The Courettes are a husband and wife duo composed of drums and guitar. Flavia Couri plays guitar and sings lead while Martin Couri plays drums and also sings. They are based in Denmark where Martin is from. Flavia is from Brazil. Their garage rock sound of the 60’s, sprinkled with 70’s punk is colossal and very much impressive for only two people to pull off. They tour endlessly, record singles in multiple languages, and are noteworthy. 

The Courettes

How is the tour going for you?

Flavia: Absolutely amazing, it was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had as a band. It looks like another world in Japan and the Japanese fans are very supportive. They bring you gifts to the show and they line up for autographs. We felt like superstars in Japan. We played with fantastic Japanese bands and we ate fantastic Japanese food it was an absolutely amazing experience

 

You just released a record in French, tell me about it?

Flavia: We had a Japanese version too, a 7 inch. It was sold out at concert number 3 in Japan. I love Rolling Stones songs in French from the 60’s. 

 

How many languages do you speak?

Flavia: I speak five languages but I don’t speak Japanese. We had to get a translator for the lyrics and I rehearsed the sound.

 

Do you plan to come to America?

Flavia: We’ve never been to the US but we would like to. We’ve been all over Europe and Japan. It has to make sense first.

 

How did 2020 treat you?

Flavia: We had a good year in 2019. We were booking a lot of festivals and we decided to build our own studio. We bought vintage gear, ’60s mixers.  We even built our own Echo chamber. We made the perfect studio then all the shows are canceling one by one. It was tough times but we managed to write Back in Mono. It’s our best record so far and we were very active. We were lucky because we did a lot of last shows before lockdown. 

 

How has this year been?

Flavia: 2022 has been our best year so far this year. We’ve had 142 concerts. We are at 110 now. 

 

How do you get your rest?

Flavia: We don’t rest! We’ll rest in January when we have a break.

 

Martin, do you play with a big high hat or two cymbals?

Martin: Actually both I have a 20 inch ride cymbal as a top of my high hat. The bottom is 18 inch. It’s a hi-hat crash symbol combination, it’s loud

It gives a lot of sound and we’re only two on stage. It’s not something everyone does. 

 

Did you come up with it or did you see it somewhere?

Martin: I came up with it by chance because I was playing with another band and my high hat top broke, so I switched to a 20 inch crash and it just sounded amazing. I’ve been doing this ever since.

 

Where do you get your dresses and do you make them?

Flavia: I absolutely love black and white. I’m a big fan of second hand shops. Sometimes I find boots that fit a dress. All my clothes are black and white and they fit together. I made some. I found some new things in London. When we arrive in another country we go to record shops and second hand shops if we have time. 

 

What band inspired you to play music?

Flavia: It started with the Beatles, I know it’s quite boring because everyone loves them but for me it was such an eye opener. Roy Orbison, Rockabilly, The Stones, The Sonics but it also came with the culture. In many ways Western culture, beatnik literature, black and white films. They just opened all the countercultures and subcultures for me but it all started with The Beatles. I was also a teenager in the 90s so riot grrl and grunge bands.