Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts LiVE with Kevin Yost

Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts is known for weaving an entrancing LiVE set of organic sounds, outside the usual 90 minute fare. Kevin Yost has played all of the globe, most notably as a resident at Circoloco Ibiza. Flash resident Edo gets it popping early. Veteran jock Philip Goyette invites Foot Therapy's Ben Jenkins to curate Flash Bar.

Forever with his thumb cocked looking for the next creative thrill ride as the sun goes down, Guillaume Coutu-Dumont’s music lends itself to the indigo hue of dusk, imbued with the sultry allure of jazz, the unquestioned groove of house, and the propulsion of techno.

As a solo producer, Guillaume was already causing atmospheric disturbances ahead of his debut album “Face À L’Est”, which appeared on Musique Risquée in 2007. Before the inception of his one-man band, Guillaume was moving and shaking with other protagonists via the Egg project with Julien Roy, Chic Miniature with Ernesto Ferreyra and Luci with David Fafard. All these projects share their history with the lauded Mutek festival, which Guillaume has been closely involved with since 2002.

As well as his German brethren, Guillaume has a strong tie to the melting pot of the French underground house scene, having released music for Karat and eventually striking up a close working relationship with Circus Company. Fellow mainstay of the Parisian label Dave Aju can be found contributing to Guillaume’s latest venture, Guillaume Coutu Dumont & The Side Effects.

Taking the shape of a band proper, Aju has been coaxed into developing his considerable vocal talents, backed up by Nicolas Boucher on keys, Sébastien Arcand Tourigny on sax and Alexis Messier on guitar. With shows already performed in Montreal, Mexico, Switzerland, Barcelona, Poland, Zürich and Berlin, the band are loosening the programmed boundaries of Guillaume’s productions and opening it up to the improvisational potential of the live dynamic.

Following the whirlwind of energy that has whipped up around Guillaume since those formative years, it feels impossible to predict where his turbulent creativity will fling him next. While many artists prefer to adopt a streamlined trajectory through their musical journey, Guillaume’s way is that of the carnival; wild and unrestrained but full of a positive, soulful exuberance. Along the way other characters get drawn into the party, sometimes shaping the direction it will take, but it is Guillaume’s unfaltering vision for what he wants to create that propels the parade.

There is no one genre or style to classify the many achievements of Kevin Yost. Ever since picking up drumsticks at the age of four, Kevin has been obsessed with creating and performing music. DJ, producer, film composer, drummer...he has consistently thrived and evolved by indulging his passion. In the mid 80s, at the age of eleven, Kevin discovered his life's mistresses: DJing and house music. He spent the next few years fostering his deep jazzy house style, and in 1998 he broke through with his first album, One Starry Night, which has the distinct honor of being considered a deep house classic. With close to 100 single releases, 8 albums and many mix cd's over the years since, Kevin has earned his reputation as an artist who has no desire to stop creating music and pushing forward. Long before electronic music became popular and the word DJ became a household term, Kevin’s focus has been on the integrity of his music and spinning a rhythmic story during his performances. To say the music speaks through Kevin Yost is a veritable truth. His outputs of unreleased tracks are close to 1500. In a month’s time, he has been known to produce up to 30 tracks. For Kevin, DJing is a very personal thing he shares with the people that come hear him play and he is well known for playing an all-original music set. This makes his show unique and allows his fans to experience the deeper nuances of his music, which may never be released. Along with his personal approach to DJing, Kevin has put together a new live show called "Live & Improvised.” Kevin describes this as his "studio on the stage", and, as the name suggests, all of the music is created on the spot. Each gig is completely different, as he tailors his music live to take the crowd on a journey. For Kevin, the show is very special because it allows the audience to experience the music at the moment of its creation. The audience is invited into the private world of Kevin Yost, and given an experience that he has spent his life captivated with, that sacred moment when inspiration manifests into a tangible reality and music is breathed to life. As personal and creative Kevin’s DJ sets can be, his "Live & Improvised" shows are spellbinding to watch as the audible vision flows from him into music and then into the hearts of the crowd.