Foule interview: ‘Electronic and organic, dark but playful, delicate yet violent, raw yet poetic’

As a music critic, you naturally come across new bands from time to time that you immediately feel have more potential. I experienced that feeling quite quickly when I discovered the album “Porcelaine” by the French duo Foule. Zoé Boutin (vocals and lyrics) and Olly (guitar and machinery) founded their musical alter ego Foule in 2023 and subsequently started releasing singles. These singles have now been compiled into the self-released “Porcelaine”. In my opinion, it is a brilliant album that could be placed somewhere in the Post-Punk and Dark-Wave categories, yet it immediately sounds different from the average production out there. That touch of originality and the clear openness to other influences inspire the duo’s compositions. Besides the somewhat atypical, original music, there is also the poetic approach to the lyrics, which are sung in a distinctive way. Additionally, the artwork contributes to the album’s unique identity. Foule is a duo with its own DNA, and “Porcelaine” in particular is a beautiful piece that should serve as the foundation for an even better follow-up. I am certainly curious to see where this group will end up, but I believe in a successful career. To introduce Foule, here is this interview with Zoé. (Picture credits by Céline Wilczek –  Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Foule interview 

Q: Can we start with a brief introduction of Foule? Who are you, where do you come from, and what is your musical background? Were there any previous projects or experiences that eventually led to the creation of Foule?

Zoé: Foule consists of two passionate musicians from Toulouse (France). We met through an ad while we were both looking for a new project. The artistic chemistry was there from our very first studio sessions. And Foule, this beautiful creature that nobody expected, was born.

Olly had several musical projects as a guitarist and bassist, mainly in Electronic music, Rock, Industrial-Metal and Trip-Hop. I also had other musical projects before, mostly within more conventional Rock genres, but I always stayed in a vocal comfort zone and never truly found my place.

When I met Olly, I immediately felt free to explore the edges of my voice: soaring highs, androgynous low tones, whispers and screams, but also deeper emotions and a more authentic poetic expression in French; and above all, an absolute form of art — musical, theatrical, plastic and poetic.

Q: You describe your music as ‘Dark Trap / Industrial Witch House’. Could you elaborate a bit more on what that means to you? And, by the way, what are Foule’s main musical roots and influences?

Zoé: It’s difficult to define our style because we never really tried to fit into one particular genre. On the contrary, we’ve always experimented with the edges and intersections of different musical worlds. But we can say that our music is built on tensions: electronic and organic, dark but playful, delicate yet violent, raw yet poetic.

Heavy, electric, hypnotic instrumentals pulse beneath the surface, trap rhythms collide with saturated, abrasive guitars and obsessive loops. Above them moves a melancholic voice, sometimes childlike and mischievous, sometimes floating and ethereal, sometimes wounded, and aching.

Our main influences include: The Prodigy, Crystal Castles, Zheani, t.A.T.u., Mylène Farmer, Die Antwoord, IC3Peak, Nine Inch Nails, Wargasm, Rammstein, Ho99o9.

Q: I asked the previous question because I didn’t immediately recognize the typical Dark-Wave or Post-Punk clichés in your approach to “Porcelaine.” Instead, I had the impression that Foule deliberately tries to distance itself from those clichés, not only musically but also through the lyrics and artwork. Am I understanding this correctly? What exactly is your artistic vision behind this approach? Could you elaborate on that?

Zoé: I don’t know if we consciously tried to distance ourselves from clichés, but we never really tried to fit into them either. We simply made an album that reflects who we are, drawing from whatever felt meaningful and necessary to us.

Looking back, we could say that the dark atmosphere translates isolation and introspection; trap rhythms bring a sassy, cold and addictive pulse; Industrial-Metal represents violence — the moment when porcelain breaks.

The lyrics are very personal. At first, they were a form of catharsis, a way to release all the raw emotions that needed to come out. The themes are autobiographical, but the writing is also shaped by my personality: both playful and serious, mixing Pop and intellectual references, with a lot of hidden meanings and layers.

The artwork is very personal as well. I drew an image of a house inspired by the cupboard-house we use on stage. It represents childhood playfulness, but also a house that becomes too small: Alice growing beyond it, a snake shedding its skin.

“Porcelaine” is both a throwback to the raw emotions of the inner child and a way of outgrowing them. It’s a process of fracture and healing.

Q: Over the past few years, you released several singles that eventually found their place on the debut album “Porcelaine.” Did you already know from the beginning that these songs would become part of a full album, or did that idea gradually develop over time? And while we are on the subject, could you tell us a bit more about the concept and vision behind “Porcelaine” and the songs gathered on it?

Zoé: At first, there was a period of experimentation and hesitation, but we quickly found our own universe: melancholy, childhood references, porcelain dolls, games and tales, madness, and extreme emotions. We let these inspirations guide us freely, and the process became incredibly fertile. Over the course of two years, we wrote a large number of songs.

At some point, it became obvious that they needed to be brought together into a single album, united by a central theme: human fragility — like porcelain dolls or paper houses, beautiful and vulnerable at the same time.

The stories told throughout the album are deeply autobiographical: childhood traumas, grief, jealousy, anger. Gradually, the narrative opens up and becomes more universal — exploring human vulnerability, inner demons, but also the strength and resilience that can emerge from them.

As the album took shape, we also defined its boundaries more clearly. At some point, the music grew darker and more minimalistic, while the writing became less vulnerable and more resilient. That’s when we decided to draw the line.

The track order is chronological. The first songs deal with inherited pain — the wounds we receive from our families, sometimes even from generations we don’t fully know — and the way we hide that pain and anger.

As the album unfolds, the narrator grows and confronts other forms of friction with the outside world: relationships, tension, and identity. The lyrics of “Vers l’Enfer” draw from Baudelaire’s “Au Lecteur,” which exposes the vices and flaws of human nature.

By the time we reach “Le Déserteur,” the final track, we arrive at a passage into adulthood — an acceptance, a release, and a fragile but real sense of hope.

The whole project is infused with literary and cultural references — both high and Pop culture — everything has its place.

Our vision is close to a Baudelairean figure of the poet who finds beauty in decay and pain, and transforms it into something almost alchemical. Rather than trying to repair what is broken, the album embraces fracture. Like the Japanese art of Kintsugi, it seals cracks with gold, turning damage into something luminous.

Q: How do you work together as a duo? What were the most important stages and defining moments during the writing and production process of your songs? And is there a particular message, emotion, or intention behind the music you create?

Zoé: Our creative process is first instinctive and intuitive, and then becomes conceptual and structured. Everything starts with Olly’s demos and compositions, whether they emerge from a texture, a riff, a mood, rhythmic foundations, samples or noise. His approach to Electronic composition combines DJ-inspired techniques — similar to The Prodigy’s production methods — with more traditional songwriting based on bass or guitar riffs.

The guitar often provides the emotional or Cinematic foundation, while synthesizers and rhythmic samples shape the atmosphere and sonic landscape. The vocals then either extend that atmosphere or deliberately contradict it, creating something more dynamic and ambiguous.

Sometimes I prepare vocal ideas or fragments of lyrics to match the instrumental. Other times, we improvise entirely in the studio. In those moments, Olly takes on the role of producer, guiding me through melodies and vocal techniques.

We build an initial demo, and I then rewrite the lyrics and melodies to fit the rhythm and flow before recording the final version.

We genuinely operate as two distinct sensibilities searching for a shared language. Some songs come together very quickly, almost instinctively, while others require extensive rewriting and experimentation before reaching their final form.

The most important moments are when we allow ourselves to question everything, dismantling ideas to reach something more honest and radical.

A decisive moment in our creative journey was realizing that we didn’t simply want to blend genres; we wanted to create a coherent emotional identity connecting melancholy, emotion, and the hypnotic qualities of our music. From that point on, production became just as important as composition. Textures, silences, distortion, and contrasts became integral parts of the narrative itself.

Behind our music is often a desire to express inner states that are difficult to articulate in any other way: isolation, transformation, restrained anger, obsession, but also a certain beauty within chaos. We are not necessarily trying to deliver a direct message; instead, we aim to create an emotional space where listeners can project something personal.

Q: In the meantime, you have already released a brand-new song and single called “Dynamite.” Could you tell us a bit more about this track? Is it perhaps already pointing towards the direction of a future album? And finally, what does the future hold for Foule in terms of live performances, video clips, and possibly working with a label, or do you prefer to continue as a fully D.I.Y. band?

Zoé: “Dynamite” is a playful and rebellious anthem, an invitation to shatter the pain and suffering described in “Porcelaine”. It doesn’t necessarily belong to the next album — it feels more like a transition moment. Foule is in a state of mutation, and “Dynamite” marks the explosion that allows this transformation.

The horizon of the second album is already taking shape. We have a large number of new compositions and demos in progress, and we are already performing some of them live. However, we are still working on the unity and identity of this second chapter.

We already sense an evolution towards something more minimalist and trap-oriented, less vulnerable and theatrical, with more reflective writing. The child is growing into a more mature narrating voice. The porcelain doll is becoming human.

Last year, we won a one-year support program with a Toulouse-based label through a competition. They co-finance certain projects while giving us a lot of creative freedom, so we have managed to keep our DIY identity intact. In the future, we would like to work with a more ambitious and international label in order to expand and grow further.

We are currently preparing a tour to promote “Porcelaine”, as well as a new music video for one of the album’s tracks.