Hi guys! Great to have you with us. How are you both?
Hey! All good many thanks, we just came back from our first tour in the USA ! So we have a lot of good vibes and are ready for the next events planned !
How has your 2023 been so far? What have been your highlights?
We have had a big 2023 since the beginning with very good gigs in Germany and South Africa, our first USA tour and some big events in France.
We’ve also had success on our labels Legend and Scander with many good releases.
You run two labels, Scander and Legend. How do you decide what label serves as a platform for what? Are they tailored to different musical facades?
Yes, Scander is our first label on which we used to release minimal on a few years ago. We were Number one in the Beatport minimal chart with this label.
With Legend, we release more melodic techno.
So today, we choose the label depending on the atmosphere of the track if the style is more minimal techno it will be on Scander and if it’s more melodic techno it will be on Legend.
What’s it like managing two labels? How do you cope, stress wise and what advice would you give to younger producers looking to start their own?
It’s a lot of work of course. We built our organization more than 10 years and running smoothly. However, we are always pursuing how we can do better.
Advice wise, it would be to find your proper identity first. This point is very important because it’s the first thing that people will see of you and this image will be with you all along the label’s existence. Even if you improve it, it’s musical direction should stay the same.
So, take your time to choose your musical and visual identity.
Tell us about your latest release ’Toi & Moi’ on Scander. What’s the vibe and inspiration behind it?
“Toi” is a track in which we wanted to bring out our techno pumping style with a touch of melodic minimal. We also wanted to insert a French vocal (our native language) which adds depth to the track, and another vocal in english this time. We added a groove to it as we like to do.
“Moi” is a continuation of that special EP that we were inspired by. This time the cursor pushes more on clubbing. With French vocals more present and extended that we wrote ourselves during the safari we did on our tour in South Africa. We also worked on a pumping side with more aggressive synths, a gimmick that gets into the spirit and a very present overlay.
What was it made on? Tell us about about your hardware and your favourite ’toys’ in the studio.
We work with Logic Pro X. Our sound card is a Universal Audio Appolo Twin, with Yamaha HS 5 speakers and an AKAI MPK 49 keyboard. We generally use software synths such as the Serum from Xfer or Pigments 4 from Arturia. It’s not necessary to work with a lot of synths, the most important thing is to get to know them well so as to be able to use them to their full potential.
Tell us about the scene in France at the moment. Are you feeling it? Would you say its progressing well, music and crowd alike?
The French music scene grows every year thanks to the big promoters we have in France.
Today they mix a lot of different styles of music at the same festival, but it’s a good thing because it opens up electronic music to a wider audience and France is becoming more welcoming of it.
We’ve got some strong players who are driving the scene forward and we’re very happy about that.
It’s more difficult for the clubs though. Covid has had major repercussions on the already fragile economies of electronic music clubs.
But everyone’s adapting and coming up trumps with great events.
What track never leaves your bag?
Cosmic Boys – Insomnia. This track will be released very soon. We play it in all our sets and the reaction of the crowd is always crazy.
What artists are you on your radar at the moment? Who should we have our eye on?
Enrico Sangiuliano is for us one of the best artist and producer.
What are your favourite artists / music to listen to outside of dance / electronic music?
We listen to a lot of genres, but the artist we love listening to is Hans Zimmer. His music touches us deeply and inspires us a lot.
What do you like to do to relax outside of DJing and producing?
We love to pass time with family and friends. Playing sports and relaxing at the beach.
What are your three favourite countries to visit when touring?
We’ve just come back from a US tour, and we have to say that the public is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. South American countries like Argentina and Colombia are also very hot. And we also loved touring in Europe like Germany, where the culture is very underground, but also in our native France. It’s hard for us to choose just 3 countries because we have so many good memories in all of them!
Favourite venue to play in?
T7 in Paris , Die Rakete Club in Germany and Audio Club in Geneva.
We chose these 3 clubs for their sound quality and the electric atmosphere of the public.
What’s the rest of your 2023 looking like? What more can we expect from Cosmic Boys?
We’ve got a pretty busy schedule of dates for this summer with Festivals all over Europe but also in France like the 18th August at the Positiv Festival’s After Officiel at the Parc des expositions in Orange where we’re really looking forward to playing !!! We also have some big tours in North and South America in September, October and November. On the music front, we’re very proud to announce that we’ll be releasing an official remix of Energy 52’s legendary “Café Del Mar” this summer. This 90s classic is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. We’ve been playing it for a few weeks now and the reaction from the public is always crazy! It’s a real honour for us.
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