We share an exclusive interview with The Dinosaur’s Skin, a band formed by «Trex» and «Triceratops» two dinosaurs from the cretaceous period that survived the mass extinction and traveled through a wormhole to the streets of Taipei. They began making music to mourn their lost friends and express their grief. Through music, they hope to find other dinosaurs left in the world. (English version).
Where the Mountains Meet the Sea
A musical journey with the alternative sounds of the regions of Taiwan was experienced at SXSW 2024; a framework to discover authentic styles from projects such as: Chih Siou, Fire Ex., Mong Tong, Majin, Gummy B and The Dinosaur’s Skin all full of avant-garde and representing a new wave of artists bringing the North American audience to enjoy their music in an unforgettable showcase.
Taiwan Beats Showcase, an initiative of the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development (BAMID) organized with the curatorship of Young Team Productions, is an acclaimed event in recent years in the United States, this year it aimed to present the convergence sound of nature and music of the island of Taiwan.
Jurassic feelings with The Dinosaur’s Skin
Duvan Prada / @duvanprada_
Special acknowledges: Young Team Production for journalist purposes.
The Dinosaur’s Skin can be described as the first “reptile rock” band in history; In addition to their aesthetics, they also intertwine melodies full of nostalgia, indie effects with nuances that characterize dream pop, lo-fi to synth pop. A mixture of emotions that they themselves call “asteroid-gaze”.
With their Jurassic style and to sing about their prehistoric adventures, they returned to the United States to play at SXSW 2024; an opportunity to represent the talent and dynamism of the Taiwanese music scene and to talk with Bunka Wave, in a special interview for Colombia and Latin America.
Hello The Dinosaur’s Skin! This is Bunka Wave, a music media from Colombia, we are very happy to be able to interview you! We are amazed with your concept and musical proposal, (In prehistoric times) how you met to play together?
D.S. We were hanging out and just chilling when the asteroid hit the Earth 65 million years ago. The world went dark, and we were trying to run for safety when we were sucked into a wormhole which took us to modern-day human world. That’s when we found out all our dinosaur friends were dead, and we decided to make music to mourn for them. Also to become famous and find our remaining dinosaur friends.
B.W. Who inspires you to create your songs?
D.S. After we found ourselves in the human world, we met Skippy who was in a band called Crispy and a music producer. He encouraged us to channel our inner sadness into songs and music, and this is where everything began.
B.W. There is a possibility that dinosaurs other than yourselves have passed through the wormhole and are among us. Would you like to find other prehistoric animals to play together?
D.S. One of the biggest reasons we started to make music was to let our dinosaur friends know that we are out there. We’ve since found many dinosaur friends who would come to our show and dance on stage with us! We also have many mammal friends who play music with us while we perform, they are not prehistoric though.
B.W. You have worked hard to establish an authentic style. How is your creative process to make your music and music videos?
D.S. We tried to make music and videos that appeal to both dinosaurs and humans. Our debut single “All My Friends are Dead” is about our long-lost friends but also about loneliness, which humans also feel. We try to make happy tunes out of sad stories, and love songs out of goodbyes, it’s our way to be kind to the world, as dinosaurs.
B.W. You recently attended the acclaimed SXSW festival; can you tell us about your experience during this event?
D.S. It was an absolute blast! We played four amazing shows and had so much fun! People from all over the world came to the show, people who speak different languages and are from different ethnic backgrounds and different races, it was amazing seeing how our music brings people together. Everyone was super friendly and enjoyed our show, there were even dinosaur friends that came and danced on stage with us!
B.W. Do you know any Latin American bands or musicians? If not, what would you like to learn about music in Latin America?
D.S. We are still learning about this world, and we believe music can transcend all barriers including language! We really love The Marias; their lead singer is born in Puerto Rico, and we are inspired by their beautiful groove and melody! Hope to learn more about Latin American music soon!
B.W. Do you have a special memory of a concert or show that you would like to share with us?
D.S. For our most recent solo concert we shot an entire film and played the film as part of our performance! It was a movie premiere and a concert at the same time, and we played in movie theaters as well as live houses, it was the most elaborate and amazing show we ever had!
B.W. What is the big dream of «Trex» and «Triceratops»?
D.S. To find all our remaining dinosaur friends and spread peace and love all over the world through music!
B.W. What Taiwanese musical projects do you recommend?
D.S. Our producer Skippy has an amazing band called Crispy, they sing beautiful touching songs in mandarin, and we even collaborated with them on the song “Take it Slow” which is about the struggle for survival of both dinosaurs and humans. It’s a majestic song that I recommend everyone check out!
B.W. Finally, you send us a greeting to Bunka Wave in Colombia and Latin America.
D.S. Hello Bunka Wave! We are The Dinosaur’s Skin, the last two remaining dinosaurs, in a band! Hope we can visit Colombia and Latin America soon; we have so many songs to share with you guys! Hope we can dance along to music together one day, see you soon!
Bunka Wave 