Stumbling across the musical duo Angine de Poitrine for the first time most likely raises a few questions: Why are these guys and their instruments completely covered with polka dots? Why are they on my For You page? Why are they wearing masks with proboscis-like noses? Why does their music sound like that? And why do I kind of like it?
Angine de Poitrine is an experimental microtonal math-rock duo formed by two anonymous musicians in Saguenay, Quebec, in 2019. The guitarist and drummer perform under the pseudonyms Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine, respectively. The two have claimed to be 333-year-old time-travelling aliens, speak an invented language that must be “translated” for interviews, and describe their musical style as “Mantra-rock dada pythago-cubist orchestra.”
Angine de Poitrine’s music features microtonal instrumentation and complex use of time signatures, with vocals used sparsely. Microtonal music uses musical intervals that are smaller than one semitone, the smallest interval in the Western chromatic scale. In other words, microtonal music uses the notes that lie between the notes traditionally used in Western music. Microtones may sound dissonant or unpleasant to someone who is used to the twelve-tone equal temperament tuning system of the West.
Khn plays a custom double-necked instrument that combines a guitar and a bass. Extra frets have been added to both the guitar and bass necks to achieve microtonality. Essentially, by dividing the space between the existing frets into smaller segments, you can play the “notes between the notes.”
Khn and Klek have been collaborating musically since they were 13-years-old, but Angine de Poitrine came to be when the duo was booked for the same venue in Saguenay two times in one week. In an effort to keep an audience for the second show, they decided to perform anonymously. They built the papier-mâché masks and polka-dotted costumes that they are now famous for as an elaborate joke for themselves. The duo continued to play anonymously in costume under the name Angine de Poitrine following that night.
In June 2024, Angine de Poitrine released its debut album, “Vol. 1.” Shortly after, the duo began to gain traction in the Quebec festival circuit. By December 2025, Angine de Poitrine had been named “Artist of the Year” at the GAMIQ awards, an awards ceremony celebrating independent music in Quebec.
In February, Seattle-based radio station KEXP released footage of the duo performing at the Trans Musicales festival in France. This footage took the internet by storm, with the YouTube upload from KEXP currently sitting at thirteen million views. Angine de Poitrine went from a moderate local success to a global sensation overnight.
Riding this surge in popularity, Angine de Poitrine released its second album, “Vol. II” on April 3.
“Fabienk” opens the album with what feels like a mix of electronic dance music and Primus. The bass and drums create a strong groove while layers of guitars and synthesizers are added and taken away to create an ever-changing psychedelic texture. This is a great start for the album, as it introduces the eccentricity of the duo without being so odd or abrasive as to put off first-time listeners.
The next track on the album, “Mata Zyklek,” however, is much more frantic and has a different feel. It almost seems to be influenced by surf rock, sounding like a more microtonal and panic-inducing version of Dick Dale. There is a focus on moments of buildup and climax throughout this song, with multiple sections slowing down only to start speeding back up again.
Next up, “Sarniezz” is the song that was featured most frequently in the viral clips of Angine de Poitrine that brought the group to fame. The song is one long development on a single riff and also one long buildup to a final crescendo. The song feels more frantic around the halfway point, the result of some interesting use of time signatures.
The main riff of the song is 24 beats long, which the drummer first divides into four groups of six beats, or a 6/8 time signature. When the song becomes more frantic, it is because the drummer switches to dividing the 24-beat riff into six groups of four beats, or a 4/4 time signature. This kind of creative use of time signatures can be found throughout the album.
“Utzp” begins with an almost polka-like rhythm that becomes increasingly intense until the song cuts to silence. When the instruments come back in, the intensity has been cranked up significantly. This section of the song incorporates some metal influence, even featuring a brief virtuosic guitar solo with tapping that sounds vaguely reminiscent of One by Metallica.
Possibly the most out-there song on the album, “Yor Zarad”, makes use of influence from a slew of genres, including rock and roll, metal, pop punk, noise rock and funk. The use of noise through feedback and droning dissonance is especially interesting, as this is the only song on the album that uses these kinds of sounds.
Finally, “Angor” closes out the album with what feels like the soundtrack to an intense battle march. The drums modulate throughout the song, creating the effect of increasing and decreasing intensity. On top of a steady bassline, the guitar plays leads that feel Middle Eastern, Western and Celtic at various points. This variety in the lead carries the song forward until it concludes with a fade into feedback.
Overall, “Vol. II” feels like just the beginning for Angine de Poitrine. It is clear the duo is quite adept at songwriting and pulls from a wide range of influences for their work. To me, it seems that the possibilities for what these two could do are nearly infinite, given their musical knowledge and abilities. How Angine de Poitrine will handle this surge in popularity in the long term remains to be seen, but the sky is the limit.
Currently, Angine de Poitrine is on a European tour encompassing the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The duo has yet to play in the United States, but is scheduled to play in New York on September 9 and 10, Washington D.C. on September 15 and Philadelphia on September 16.
Owen Messer can be reached at [email protected].
