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As a result of years of playing in befriended bands, Death By Coconut was formed around the talents of Christof Dunon (vocal, guitar), Christophe Gilen (bass), Joris Brugmans (synths) and Thomas Vinck (drums).
Based in Sint-Truiden since the beginning of 2017, Death By Coconut spent their first year honing their distinctive sound: a noisy indie mix of melodic guitars, melodramatic synths, supported by a pumping rhythm-section, that invokes names like Pixies, Weezer or even Interpol and Arcade Fire.
1) You have participated in the Emergenza Festival Edition 2018/2019. What made you decide to take part in it?
Some of us participated Emergenza before with other bands. We remembered it was a well-organized festival, with very nice locations to play. So, we actually didn’t hesitate to enter our band for this year’s edition. Also, the prices are enormous. Which band wouldn’t want to win a promotional European tour! That’s huge! Never thought we would have a shot at it, but hey, here we are!
2) As you approach the world final, what is your state of mind?
We actually couldn’t believe we made it this far. We’re ecstatic! We enjoyed playing all those nice venues throughout the contest — it was a lot of fun. But now it all gets a bit more serious. We only have one gig left to convince people of our music…
3) What is your best memory from your Emergenza experience?
Without a doubt, our fans! We played three times for Emergenza, and each time we had so many friends, fans, enthusiasts who wanted to join us, that we decided to hire a bus for each gig, so that everybody could join us. We really had a blast with them! A big shout-out to them!
4) What's behind your band's name? Any specific meaning?
It took us a long time deciding on which name to get. Several names were suggested, but none felt like the right one. Death by Coconut is just a reference to the stupidity of how one can die, meaning that you need to enjoy life, each day, to the fullest. Life is short, better make the best out of it!
5) Can you tell us a funny story or anecdote about your experience on stage? And one which happened in backstage or during the preparation of a show?
In Dutch there is an expression: “playing for 5 men and a horse head”, which means: playing for very few people. Once we were chatting with friends in a bar, and we told them that we were afraid that, for an upcoming, not many people might show up. Looking back, that might not have been a good idea, because at that specific gig we were doing our thing on stage, and in between two songs, when the lights went on, we could see the crowd… and a horse head.
6) How would you describe your music ?
It’s always hard to describe your own music, because while composing it, you’re not thinking in genres, you just create sounds, riffs, vocal lines, etcetera that you like. And you try your best to get a killer song out of it. Once a fellow artist asked us the same question backstage: “What genre do you play?” I told him: “Come check us out, and let me know what you think our genre is.” His answer was spot on: “Violent Funk”.
7) What are your short to medium term plans after the Emergenza's world final?
We still have a couple of gigs to finish this summer, and after that, we will hit the studio again. We have several new songs in the pipeline, and if we can get them all recorded, we might release our first EP. Something to look forward to!