Dutch duo Vicetone produced and released the remix of Russian DJ/producer Tony Igy‘s ‘Astronomia’ back in 2014 as the latter released the original track in 2010. During an interview that Vicetone had with VICE in 2020, the duo mentioned that Igy’s label did not sign off on the remix. As a result, Vicetone decided to release their remix for free on SoundCloud and Facebook.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, only fans of the Dutch progressive house and electro house duo (and fans of these specific genres as a whole) knew about their remix of ‘Astronomia’ through streams and live sets that the duo would perform in. Then, the remix finally achieved the recognition it deserves when the “Coffin Dance” meme made its presence in the public consciousness. Now, the track has now achieved the status of 4x Platinum and 1x Gold.
Vicetone’s remix of ‘Astronomia’ entered meme history as a result of the “Coffin Dance”
In 2017, the BBC released a feature story about the “Dancing Pallbearers”, a group of Ghanian pallbearers who bring festive moods to what is usually a somber occasion. One of the most interesting things that the Dancing Pallbearers do are dancing in synchronization while holding the coffin at the same time. Three years later, when the pandemic started to get into full-swing, TikTok users began using footage of the Dancing Pallbearers and paired the clips with various tracks.
One of those tracks was Vicetone’s remix of ‘Austronomia’. For a remix that came out in 2014, it finally achieved worldwide popularity and alongside it, the “Coffin Dance” meme itself. In the U.S., the track rose to #13 on the Billboard “Hot/Dance Electronic Songs” chart when the meme was at its peak. Fast forward to October 2023, the remix of ‘Astronomia’ now has 4x Platinum and 1x Gold and the meme from 2020 is one of the main reasons why the remix now has those achievements. Check out Vicetone’s tweet below where they shared their awesome news with the fans.