Quebec’s “one-man-band” punk-rock studio project, Steel Bridges, unveils Vilain
Steel Bridges, the Quebec-based “one-man-band” punk-rock studio project of the artist Philippe Routhier, is proud to announce a new mini-album tribute to a legendary rock music group from Quebec: Vilain Pingouin. The 3 French songs EP titled, Vilain is now available on all digital platforms!
The tribute mini-album covers 3 classic songs from the group, Steel Bridges style. You will find a good dose of punk music influenced by the skatepunk and melodic hardcore wave of the 90s (NoFx, Pennywise, etc.), with a rock-metal side that characterizes the sonic identity of the project. The speed of all songs has been increased: 170 bpm for the slowest, up to 220 bpm for the fastest, and the guitars have all been blasted to 12. The 3 punk songs that are fast, precise, and loud, will know how to make you rock as you should.
The first music video, created with the help of artificial intelligence, for the song “Le Train” is already available. A video is planned to support each of the 3 songs.
All the songs on Vilain were self-produced in my studio. It’s a 100% DIY project (except of course for the writing of songs in the context of this mini-tribute album). The album cover, all the visuals associated with it, as well as the videos are also self-created.
First off care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi! My name is Philippe Routhier, I’m from Quebec City and I have a studio project called Steel Bridges that I started in 2019. I make punk-rock music with a modern sound, influenced by the 90s skatepunk bands, and has a fast metallic sound. With this project, I made 2 albums and 1 EP, and I’m releasing my second one, which will be my fourth release. I also released 7 videos, with at least 2 more on the way. I write songs in French and English, and I also made an instrumental album. I play all the instruments, write the lyrics, record, mix, and produce everything. I’m also responsible for all the visuals, videos, etc.
Tell us a bit about your recent release.
My latest Steel Bridges release is called Vilain, and is a 3 French songs mini-album, a tribute to Quebec’s famous Vilain Pingouin band that is currently on its farewell tour. You’ll find 3 cover songs of the group’s classic in the Steel Bridges style: a good dose of punk-rock with a metal edge. The speed of all songs has been increased, and all the guitars have been blasted to 12!
When I started these songs, I had some time to record, but I did not want to write lyrics, and couldn’t play guitar at that time, so another instrumental album was not an option. The only thing I could do was to sing, so I decided I was going to make some cover songs. I took my campfire songbook and started to seek the best candidate for a Steel Bridges makeover.
I started to record the vocals of a classic French song that I thought would sound good in the Steel Bridges style, but it didn’t turn out as exciting as I had hoped. The next day, I tried something else and went for “Délinquance” by Vilain Pingouin. It turned out well, so in the following days, I started doing the same with 2 more songs from the same band: “Le Train” and “Marche Seul”. I always loved to play these songs, and the Steel Bridges conversion was really fun to do. I didn’t mean to do 3 songs from the same artist, but this is just what I have done! And this is how I decided to release this tribute album.
Vilain Pingouin is one of the first rock bands I liked, and they had a big influence on my songwriting. I listened to them on the radio when I was a kid, and they were the most punk of all the Quebec rock bands getting played back then. They didn’t have a heavy sound, but they had a somewhat punk attitude and lyrics. Even today they are still playing in some punk festivals during their farewell tour!
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
For Vilain it was different since I could not play guitar when I started recording the songs, and because I simply did not write the songs! But normally, I tend to compose and record at the same time, and for my Steel Bridges project, I’m playing all the instruments (except some songs that have special guests). I sometimes have an idea of the theme of the songs when I begin, but sometimes I don’t have a clue. Still, when I get into it in the studio to create a new song, I always start by putting down a simple beat and start to add some guitar chords, some riffs, and start to build the song structure. I then push the song as far as I can with the guitar work, leaving the space needed for the vocals and maybe some bass lines. Once the structure is good enough, I’ll add the bass and refine the drum a bit, and create some movements in the song by varying the beats, playing styles, etc. When the song is complete enough, I’ll add the lyrics. I have a document where I write song ideas when they come in or sentences I like. That’s a nice tool to have when I need to write the lyrics for a song. I’ll adjust the song for some time, move parts around, and redo the vocals probably a thousand times! The last step is always to fine tune the drums and make sure every hit is there to enhance the music and bring the proper energy. I generally finalize the mix and mastering while I complete the drums. I do use different approaches from time to time, especially when I work in collaboration with someone else, but that process works well for me.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
Steel Bridges is still a one-man band studio project, so there is no plan for touring or any live shows. I already released a video for the song “Le Train”, so go check that out! I am also releasing a video for the song “Délinquance” a few weeks after the release of the 3 songs EP Vilain. There will also be a video for the 3rd song, “Marche Seul”. My music is 100% DIY and my videos are too. The video I made for “Le Train” was the first video I made using generative AI. I think I will also be using AI for “Délinquance” and “Marche seul” videos. Using AI to create videos offers so many creative possibilities! It doesn’t always turn out the way you plan, but it opens a lot of doors and is way more fun to do and to watch than a lyric video when you don’t want to turn the camera on. Lots of amazing stuff to come. Check it out!
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
I have been waiting for a long time before releasing any music after the “Myspace era” and the previous musical projects I have been involved in.
There has been a gap of about 10 years where I kept the music I made for myself. The first Steel Bridges album is a kind of a compilation of the best punk, rock, and metal instrumental tracks that could fit together, that I made during that time. I needed to remix all the songs so they had a coherent sound between them. Having decided to release my music as a punk-rock solo studio project called Steel Bridges might be something I consider a turning point. From a creative point of view, it could also be the work I did for the album “Under The Rug”, where I started to work on an album, a collection of songs, instead of working on separate songs. I think it was the first time in my life that I had the precise objective of making an album instead of making just one song. Since I released both albums, Flames and Under The Rug, I always work on at least a couple of songs at a time, like for the EP Vilain that I’m releasing right now, which is a collection of 3 songs.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
I already talked a lot about Vilain Pingouin, so I’ll pick something else. There is so much good stuff going on with the punk scene right now! It’s hard to pick just one.
Here is a list of amazing bands from Quebec that I listened to lately. I also collaborated with some of them😉.
English: Colorsfade, Dutch Nuggets, Mute, Remy Verreault, Long Story Short.
French: Capable!, Thick Glasses, L’affaire Pélican, Rouge Pompier, Bord en bord.