C.O.F.F.I.N have had the biggest year of their career, but DIY is still a part of their DNA.

For a band that’s blown the haircuts off punters around the world, built a cult following and put out a handful of unrelenting albums, there’s probably no bigger way to get your tyres pumped up than to be the subject of a rockumentary. But for C.O.F.F.I.N, the kings of the underground, there’s no ego. It’s business as usual… kinda.

The main thing that’s changed for them over the past few months is that they’re selling out cinemas rather than sweaty venues, with their Out Is Oslo documentary, directed and produced by Jake Laderman and edited by Scott Marrinan, becoming an item of fascination locally and internationally.

As much as it tells the nuts-and-bolts story of the band, it’s really an examination of the (ugh) spirit within the group, their artistic quest and the mateship that keeps the C.O.F.F.I.N train on the tracks. With a national tour kicking off in February 2027 (tickets here, dates below), we spoke with frontman Ben Portnoy about the success of the documentary, their first acoustic song, signing to King Gizzard’s p(doom) record label and more. Check it out below:

The album’s been out for a hot minute. How have people reacted? Any naysayers?

People seem to be really digging it! Had lots of celebratory messages from folks all round. I’m sure there’s some people poo-pooing, but I mean, you kinda want that shake-up in some of your audience or else you’re probably playing it too safe.

Generally I avoid getting into the online comments. Aaron gets a kick out of finding the slanderous ones and letting us know about them.

‘13 Days’ might be my fave C.O.F.F.I.N track. Was there any discussion about how fans would interpret an acoustic single from you guys?

In our documentary that came out recently, Aaron commented on how it could be ‘pretty divisive’.

It was the last song written for the album, and was originally an acoustic solo track I had been working on that I didn’t even consider as something C.O.F.F.I.N could use.

Kosty had been staying at my place and overheard me tinkering with it. We were looking for one more song for the album in the final days of writing and Kosty said:

‘What about that one from last night?’

I was quick to jump back and shut the idea down, saying it wasn’t a C.O.F.F.I.N song. Declan was intrigued though and persuaded me to show the fellas.

One rule we had for this record was to not rule anything out when writing it, and the guys were really supportive and excited about the idea of having our first acoustic track on this album.

We knew that any song is a C.O.F.F.I.N song once we’re all playing it together.

Did Declan from Amyl have any secret studio tips he was able to pass on to you? What was it like working with him?

Declan was really good at encouraging us to experiment more and give time to trying sounds and approaches that we’d maybe have pushed to the side quicker or not given time to in the past.

He also helped a lot with dynamics. He was able to give us a trusted outsider’s input on how to add space and layering to tracks.

You also worked with Jay from Frenzal (again). What’s your favourite FR album and why?

I think Forever Malcolm Young. The songwriting and production is super on for me. There’s a lot of feel and fun to those songs.

Got a huge soft spot for Sans Souci too, which they’re currently doing an anniversary tour for. I think that was the first stuff I heard from them as a pre-teen and I think it really exhibits a contemporary Australianism that I had been yet to discover.

A perfect balance of satire and sincerity when it comes to contemplating our situation under ‘the southern stars’. Plus they play like absolute maniacs. It was cool to hear that musicianship in punk music.

Why was p(doom) Records the right move for you guys?

We wanted to step things up a bit in terms of the scale of infrastructure and distribution the label had.

We were worried, however, about losing the care and detailed touches you get when working with a more DIY label. I feel like p(DOOM) straddles those worlds perfectly.

Gizz certainly know how to put out a record and have a real appreciation for the craft of album making.

You told the C.O.F.F.I.N story in documentary form. I get the feeling that there was some real cathartic reckoning with what the band is. What did you learn from that experience?

Really reminded me about how lucky it is to have this deep friendship within the band and to reflect on and recognise your achievements once in a while.

Also that having an outlet and focus like a band is great for leading you through life.

How does it feel to be (further) immortalised in doco format?

Well, it’s weird to even read you saying that, ha! We’ve kinda always played ourselves down a bit. I think generally that’s a bit of an Aussie thing.

But yeah, it’s certainly something that hasn’t really registered for me.

What’s it like seeing sold-out screenings?

Again, sort of surprising. We grew up putting on shows where we’d be surprised to see someone there who we didn’t know attending.

And I think we’ve kinda carried that mentality with us. Always super grateful and a bit taken aback by big crowds there for us. It’s really dope!

In the doco we see some of the probably overlooked elements of touring (sleeping in parks etc). How do you guys avoid going full Brian Jonestown on each other while on the road? Is there some sort of chemistry that keeps you all sane?

There were probably some close moments along the way, but I think our love and respect for each other gives us the foresight to know how shit we’d feel being shitty to one another.

There’s a pretty deep unspoken understanding of each other, and when to give someone space or to pull in closer.

We’re also good at doing little independent side quests and not needing the whole pack to always move as one.

You guys have played all around the world. Which city (outside of Oslo) has shocked you as somewhere that people froth the band?

We did a run through Japan, South Korea and China in 2018. Playing to people in Guangzhou, China was a fair trip-out!

2027 national tour is locked. Why are you making us wait so long???

We got a Europe and UK tour that snuck in before it and we gotta give folks some marinating time!!