Interview

Cocaine Piss

Interview by Gabriela Gonzalez
Photos shot by Stephen Freeman in Brussels

It’s a typical story: four friends growing up in Nowhere Town, bonding over out-there music. But Cocaine Piss are not your typical band: pure, concentrated fury unfurls when they’re on stage, and when it ends you don’t know what hit you. Subba BE met them at the Sound of the Belgian Underground, and in between butt-prodding and munching apples (not a euphemism), discussed teenage idols, reams of side projects and the importance of never staying bored. They played a bangin’ show at s105 in October – we’re thrilled for their return at the big L.A.N. – The Belgium Edition on 15 April in Amsterdam’s Melkweg.

How did you guys start playing together?

Aurélie: We started two and a half years ago.

Yannick: Yeah, but we’ve been friends since waaaay before.

Aurélie: We all grew up in the same shitty town in South Belgium – it was so fucking boring. We were going to shows ’cause it was the only thing to do and everyone was starting a band. All you do out there is listen to music – it sounds so old school! But if you had a great CD, you’d exchange or make mixes and that’s what we did. I was really into The Distillers, ’cause Brody Dalle was, like, my idol. She looked so badass – I knew I wanted to do that one day.

I was really into The Distillers, ’cause Brody Dalle was, like, my idol. She looked so badass – I knew I wanted to do that one day.

Yannick: Yeah, we were totally in the punk scene; back then it was all bands like F-Minus, Leftöver Crack…

Mathias: Noise music!

Aurélie: We were definitely into the noise scene – basically anything where you can get this sort of crazy energy.

What was you guys’ first show like?

Aurélie: It was supposed to be a one-show project and we did it at the Carlo Levi, which is closed now.

Mathias: A really punk and crusty place! We had fun, though.

Julien: Nobody in the public left, so… [Laughs]

You’ll be playing the AB twice in two months. Any expectations?

Aurélie: Well, it’s very fancy [Laughs]. There’s also a bunch of fucking amazing people working here; I didn’t even believe that it was possible. It’s funny because we started at the Carlo Levi and now we’re playing the AB three times in five months. It’s great, though for us it’s always, like. ‘We can play at your place? Thank you!’

What other projects do you guys have?

Yannick: There’s a band called Umungus that me and Mathias play in – it’s more psychedelic/jazz/world stuff. I’ve got another band named Daggers; we’ve been playing for ten years now.

Julien: Yeah, they played with my old band in Switzerland called Elizabeth – we toured three times with them, in Russia, Cuba…

Yannick: But Cocaine Piss is the king project.

Julien: Especially now!

Oh yeah, you guys have a big trip coming up!

It’s in our DNA, and the opportunity to record with him, knowing that he’s done all the stuff we were listening to when we were kids… it’s a fucking dream.

Aurélie: One week in Chicago recording with Steve Albini! We’ve only exchanged emails so far but I’m sure he’s cool, I’ve got a good feeling about him. He is a big figure for us: he recorded F-Minus and a bunch of other bands that created us.

Yannick: We used to play all this stuff really loud when we were younger, so we’ve been listening to the type of sound that he’s doing since forever.

Aurélie: It’s in our DNA, and the opportunity to record with him, knowing that he’s done all the stuff we were listening to when we were kids… it’s a fucking dream.

Where do you guys see this going?

Yannick: Right now, it’s all about the album and getting it done. It’s going to be really trashy, kind of the same vibe we had on the first one.

Julien: Some slow songs and everything! But definitely more fast than slow. [Laughs]

Yannick: Fourteen songs, 20 minutes!

Aurélie: Yeah, the album is the priority right now but it’s not like when it’s done we’re just gonna sit on our butts waiting.

Yannick: We’ve also been organising shows for the last ten years as a collective [Jungle Booking].

Aurélie: It’s all part of what we do: everything is not about your own band all the time. It’s about the scene, and it’s all we wanna live: playing shows, watching shows, organising stuff, meeting new people, doing it all over again.

Yannick: And never getting bored! [Laughs]

Cocaine Piss play at L.A.N. – The Belgium Edition in  Amsterdam’s Melkweg on Saturday, 15 April together with lineup of other incredible acts from across the border. This interview was originally published by our Belgian kinfolk, Subbacultcha BE.