“It absolutely blew my mind”: Why Dave Grohl is obsessed with viral Canadian microtonal duo Angine de Poitrine

The Canadian math-rock wizards Angine de Poitrine have gone viral over the past couple of weeks – thanks to their unique brand of angular and microtonal rock, wrapped up in a mysterious facade of papier-mâché masks and polka-dotted costumes – that captivated viewers who tuned in to their already-iconic KEXP session.

Among their many new fans is Dave Grohl, who, in a recent interview with Logan Kelly on Logan Sounds Off, raves, “I just have to try to say this correctly because it was sent to me yesterday by a friend, and it absolutely blew my fucking mind.

“It’s called Angine de Poitrine… And I don’t know how to explain it other than you just have to watch these people. And it’s all instrumental.”

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Grohl goes on to gush over the duo’s setup. “That person has a double neck that’s a bass guitar on the bottom and a guitar on the top,” he notes. “And you’ll see the bank of pedals that they’re stepping on. And they’re looping every one of these riffs. It’s so completely insane.”

Like so many others, the sheer novelty of the project – from its oddball outfits and expansive gear setup, to its unorthodox approach to microtonal music – has captivated Grohl.

Speaking to Noize recently, drummer Klek de Poitrine – a stage name, of course – gave more insight into the Frankensteinian creature that captivated millions.

“I built the first microtonal guitar we used myself,” he said. “I added more frets on a guitar with a saw. The moment we started playing it, we just laughed. But since I’m not a guitarist, I wasn’t using the instrument’s full potential.

“I brought it to Khn [the guitarist/bassist], and I told him, ‘You have to try this, it makes absolutely no sense.’ The moment we started playing with it, we just laughed because of the friction created and the proximity of the notes.”

Angine de Poitrine have just released their new album, Vol. II, and announced a series of upcoming North American live dates, including debut performances in a number of US cities.

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology and how it is shaping the future of the music industry, and has a special interest in shining a spotlight on traditionally underrepresented artists and global guitar sounds. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Auf der Maur, Yvette Young, Danielle Haim, Fanny, and Karan Katiyar from Bloodywood, among others. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her Anglo-Maltese, art-rock band ĠENN.