Artist Spotlight: DIIV
Written by Coog Radio on May 25, 2016
I remember driving through the night, the moon beams gazed upon us. When we made it to the shore, the morning dew seeped into our skin like the warm embrace of a past lover. She turned to me and smiled. “It sounds like sex on the beach,” she whispered in my ear. – FR
Whether you’re getting down at a beach bonfire with your fellow tribe, or setting the mood for a midnight shore escapade, the 2012 album, Oshin, is the ideal summer soundtrack. It is the exhilarating and ethereal sounds of the punky-shoegaze NYC outfit, DIIV, that will have your ears perked within seconds of listening.
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The band was never meant to “leave the bedroom” says front man Zachary Cole Smith, having started the project from his Brooklyn one bed apartment. Smith had experienced playing drums in bands like Beach Fossils, and playing guitar for bands like Soft Black and Darwin Deez. It wasn’t until 2011, when he decided to write his own songs and form his own group. Together, with long-time friends Andrew Bailey, bassist Devin Perez and drummer Colby Hewitt, they named themselves “Dive” after the Nirvana song of the same title.
In an 2015 interview with Billboard, Smith mentions, “Once we left the Brooklyn circle, we realized there were like five bands called Dive in various countries, so before anything happened we changed it and it became, DIIV.”
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Smith also explains that in the start, most of the songs had ” an ocean-like, water vibe.” This is a notable element in much of DIIV‘s first releases, such as “How Long Have You Known,” “Past Lives,” and “Doused.” Recently, the band released a brand new LP in February titled, Is the Is Are. With a whopping 17 tracks on the album, (four more than Oshin), the group finds themselves recording ” a more personal” record than before. Check out DIIV’s latest single “Dopamine” below:
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DIIV is scheduled to perform this Sunday, May 29th, as part of the Memorial Weekend Blowout lineup at White Oak Music Hall. So, if you haven’t made plans for the three day weekend yet, definitely consider making it to this event. It’s gonna be a spectacular show. Doors open at 12:30 pm.
Click HERE for ticket information.
By Franco Rosa
