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 Risquee 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.

After forging friendships with the Oslo Records and Raum Musik crews, Guillaume made a logical pilgrimage to Berlin in 2007. There has always been an undeniable leaning towards the soulful and the spiritual in Guillaume’s work, and even a move to one of the techno centres of the world could not shake him from a musical path that favours the organic, fundamental roots of dance music.

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.

Beyond his achievements in modern beats, Guillaume has a rich and varied history of music experience, from percussion for a funk band to studies in Latin and classical percussion, a university course in electro-acoustic composition to years spent working in a Montreal studio, not to mention [iks], a contemporary jazz formation which produced two albums and a tour around Senegal.

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.