Euterke: In Loving Memory

We explore the legacy of music and visuals left by French-Canadian artist, Euterke.

Feature by Liam Arnold | 20 Sep 2008

On 28 June, the Montreal community was rocked by the sudden death of Francois Dumouchel, known by the wider music community as Euterke. In the early hours of the morning, while waiting at a red light on his scooter, he was tragically hit by a local businessman in a speeding SUV, which continued driving, dragging his scooter 1km: the driver was later picked up in a bar where he was found drinking. Euterke was pronounced dead on arrival, and the driver is facing a relatively minimal jail sentence, despite horrific details revealed by shocked eyewitnesses of the hit and run.

Euterke became another accident statistic, and press covering the sad event made little reference to the man known around the world for his contribution to music. Outpourings of affection soon appeared across internet communities, relaying their love and sorrow for a man that most had never met. He was well known, and still is, for his visual work, experimenting with abstracts and working closely with Epsilonlab, an audio-visual label dedicated to electronic music and digital art, and minimal and dub flavoured ambient tracks.

His close friend and fellow electronic artist, Pheek, took the time to talk to The Skinny about Francois' passing. Pheek first met Francois in 1998 at a mutual friend's house: "At the time, I would do random live PAs in people's living rooms to practice and get their feedback on what I was doing, and [Francois] had been invited to hear me. We shared the same passion and we discussed gear, music and other things. It was fun to hear this guy who had a lot of class, who was very friendly and kind, discuss music and production. We were both more interested in live music than studio because at the time the gear was expensive, and it felt more exciting to see people's reaction instead of producing tunes.

"We remained in touch, swapping ideas, tips and help. We played in various events, most of the time on our own, but once we did a show together, which we remembered with laughter. In his last years, François had way more gear than me and although he was collecting loads, I was really encouraging him to make songs out of them and not just explore collections. He was more into VJing, which took a lot of his time too. I remember that the switch to visuals came when I was part of Epsilonlab (2000-2005) and asked him to make the images for one of my sets. I think that event showed him a lot of new possibilities, which he took in hand with all potential possibilities."

How has his tragic and sudden passing affected you, and how do you think it will affect the wider scene touched by his art?

"A rollercoaster of emotions. Even now, it is hard for me to realise he's not there any more. I had to go to his funeral and touch him to really realise it. I'm left with anger towards the guy who did that. I was going to write about the guy but I don't think its necessary because I'd only have bitterness to share...

"Euterke was certainly one of the busiest VJs in Montreal, so his passing has definitely left a hole in the community. François was really generous with his time and could play up to 10-12 hours at events. If every day we hear about new DJs, we don't see that too often with visual artists, so the ones who remain will have more of a job on their hands for sure! He was also the only guy in Montreal to do DJ/VJ at the same time. Not sure when we'll see this again."

What does his work mean to you?

"I felt the best for François was about to happen; he had been exploring technology for years while having a demanding full time job, so he couldn't really dive deeply into his art. But somehow, I felt he was about to bloom. It takes time for someone to find his identity in his art and I think with his first tour in France, he could have been tempted to stop working and dedicate himself to his art. I felt his work was fun, sometimes surprising and very playful too. He had a very keen and amusing sense of humor that I could relate to, in his art. That was perhaps what touched me the most, that he could translate his state of mind."

How would you like to see him remembered?

"I felt he really wanted to be understood, to be recognized for his work. Unfortunately, I think all this is happening under the dramatic circumstances, in the proper way though... Just get to his art, it will speak to you in the right way."

His art forged links with the UK through the Kompakt sub-label, Avionix Records in Edinburgh, on the Dub Before Dishonour (Isodyne and Euterke) and Dub From Above (Isodyne, Euterke and Dead Soul Systems) releases. One of the label's personal favourite cuts is his Fragments Oniriques track from Dub Before Dishonour, showcasing aquatic soundscapes and sophisticated, minimal dub percussives. Patrick Walker, label owner of Avionix Records, first encountered Francois on the internet through music related channels. Patrick explains: "He posted some music online and I was instantly spellbound, I saw great potential in his work, as did others. I'd already heard some of his music inadvertently through one of Archipel's [Pheek's minimal techno label] sample packs. I ended up effectively remixing a lot of material which had been provided by Francois. This was before I had heard any of his actual music - only the raw elements.

"I contacted him directly when he posted his work to get some feedback and Francois responded positively; we talked about where we were coming from musically and what we wanted to do release-wise. Our label had recently approached Kompakt and we'd negotiated a deal to publish MP3 releases via their digital site, and we put together a collection of dub influenced, electronic music as our first digital collection, featuring some of Francois's work he had originally shared, a track called: Fragments Oniriques.

To this day it remains one of my favorite tracks, along with a later track, Alise, which features on our second published release. To me these tracks were very inspirational though he modestly told me it was no big deal, he was just out to 'leave a calling card'."

What did you learn about him? "He had a lot of creative energy and produced quality work in whatever media he took on. But with his music, I loved the way he could liven up what is often quite a serious sound and make it all seem fluid and interesting. We never met in person, and spoke only via the internet, but I was hoping eventually his music or VJing might bring him over to Europe. Nonetheless I certainly got a decent glimpse of his character, I think that quite a few people all over the world did. He was known on quite a few message boards. His online mixes, which highlight his appreciation for colourful music, have been enjoyed internationally, as have his audio and visual composition works. I've certainly seen a few sides to his character; cheerful, friendly, intelligent and laidback are among a few; I warmed to him despite only knowing him electronically, quite fitting for a bunch of electronic producers really! Overall I think that he reached a lot of people in a very positive way, and I hope that can offer some comfort to everyone who shared his life, especially his close family and friends. His music certainly will be remembered, as will his amicable and lively nature."

Francois' legacy will continue, and Patrick Walker has recently been in talks with Canadian artists about the best way to remember him. The outcome is shaping up to be a vinyl package of his work, with tribute remakes from other artists, as well as a digital version. Walker describes the tribute as being "for those who knew or worked with him, as a salute to him musically. I think it's fitting - at the time when his music was first released with us, the standard question was always, 'when can we have this on vinyl?'. I'm sure that Francois would love to have one of his 'calling cards' released on a 12". I'll certainly be playing it for years to come, and I hope his work acts as a seed, in a positive way, for anyone who hears it. In that way I hope the 'light frequency of music' is everlasting."

http://www.euterke.com