About Me

Music, sound and live performing are always at the base of my projects, whether I’m recording my own music or designing sound for an audiovisual performance. As a singer I’m extremely interested in all the different sounds and colours of the voice to evoke certain emotions or create a certain atmosphere. With my solo act Goldchild I recorded tiny samples of my own voice, manipulated them with effects and created a whole new and unique sound bank to compose and record music with.


Performing live has always been my favourite way of expressing myself. Climbing on a stage and having the opportunity to be whoever I want to be in that moment makes me unbelievably happy, and to feel the connection with an audience gives me so much energy.


I love taking risks and I love doing experiments. From an early age I already felt the urge to create and to start new projects. From writing my first songs when I was 9 to starting up a multidisciplinary festival, and everything in between. On my website you can find several projects I do or have done in the past. You can find me on socials too, or if you want to collaborate or just chat you can always contact me!

Singer / Musician / Songwriter / Music Designer

Solo project with voice sample based compositions around the theme of nature vs the city

Glamelectro duo act with catchy but quirky electronic songs and a strong live performance

Backing/session vocalist, studio vocalist, applied music, compositions, side projects

“It’s difficult to describe myself in one word, because I feel like I have so many different parts of myself that need to get out”

Goldchild

MUSIC DESIGN | SINGER

Goldchild is a type of ivy that likes to hide in the shade and cannot endure direct sunlight. It grows extremely fast, can climb real high and it clings to every surface it touches. It is no coincidence that this is the name of my solo project. I mostly describe myself as an introvert and I try to avoid being at the center of attention. Meanwhile I am ambitious and I’ll keep on growing and climbing in the shade.


My upcoming debut EP with the title ‘It’s Only Me’ is written, recorded and produced in my own studio with the door locked and no interference from other people. Every song on this EP consists solely of my own voice as the source material. No other instrument was used. To create my own world I manipulated these vocal samples with effects and transformed the new unique sounds into 5 songs. The music is playful and melancholic, experimental and catchy, and sometimes it even feels like electronic music.


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Some of the analog pictures I took and manipulated for Goldchild

- Bricks and asphalt as the soil for plants and flowers to grow and blossom -

-nature versus the city-

“I’ve always needed an outlet for my alter ego. The first album I released when I was 16 was titled ‘The Other Side’, and I really feel I can show my other side on a stage!”

Pocket Knife Army

Pocket knife army puts the glamour into electro pop musiC

Flashing lights, a kaleidoscope of bright colors and sounds, with two masked figures in the center. The nocturnal scene’s glamorous underdog, Pocket Knife Army, tells their story about alter egos, media overload and 21st century paranoia dressed in a glitter coat and platform shoes.


Their high energy Glamelectro blurs lines between musical norms and transcends genre boundaries, underpinning Daisy Rae’s confessional lyrics and expressive vocal delivery with larger-than-life synthpop and spiky electro jams.



I started Pocket Knife Army in 2014 together with Erwin Tuijl, because we wanted to make music without compromises. We don’t watch trends, we only write and record what feels good. Besides being a music act we use Pocket Knife Army as a vehicle to do other projects too, like organising artist collabs and meetups and hosting our own multidisciplinary festival Midnight Masquerade.


My part in this project:

Songwriting, recording, producing, performing live, artist branding, marketing and promotion.

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“My art is always about things that grab my attention or crawl under my skin. You can find songs about climate change, escapism, identity, loneliness and societal pressure.”

Other projects

WeHeartsociety

An amazing community art project I was a part of. We did interviews with an elderly person about their first love and made a musical piece about that which we performed in the room of this person. I also shot a video for it and projected it in the room.


My part in this project:

Composition, arrangements, visuals, storyline and live performance (singing).

GRAS

Children’s songs for adults. Gras was my graduation project from the conservatory. I wrote 11 songs in Dutch which seemed like they were made for children, but were much too weird and abstract for children to understand it. The theme of the album was the nostalgia for my carefree childhood, and I put that into music.


I experimented with loop stations, composition techniques and a combination of electronic instruments and acoustic instruments. I also produced a live show around it that was a mix of theatre, music and technology.


The other half of this project was instrumentalist and producer Erwin Tuijl.


My part in this project:

Composition, lyric writing, recording, guitar and voice.

“Organising, developing concepts and starting new things have always been a big part of my life. I can’t help it, I just need to create in any way or form.”

Midnight Masquerade

MIDNIGHT MASQUERADE

Since 2023 I’m organising my own night festival called Midnight Masquerade. This night event is a combination of an art party, a club night and a masked ball. With live music, visual arts, DJ’s, audio visual installations, theatre, interactive performances, dance and film.


My part in this project:

Organisation, production, concept, curation, marketing, project management, fundraiser.


www.midnightmasquerade.eu

Studio Apparatus

Recording studio

This is my recording studio that I share with Erwin Tuijl. We’ve built a place that is definitely a studio, but feels like a second living room. Every time I jump on my bike to go work here I am the happiest person alive. It’s a comfortable studio in a building with more studios, so there’s always a colleague around for a cup of coffee or to share your projects with.


More information on www.studioapparatus.nl


Off The Grid Studios

Creative hub for music

Off The Grid Studios is a creative hub for musicians and producers. With 5 music production studios we are a small community of creatives. I co-developed this studio building, from the drawings of the rooms to the soundproofing, and from making the financial plans to decorating the place.

“When I listen to music I immediately see images in my mind. I can’t help it, it just happens. I turned that into making my own visuals.”

Videography

FROM CONCEPT TO VIDEO

The first time I held a good camera in my hand I knew I wanted to do that more. I like telling a story with visuals and of course my main focus is on (live) music videos. Translating a song into image is what I really love. I’ve made a lot of videos for my own projects, but also for other artists. From live music videos from my own music studio to visualizers and full music videos. Check the videos below to see a small selection of my work.

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LIJO - Devils in details

music video with dancers

My part in this project:

Concept/script, camera, make up, lighting, editing, colour grading.

Lesse - Runaway

music video with live feel

My part in this project:

Concept/script, camera, lighting, editing, colour grading.

DYRGHÉ - AWAY

music video

My part in this project:

Concept/script, camera, lighting, editing, colour grading.

AMIMEA - Specks

LIVE music video

My part in this project:

Concept, camera, lighting, editing, colour grading.

LIJO - DOG EYES

music video with stop motion

My part in this project:

Concept/script, camera, face paint, lighting, editing, colour grading.

“Layering voices is kind of my thing. I love harmonies and especially when I don’t compose them first, but just press record and see what comes out by trusting my intuition.”

Contact

Want me to make music for you? Want to collaborate? Want me to perform live at your venue or festival? I’m up for it! Or if you just want to ask me something, contact me via email: info@desireecoumans.nl.



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