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!
https://www.facebook.com/DeathByCoconutBand/