Arielle Corbeau first encountered Angine de Poitrine’s performance before the duo gained international recognition. It happened in early 2025 at the Centre d’expérimentation musicale in Chicoutimi, a district in Saguenay, Quebec, where both the band and Corbeau hail from. This venue holds significance for Angine de Poitrine as it was where they produced their debut album, “Vol. I,” and the subsequent award-winning “Vol. II.”
During that initial encounter, Corbeau reminisced about the band’s quirky stage antics, such as lighting hot dogs on fire and tossing them into the audience. Little did she know that less than a year later, she would be commissioned to design the cover art for their second album, propelling her artwork and reputation to unexpected heights. Recently, her cover art for “Vol. II” was showcased by Jimmy Fallon on his late-night show, garnering millions of views on YouTube.
The exposure from collaborating with Angine de Poitrine has broadened Corbeau’s fan base, with admirers reaching out to her from as far as South America and Australia. She attributes the duo’s appeal to their uniqueness and the universal desire for distinctive artistry in an era threatened by artificial intelligence.
Born and raised in the same region as Angine de Poitrine, Corbeau later relocated to Montreal before immersing herself in Quebec City’s underground music scene. Her passion for combining art with music journalism led her to contribute to the Quebec City-based webzine ecoutedonc.ca, featuring artists like Andy Shauf and Anatole through her original artwork and comics.
Returning to Chicoutimi amid the COVID-19 pandemic allowed Corbeau to reconnect with her roots and continue her practice of sketching bands at local shows. Her surreal artistic style, often depicted in black and white, resonated with Khn of Angine de Poitrine, leading to their collaboration on the cover design for “Vol. II.”
Inspired by Jamie Hewlett, the illustrator for Gorillaz, Corbeau embraced the whimsical yet profound aesthetic cultivated by Khn and Klek. The masked duo, known for their polka-dotted costumes and satirical performances, embody a blend of seriousness and absurdity that Corbeau captures in her designs for the band.
Currently, Corbeau is working on diverse projects for Angine de Poitrine, including designing a deck of cards that promises to push creative boundaries. Balancing her commitments to the band with new commissions stemming from their collaboration, she is also focused on her personal endeavor, a comic book titled “Rookies,” set for publication in spring 2028.
Despite widespread speculation about the symbolism behind Angine de Poitrine’s visuals, Corbeau emphasizes the band’s commitment to surrealism and absurdity for the sheer joy it brings. Whether interpreting the pyramid or the peculiar presence of hot dogs and sardines at their shows, she finds beauty in the enigma that Khn and Klek embody.
In the midst of conjectures and interpretations, Corbeau acknowledges the allure of the band’s enigmatic persona, encapsulating the sentiment that their unconventional essence is what makes Angine de Poitrine so captivating.