electronic elements (arpeggiated synths) in a moody cinematic world, which would carry rock and punk energy live. Jules and I began to lay down some ideas, with samples and loops to give us a bunch of different paths and options to create our signature. Then we all got together for a few days at Jules studio in Highland Park (Los Angeles) to produce the first few tracks over the scratch ideas we had recorded. We shot a trailer without having any solid concept yet, and everything came together pretty naturally on the spot. It has been the light motif of the band. Everything happens for a reason and comes in time needed.

What’s the plan on reaching a bigger audience with your music? How do you plan to make that happen?

I think the path that makes the most sense for CARRÉ is the sync and licensing world. As much as we want to keep playing shows, we want to make an impact by conceiving live performances in a non traditional way. If we can place some songs, some sounds in a movie, a documentary, a commercial or even a trailer, it would give us the clout to keep going, production, recording and releasing more music then take it live and push further and further the show aspect.

Do you guys have anything special coming up like any International or National tours? If not, is that something you all have been thinking about?

For now, we are focused on releasing the last few songs we haven’t released yet and a second EP next year; probably going to a studio as well to track some more ideas and play locally (around Los Angeles or even Paris, as Julien lives there) for the most part, at least for  now.

Any new music or events coming up?

Next release we have is a single called INSTINCTIVE EXIT (a song we have been playing live already) with a music video that we are making at the moment. The song will be out before the end of the year hopefully, or early 2024.

How can your fans or new supporters find and listen to your music?

They can find us on every platform. Spotify, Youtube, Apple Music, Bandcamp to support us directly amongst others. Just type CARRÉ (with the accent, sometimes it gets hard to find because of it, you can also

type our first single “This is not a band”).

Any special shout-outs?

I want to give a shout-out to all our friends and community in Los Angeles and Paris who have been a huge inspiration for us. When you find a solid group of people making beautiful art, everyone tends to influence each other and keep the train going, pushing ourselves more and more. It has been an amazing journey and definitely a very inspiring one. Bands like Low Hum, Dream Phases, James Supercave, Ratatat and many more keep us moving forward and creating what resonates to us and hopefully what will to other people.

Watch the video below.