Cosmo’s Midnight
Red Alert! Keep an eye out for Sydney based twin producers Cosmo and Patrick Liney as they continue to make an impression with each show they play. Electronic music is their focus even making a chill out remix of Lykke Li’s Little Bit. Doing their best work after midnight is a bit of a hint to the origin of the name of this outfit – Cosmo’s Midnight. Patrick Liney talks to Across The Ocean about what makes this band tick and what might be around the corner.
Keeping well?
A bit tired, I was up until 5am writing a track but I’m all good now, I’ve woken up properly now!
Did you achieve the end result?
Nah, I wish I could do it that fast but I got a good idea down and I hope that can turn in to something more finished.
Is that something that’s hard as an artist when you have an idea that you have to capture it straight away or go to sleep and the idea is gone forever?
Yeah, you do have to keep cracking at it all night as you might lose one of the ideas that you had. I think it is really good that as soon as you have an idea to get it down as soon as possible and then you can finish it off another day. The best tracks I’ve done tend to come quickly while it’s still fresh and inspired so that you’re not labouring over it.
How is the new album progressing?
Six tracks are almost done so I’m getting there for sure. The plan is to have the album out next year, I mean EP.
Is that hard as a relative newbie trying to pony up with the cash to do a full album?
Money isn’t too much of a problem nowadays especially for electronic musicians because I can literally use a midi keyboard and a computer. Buying programs is where the money goes as well as studio time but it’s nothing horrible as it is manageable. There is pressure to strike while you have a bit of momentum going so hopefully we can wrap up this EP over New Year’s and then start pushing out some singles then see how it goes.
Have you been happy with how the Surge EP was received?
We were blown away, we didn’t realise that we would get the following we did from that. One of the shows we played to launch that was amazing with everyone singing the words which is funny because I barely know the lyrics myself. That was really awesome!
What lessons did you take from recording that EP and rolling with the recording of the next EP?
That was our first track writing for vocals so vocal collaborations are important. Being an EP is important to be as cohesive as possible so it’s not so disparate, you want to present a complete package. We’re aiming for one particular sound and pushing that but obviously there will be a bit of diversity over the EP, we want to have an idea and really nail that.
Did the “name your price” concept work for the EP?
We don’t really care about money made off this. The focus was to try and get as many people to listen to this as possible. Doing that wasn’t even a problem considering most of our stuff on Sound Cloud is free anyway. The EP is free to download if you want, it is a massive bonus if people buy it but isn’t the priority.
Were people a bit more generous with that approach?
I think some people felt obligated, I think it has to do with being presented with something potentially for free but has a small price that it seems reasonable to pay something which they deserve. I think it is a cool idea so that you had both options.
Did you ever think you would be making music with your brother and does that test the relationship particularly during the creative process?
We’re always super honest with each other and because we’re brothers particular in the creative process we can say what we think. Nothing horrible will happen, we either like what we’re doing or not, just be up front about it. When you work with others the temptation is to tip toe around it so you don’t hurt their feelings but since we’re brothers we can say that is really bad and I don’t like it, let’s try and make it better. It has been tested sometimes when we are trying to work on stuff and Cos is out and I’m trying to work on it by myself or if Cos is starting an idea and I’m not keen on it he gets a bit frustrated. We usually get together and just finish tracks and usually hasn’t been much of a problem.
Is there a story behind the name of the band?
Yeah, Cos did a bootleg of a track and finished at midnight and we didn’t have a name for anything we were making at the time so we called it Cosmo’s Midnight Mix, very literally made it and finished it around then. We called it that and from then we called ourselves Cosmo’s Midnight. It makes sense because most of the stuff we write happens after midnight. I usually write from 11pm to 5am or whenever an idea strikes. I write better at night because I usually have no distractions like people talking to me on FaceBook and no one is awake in the house, which is good.
Is remixing other people’s songs a really good way to build your own profile?
Well, we’ve released less originals than remixes, I think it is a really good way of exploring a particular sound you want to do. We found out the sort of music we want to write through mixing. Remixes are a really creative opportunity to try a few different things and hone in on the sound that you want.
Has that led to attracting more interest from fans of those songs?
It is a huge opportunity for us and puts you in touch with lots of other writers so it is really great. I think it helps bring in the inner potential you had in a track and take it in a different direction which you can do that. I don’t usually do a remix unless I’m personally invested and bring something out of it.
Where do you see music going in the next five years?
I think things change really quickly these days so it’s best not to even think about where things are going or where they have been and just write what you really enjoy. If you are super passionate about your writing it will show in your music. It doesn’t make sense to follow what is trending. We were lucky to be a part of what was trending at the time but definitely wasn’t intentional. We kept making music that we enjoyed and what we’ve been writing has changed a little bit and I think we’ll be writing different stuff next year, people’s tastes change all the time so as writers our style and taste will change as well.
Whether it is rummaging through vinyl at record stores such as Clarity and Title finding hidden gems to scouring the internet to find that album by the next big thing or chasing bands to get that elusive autograph and photo his passion is music all the way.
- Aversions Crown - January 27, 2017
- Sick Of It All - January 19, 2017
- Refused - January 11, 2017
