bIO
CC basically does only one thing, which is to express with images and sound what he has in his mind. He wants to take people out of their daily lives with music and photo’s. An enriching distraction, that’s the aim, but with plenty of room for each listener’s and observer’s own interpretation.
Where music and photographs in his portfolio go together and need audiences, for CC they are a necessary variation. It is not workable for him to be engaged only with photography or only with music. He needs both forms of expression.
Because CC is a visual thinker, for the music he draws inspiration from movies. For the photographs, he is more of a location scout looking for locations that inspire him, that tell something about people and their surroundings. Often locations that can also provide a beautiful setting for a movie set.
Every song of CC is about what occupies people’s minds. Those thoughts and considerations that are often the connecting themes in movies as well.
Where the story comes together in the film, that is the “coda.” In the photographs, on the other hand, you see mainly a bare film location, specifically without people. However, each location does show the presence of people. They are mostly man-made classical, industrial or modern monuments. Even a photo of nature focuses on how man has interfered.
Chet was born and raised in Amsterdam. Especially in the 1980s and 1990s, Amsterdam was one of the most liberal places on earth, with plenty of room for diversity. However, he also saw that even Amsterdam was not yet as inclusive as it could be.
Amsterdam did give young CC space to develop in both music and photography. However, he could also study very well, and after completing a law degree, he did not go for a 9-to-5 job at a big law firm. No, single-minded CC immediately started his own firm, precisely so that in addition he could keep all the freedom to further develop photography and music professionally.
In fact, CC is always at work and being CC is exhausting, except for CC. He becomes happy from the combination and fulfillment, because his greatest talent is doing your best incredibly and continuing where others stop.
To avoid going down in the hustle of work, he decided to combine all three of his professions in a peaceful Frisian village. He bought a canal house in the center of Bolsward to be able to combine a lot of work and his family.
Bringing the different disciplines together himself in order to get the feeling and idea of the song across, is what CC is all about.
Bio of CC as a musician
Chet Coda makes blockbuster pop. Songs with the desire to enhance the feeling of a movie. When he succeeds, you think: “If only this song had been in the movie.” Because movies can be “up” and “down,” he has releases different CDs. For example, “CC in day mode” features danceable energetic songs and “CC in night mode” features more quiet and sensitive songs.
Chet’s father was conductor of a church choir with band. When the drummer dropped out, 9-year-old Chet was asked if he wanted to fill in. In return, Chet was given the key to the church, which allowed him to practice whenever he wanted. This went loud because young Chet was particularly interested in rock.
In his twenties, Chet started playing for fusion band “Eat it while it’s hot” (Jazz rock) of which he still has recordings on tape. Drumming was not enough and Chet also started writing lyrics for the songs for rockbands like D-evidence and Ultra Luna. Meanwhile, Chet had picked up playing guitar and developed himself as a multi-instrumentalist.
Without the musical scene knowing it, CC worked on the CDs mentioned above. Doing everything himself was the motto and that meant no others. That meant also writing music and picking up the vocals. That was not a big transition, because anyone who knew Chet as a teenager knows that he always sang when he was on the road. With a father as conductor, it could hardly be otherwise. For these CDs, he chose a new producer to help him with the mastering.
The result is Indie pop, personal and with a dark edge. As the bass and drums merge toward the funk, plenty of room is created for the Stones’ guitar sound and distinctive vocal harmonies. If you’ve heard Chet, you’ll recognize his sound out of thousands. That wasn’t done on purpose; it’s what came out.
There are many musicians who can play their instrument much better or singers who sing much better and CC will never be able to match that. Nor is that his goal. He is more concerned with the creative experience with which an appropriate song emerges from nothing. Bringing the different disciplines together on his own in order to get the feeling and idea of the song across is what CC is all about.
BIO of CC as A PHOTOGRAPHER
Doing everything to make the impossible possible sums up CC as a photographer. The ultimate photograph requires getting up around 3 a.m. in the morning, then spending hours testing with light filters, light times and exposure angles.
Finally, a stress factor comes into play, because at the first signals of daylight, all the preparation must come together. This is not that much different from when you have to perform on stage in front of an audience. Also at that point everything must come together.
The young CC, like many other kids, got his first camera as a teenager. This was still a camera with a film. CC intuitively knew what he could do with the camera, with the result that two photos from his first filmroll were immediately displayed in the hallway of the school where he was learning. It was clear what he was to become. But getting results quickly, that’s nothing for CC and so the usual day’s photography did not have his real passion.
Taking pictures at night, where you can influence everything yourself, that’s what CC focused on. He immediately embraced digital photography, because especially in his type of work it is necessary to be able to see on location what works and what does not.
It is a great idea that when the sun goes down, every location is potentially a light studio. CC looks for places with history. If he can work with light he forgets the rest of the world. Then it doesn’t matter how late or how early it is and under what weather conditions he works. A purebred perfectionist, he sets the bar high at the risk of too high, then he evaluates and he comes back.
Chet Coda has his own gallery and is working on a book about night photography.
Whereas in his photographs the moment is frozen, Chet never stands still. Even while taking the picture, he runs around adding lighting.
