Mont Rouge on 100+ Shows and What Comes Next

Mont Rouge’s rise has been fast, but it has not been accidental. Formed in February 2023, the Geneva based duo turned early studio chemistry into a touring project that has expanded across Europe and the United States in a short time. In just two years, they have surpassed 18 million streams and played more than 100 shows worldwide, a pace they admit they were not prepared for at first, but one that has pushed them forward at every step.

Their breakout came with “Voyage Voyage,” a collaboration with Francis Mercier and Coco that reached popped off on Beatport and crossed one million streams within days. Since then, Mont Rouge have continued to grow and evolve.

Ahead of their next New York date on March 21st, Mont Rouge share how touring reshaped the way they write, what they look for when testing new music live, and why they avoid pre planned sets in favor of reading the room in real time.

Your project moved quickly from studio sessions to worldwide stages. What surprised you most about that early acceleration?

To be honest, we were so not ready for all of this to happen this quickly. But seeing a fanbase grow so fast, and people buying our merch, music, and tickets, and following us on our adventure was a real surprise and a motivation!

How’d you come up with the name ‘Mont Rouge’?

Well, we were looking for a name, and since we love skiing, we thought it could be a good idea to look for inspiration on the slopes. We were looking at the “Domaine des 4 Vallées” and found a summit called Mont Rouge, and the name kind of got stuck in our heads, so we stuck with it!

Do you approach writing differently when a track is meant for a large room versus a late night setting?

We usually like working on our tracks by having a solid vocal and then building the song around it so everything fits well. For the more late night or club weapons, we usually like to have a solid drum groove going and then build the track around that! But sometimes we also have a melody and or a chord progression that we did on the piano that comes first, so we start from there. It really depends on the vibe and where we want to take the track.

How has playing 100+ shows changed the way you think about arrangement and energy flow in your productions?

A big part of the people are sadly becoming pretty impatient and kind of want everything right away, so we try to do that while still keeping tension and making the people wait for a strong and impactful drop. But again, it depends on the track and the vibe we want to give it.

What’s something touring taught you that you couldn’t have learned in the studio alone?

Sleeping and resting is wayyy more important than we thought, haha. For the mood, our well being, and especially for musical inspiration. We are also lucky to be two, so we’re always there to push each other to the top.

How do debut shows in cities like New York and Los Angeles compare to playing closer to home in Europe?

The music industry is super different between America and Europe, in a good way. We can play records that wouldn’t fit a European audience and vice versa. We love experiencing both crowds. It’s always a different vibe.

When testing new music live, what signals from the crowd matter most to you?

Waiting for the drop and seeing people put their hands up or do a bass face is a key visual cue to see if a track works well and if people enjoy it or not.

Do you ever scrap tracks entirely after hearing them in a club, or does everything have a second life?

A lot of remixes we did for clubs usually get lost on the hard drives, but we sometimes repurpose them for original tracks when we find a nice vocal that fits it.

What kind of environment helps you make your best music right now?

We are always away, so being back in our hometown and our studio is where we can get the most creative and inspired.

Looking ahead, what feels more important in the next chapter: refining your sound or taking bigger risks?

Being in a sort of musical transition at the moment, we feel that refining our sound is taking a risk, haha.

If someone is seeing Mont Rouge live for the first time, what do you hope they walk away feeling?

Most people are buying tickets to listen to our music and to have fun. The most important thing for us is for them to enjoy their evening and to want to come back and party with us. That’s why we don’t prepare any sets, so we can read the crowd as best as possible and have people have the best night possible!

Who’s the last artist (outside your scene) you listened to on repeat?

For Jubesp, it would be Fred again.., whereas for Eszco, he has really been into Skrillex and SWEDM lately, with the last album and EP that just came out.

What’s one touring habit you swear by, and one you really should quit?

The one habit we swear by would be going to the gym as soon as we check in to the hotel. One habit we should get rid of as soon as we can would be smoking vapes and cigarettes on stage. We feel like it doesn’t give the best image, and obviously it’s bad for our health, lol.