Dominic Berthiaume is a member of Montreal based, Corridor. Corridor are signed to Sub Pop records and release their new album, Junior, on 18th October 2019. The lead single, Domino, is a wonderfully chirpy slice of hypnotic indie.

Here, Dominic shares his love of the legendary Sonic Youth...

Why do I love them? Sonic Youth were simply the best. There are very few artists that have been putting out records for 30 years and being constantly good. Over their impressive career, they’ve always evolved as a band, never done an album that sounded the same as the previous while remaining loyal to their roots. 

I first heard of them while in high school. Jonathan Robert (who is also in Corridor) handed me a copy of their album A Thousand Leaves. At the time, I was mainly into new school punk rock and hardcore so Sonic Youth was definitely something I was not familiar with. It was kinda disorienting, I had never heard bands that would put out 9 minutes song in which half of it would be dedicated to a jam/noise session. The ever out of tune vocals of Kim Gordon and the weird dissonant guitar tones would put me in a strange, but fascinated position.

It didn’t take long for Sonic Youth to click with me. I kinda instantly clicked after my first listen. To me, it felt so out of place and original, like something I had never heard before. In the early 2000’s, while I was a teenager, they were the band (along with Radiohead) that opened the “strange music’’ door in my mind. I owe Jonathan a lot for making me discover these two bands.

As for their influence, Sonic Youth was definitely one of the main influences when we started Corridor. We would make abrupt noise shifts while jamming and trying to write songs. Though it didn’t last too long because we didn’t want to emulate them and be a pale copy of who they were. I think one of the thing we kept from their influence is the sometime dissonant guitar harmonies and the idea of integrating feedback/noises as textures in the songs.

I have a few favourite songs. The last song of their album Washing Machine, The Diamond Sea, is a true work of art. Clocking at almost 20 minutes, it just sums what is the band about in one song. It is a must listen to me. Most of their 7+ mins songs are the best to me.

In addition to the music, their cover art is brilliant. Most of their covers from 90’s are pretty iconic. There are many kids sporting the Goo t-shirt without knowing what the band is about. But who cares? The artwork is just brilliant.

Corridor will release their new album on 18th October 2019. You can listen to the bands latest single, Domino, below.

Dominic Berthiaume is involved in many other art projects. You can view his personal website here.

Corridor: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram