The Courettes

The Courettes are a garage rock duo from Aalborg consisting of Flávia Couri and Martin Couri. Based in Denmark, they make no-frills garage punk that also draws on old-school punk, 1960s pop, girl group harmonies, surf music and revved-up psychedelia. Flávia Couri, who sings and plays guitar, is originally from Brazil, while Martin Couri plays drums and is from Denmark; they are also married.

Formation and early work

The pair meet in Brazil in 2013 when Martin’s band shares a bill with Flávia’s during a South American tour. They connect musically, and after Flávia moves to Denmark in 2015 they form the group there. Although they first consider adding more musicians, they decide to remain a duo because they like the sound of guitar and drums alone.

They sign to the German label Sounds of Subterrania and release their debut album, Here Are the Courettes, in 2015. The record is a short burst of rock & roll, first issued on 10-inch vinyl.

Recordings and releases

In 2016 they record the single “Boom! Dynamite!” b/w “T-C-H-A-U” at Toe Rag Studios in England, an all-analogue studio associated with Billy Childish, the Kaisers and the White Stripes. The following year they issue Alive from Tambourine Studios, a live session recorded in Sweden.

Their second album, We Are the Courettes, arrives in 2018 as a 12-song LP. That same year they also release “Voodoo Doll,” which features Brazilian horror figure José Mojica Marins, also known as Coffin Joe, and is made using Vinyl Video technology, with a music video etched onto the reverse side for playback on a standard television with a special decoder.

In 2020 they sign to the British label Damaged Goods, which reissues Here Are the Courettes and We Are the Courettes on vinyl and also issues Here We Are the Courettes, a CD compiling both albums. Their third album, Back in Mono, follows in 2021 and is produced by Søren Christensen at Starr Sound, the group’s own studio built from vintage audio equipment from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Activity and reception

Frequent live appearances across Europe and the United Kingdom, along with shows closer to home, help spread their reputation. They also tour North America for the first time in 2023, and Damaged Goods marks that occasion with Boom! Dynamite, a vinyl-only compilation drawing on tracks from Here Are the Courettes, We Are the Courettes and Back in Mono, plus rare tracks and non-album single sides.