Hugo Doyon-Karout has plenty to do as a young bassist, splitting his time between three bands, including Beyond Creation, Brought By Pain, and Equipoise, plus work as a tour manager. I sat down with him at NAMM for a quick Q&A on all his work in the metal world.

We’re here at NAMM, so I have to start off by asking what you’re doing today at the show.

Just having fun, hanging out with my friends in Equipoise, catching up with friends, I just performed at the Neural DSP booth, that’s been a blast. So yeah, making connections, being here to represent my bands.

Equipoise and Beyond Creation, those are the two main things for you, so first I want to ask about Beyond Creation, you’re the newest member of the group at this point, right?

Yes, I joined the band in early 2015, so new member but five years already. 

So Algorhythm was the latest release from the band, which actually got a Juno nomination, how was the whole experience with the album for you guys?

It was a Juno nomination, but we actually did get an award from the Independent Music Awards, which we’re really honored to have received. Really nice feedback from the fans, we’re really happy with the response. The Juno nomination was really surprising for us, and it was really a blast for us to be there, we felt like a real band from that point on, you know? Being with the big names and doing the red carpet thing and all.

Can we expect to see any follow-up to Algorhythm anytime soon?

Yes, maybe not as soon as you think, but there is music in the works!

So let’s talk about Equipoise, now, is that the only band outside of Beyond Creation you’re involved with?

I’m also involved in Brought By Pain, a Montreal based band with Kevin from Beyond Creation, so we’re working on an album right now that’s going to be out, probably next year. 

And with Equipoise, just tell me how you got together with that band, how long you’ve been with them, and maybe for someone being introduced to that band, what’s something you’d like us to know about Equipoise?

Well, it started more as a studio project with Nick Padavani’s compositions, and we never really got together until last year when we met to practice for the Algorhythm tour with Beyond Creation, so for a while, it was just a studio project, then we did an EP with three tracks and two ambient classical guitar tracks, so that was a five-track EP that came out on YouTube strictly, and then we got signed to Artisan Era, a Nashville-based label, and from that point on, it really started to get going. We did Demiurgus in our bedrooms, and then Mike Lowe from Artisan did a great job mixing it, and we’re really happy with the response we’re still getting from it. This album’s going to turn one year in March and it’s really technical, it’s fast, there’s a lot of classical influences as well, lots of solos, and it’s like a fourteen-track concept album that’s really entertaining to listen to, I would say.

Awesome, well, everybody’s got to check it out. So how did you first get started as a bassist?

I started playing bass because my brother was a drummer, and he had a band with two guitar players, so I was kind of filling the gap in that sense. Then I was just jamming with my brother, taking bass lessons, and I found since most people wanted to be guitar players, that was some kind of a unique factor, so I just kept going from there. I found that it’s fun to play bass, because it’s easy to get in bands, there’s so many guitar players and so many of them are insanely talented to a level I can’t even comprehend, so it works out for me.

Well, you’re talented yourself, you do some crazy stuff on 6-string, fretless bass and all that, did you just dive your way right into that, or did you kind of work your way up, starting with a 4-string bass?

Yeah, with 4-string fretted, and then when I joined Brought By Pain in 2012, they had a song that involved 7-string guitars, so I moved to a 5-string bass, and then for a couple of years I was playing that, and then when I joined Beyond Creation, it was requested that I play 6-string fretless, so I moved onto a 6-string. The bass was fretted at first, so for a couple of months, I was practicing with that, and then I got the bass de-fretted, so I moved on pretty quickly to the fretless.

You just kind of gradually added a string with each band, that’s cool. So what’s on the horizon for you?

Well, I’m just starting a tour with Equipoise, so we have some California shows next week, then we’re flying to Mexico for a short tour with Origin and The Faceless, and then myself, I’m going on tour as a tour manager strictly, with the band Exist and Replacire for ten days, and then after that, I have a tour with Beyond Creation in Europe, and then we have some other plans for festivals in Europe in the summer, and then we’re working on some other things to fill the rest of the year, and working on an album for Brought By Pain, and trying out new ideas for Equipoise, and yeah. 

Lots going on! I wish you luck with everything, have a great rest of your time at NAMM.

Thank you so much, take care!