Cosmic Legends back in business (Cosmic Gate interview)

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By Dominic Wren

After listening to the album a few times I can really say that this is straight up fire! After meeting up in Montreal last March, Cosmic Gate humbly kept their word for setting up an interview in the future. So without further of ado, here it is! The Cosmic Legends are back in business!

Before reading the interview, I recommend that you have a listen to album.

Enjoy!

You’ve been playing some of the songs on the album in sets around the world for a little while now, how does it feel to finally release them to the world? 

“In all honesty, we were excited to finally release the album! We have been playing a few of the tracks for quite a while as you are saying, and we simply wanted to share the full album with our fans.

A release always is a bit of an anxious moment, very exciting, to get wider reactions from fans and colleagues, the question if will they share our taste, even after so many years it won’t leave us cold, but fortunately the reactions are pretty much awesome, just a great feel for our team and the two of us :)”


With reworked/edited tracks blended with brand new tracks, would you consider this album as a reminder of the past or a start of a new future? 

“We tried to basically wrap an album together which stands for what we have been doing in the last two decades, so in musical terms, quite a long time period. We wanted to remix some of our classics, sure write new music, and on top remix tracks that were important for us on the way, tracks that influenced us, like Need To Feel Loved and Lizard. So basically the album is a reminder of where we come from, but in the sound we stand for in 2019, but also its hinting out new horizons, new sounds and structures we will use for new music, which is basically in the pipeline already and waiting for last finishing touches only.”

Your Grammy nomination must’ve sparked many different feelings but what was the first thought that went through your heads for this major accomplishment? 

“If you do genre club music like we do, a Grammy certainly is not anything you would ever think about, at least we didn’t, so the whole nomination honestly took us by TOTAL surprise. Still now thinking about it we do not know how it happened to get nominated, nor we are thinking its ever going to happen again, we just enjoyed the fact and the positive irony of happening during our 20 year anniversary, which made it somehow even nicer and appreciated to say the least.”

During the process of creating this album, taking in factor the name suggesting time moving forward, were you guys looking to create new Cosmic Gate sounds or were you looking to continue mastering your traditional sound? 

“A new album is always a mix of both. Its the natural signature sound we do, basically our style, independent if it was back in the Hardtrance days or now with the more progressive sound, a sound which on top of that, always very natural gets upgraded and pushed forward by us. Breaking boundaries, bring in new influences and ideas, this happens slowly from single to single, remix to remix, its not big changes at first, but when about two years have passed and a new album is done, we hear the small differences that step by step make quite a difference in the sound and style of a new album. And this is a good thing, in general we feel art has to develop and move forward, on top speaking for ourselves, we literally would be bored to do the same sound over and over again. in the end the album title was a bit of a statement from our side, about our way of handling things, our thinking about music, pretty much about the way we work.”

Out of the whole album, which song has the most impact on you guys and why? 

“Every single song of the album is special to us, that’s why they are on this album. A lot of history, memories, stories are behind every track, so its kind of impossible for us to pick one and put it above others”

If you could describe the album in one word, what would it be? 

“COSMICMOTHERFKNGATE :-D”

Emma Hewitt has two features on the album, she undoubtedly brings a sort of personalized voice to fit the Cosmic Gate sound, but could you guys explain why her voice is a sort of perfect fit for your tracks? 

“To describe emotions and feeling is a pretty hard thing to do, but it seems indeed that Emma’s voice and our sound combined, seems to have a lot of magic for a lot of listeners. As said before sometimes things just fall into places, simply work well together, and so sure is our collaborations with Emma...

Now being 20 years into this incredible run, do you guys think your sound has progressed over the years? 

“We pretty much touched this subject before basically, so you know we indeed feel our sound did progress a lot during the 20 years. To maybe turn things around a bit, imagine we would basically sound the same like 20 years ago, how poor, let alone from an artistic point, would this be? How could we even not musically develop in this fast pace changing world, as growing personalities that have the privilege to travel the globe and meet people from different cultures and backgrounds? But to be honest, we feel a lot of music in the trance world still sounds a lot like 20 years ago, and there is nothing wrong with that, music always turns in circles, but for us it would feel like we’ve been there and done that, where is our personal fun? We are far from making music unlike anyone else, but we love change and new influences, we like the challenge to push boundaries, the natural sound of cosmic gate, our signature handwriting no matter what will always be there...”

Shall we be expecting another project soon? ;) 

“Absolutely :) as mentioned before, new music is already in the pipeline, FEBN was a current reflection of our past and present, we continue pushing our productions and sets towards new horizons in the future”.

There you have it ravers! These guys may have been around for 20 years but I feel like they are going to pull out 20 more outstanding years. Nic & Bossi are some of the realist personalities in the industry, which is absolutely beautiful to see and I hope that they stick around for 20 more years.

If you haven’t checked out the album yet I highly recommend you do! It’s really worthwhile even if you’re not big into the trance scene!

Alison Wonderland crushing the Bud Light House Party Tour

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By Dominic Wren

Alexandra Scholler, also known under her stage name of Alison Wonderland, has been one of the most exciting names to come through the electronic music scene in the last couple of years by creating her own distinct sound and collaborating with artist within and outside the electronic music scene, such as Trippie Red, Dillon Francis, and Chief Keef just to name a couple. EDM Canada was more than grateful to have a chance to sit down with this unique artist and discuss a couple topics so we can all understand her, her music, and her message a little bit better.

The Fortnite Pro-Am in July saw many celebrities participate in the charity event including Alison Wonderland. She explained that she started playing only 2 days before the event and she still beat 20 people before eventually eliminating herself because she was too good. Even for herself…

One thing she can undoubtedly be crowned as a world champion for is creating her own snacks. I’m talking about finding the new best topping on a pizza; I’m talking about mixing the most random ingredients to imitate a real food. For example; she explained that when she first started touring, she would get the milk creams and the sugar from the hotel room mini bar to mix them both in her mouth to imitate the taste of vanilla ice cream. Now that’s unique!

Source: Bud Light Canada FB Page

As some fans may already know, the now successful DJ/producer was a very talented cellist for the Sydney Youth Orchestra. Today she dominates the electronic music scene, but how/when did she make the transition from classical music to raves? She explained cello was her passion for most of her youth but after coming back to Australia from an overseas experience studying cello, she decided that this instrument wasn’t for her anymore. With no plans for education, Alexandra started playing in an underground punk band and working at the doors of nightclubs to earn extra money. She then heard the DJ play the song “Silent Shout” by the Knife and she became obsessed with it so she started making music like The Knife to later become the beloved Alison Wonderland after years of grinding and hard work.

For a long time, at the beginning of her career, Alexandra used a cracked version of the DAW Ableton where she taught herself how to make her own tracks. She only had a few sample packs to start with, including a Deadmau5’s sample pack, and pure passion that led to the creation of her own sound. She then started DJing closing sets almost every night in clubs around Sydney. She would make music during the day and would DJ until 4 am at night.

She made a clear point that DJing and producing music are two very different aspects of music. The Aussie artist explained that in those days, she would DJ under the name “Alison Wonderland” and produce under the name “White Fang.”

Pssst… *whispering* She also hinted a possibility of new music being released under her old name of White Fang.

We eventually went on to talk about the Bud Light House Party event that she was DJing that same night. Alison Wonderland was very excited for involvement with Bud Light and she mentioned that she would not have said yes to an event like this if it weren’t an authentic experience between her and her fans. Bud Light made it so much easier for her to connect with her fans and support her as an artist. Big ups on that Bud Light!

Alison Wonderland is one the most authentic and interesting electronic artists out there in my opinion. From humble beginnings to crushing headlines, her musical career has been a journey that even a Hollywood movie couldn’t encompass the whole story. We hope to see more of this talented female artist in the near future and hope to see her come to Canada more often! We need more artists like her in the industry.

This month’s artist spotlight: Taska Black (Interview)

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By Sinejan Ozaydemir 

If you already know of and are a fan of the bitbird fam you already know of Taska Black. For those of you who don’t, read on! 

We had the opportunity to sit down with Taska Black and get to know him a little better while he was in Toronto supporting San Holo on his album1 tour. 

The producer, who has been involved in music from the young age of 4, has been producing in one form or another since the age of 12. His sound, which most would describe as “cinematic and majestic”  fits in very well with the unique vibes we get from the rest of the bitbird family. As one of these artists who each have a clear vision for their music, Taska Black is driven to deliver an experience through his music in hopes of moving listeners and being a positive impact in their lives. 

Through our conversation, we notice his calm, genuine, focused and hopeful personality. Rather than solely chasing the next the next hit, he strives to make an impact with his music and looks forward to engaging with new audiences and meeting new fans around the world. He is in tune with what Taska black’s sound is now and a clear vision of how it will shift in the future. 

Below, we talk about his past, about what motivates him to make music, how he approaches his daily life on tour, his new EP MINDS, advice he has for other EDM artists that are in the discovery phase and much more. 

Life and background:  

Sinejan: What made you decide- I’m going to do music professionally? 

Taska Black: I have been producing for a long time, that is what I was passionate about. I went into college and did engineering and after 3 years I realized this is not what I'm passionate about, the only thing I am passionate about is music so, it took me a long time to figure that out but I'm really happy I made the move into music full time because that is the only thing that gets me excited. 

Was there a pivotal moment where you felt: “that's enough! no more engineering for me” or was it a build up? 

It was just a long process for me. there were a lot of people telling me, you should do what you love and don't look at expectations from your parents or anything. I was kind of raised with the thought of- go to college, get a degree and get a safe job. So, dropping out of college was something very unnatural for me but my parents were fine with me doing music so it was ok. 

Do you remember the first concert you ever went to? 

It may be night of the proms? we have this big arena in Belgium in Antwerp where I live and there is one night of the year called night of the proms and it's like classical music and bands. It is a very unique experience in Belgium once a year and I went with my dad when I was 10 years old. It had such a big impression on me because it was my first concert in a huge arena and it was a lot of fun. 

You went through a few sub-genres of electronic music scene (house, then drum & bass, then future bass) before you found your sound. How would you describe that experience and what Taska Black sounds like now? 

It's a long process, I am still trying to figure it out and I have to rethink it every once in a while. I guess what I am trying to do now is come out of EDM as something new. I feel like I have to do that for myself to be excited again about something. For me, that means focusing more on songwriting and making actual good songs and working with vocalists. Zoom in on the writing of songs instead of just cool production. That's where my music is headed. 

What is your song selection technique? How do you choose a song? 

Personally, I am better at writing chords and melodies, so that's what I focus on myself, and it's good when I can be in the studio with someone else and brainstorm about the meaning of the song and write lyrics with someone else in the room because that is something I am less good at. I think my strong suit is melodies and chords so that's what speaks to me most. 

What motivates you to continue making music these days? 

I think just the lust to create something better. I never have the feeling that I have created my best song yet, and I keep wanting to work to create that song that is like: "yes! this is the one". I also think I am probably never going to have that feeling but it's that craving for that, that keeps me going. 

Can you tell us about the BitBird Fam? What do you love most about being part of this group? 

I think it is a very nice group of people and it really does feel like a family. I mean I joined them very early on when they were just a promotional platform, so I got to know San and I got to work with Droeloe very early on. It is very nice to know these people in person. They are all based in the Netherlands and I live in Belgium so we are close to each other. It has been very inspirational for me to be able to speak with those people in person and hang out with them on tour. We all have a similar vision and goal in music: to create something emotional and  beautiful and I guess that is why we vibe so well with each other. 

What is the best piece of advice that was given to you so far in your career? 

Never look at anything other than what makes you happy. Just follow what makes you happy. That's what got me into music in the first place full-time and that's what keeps me here. I am not going to look at numbers or money or anything ever. I'm just going to what I am excited about and follow my gut. 

How does that pay off do you think? 

I think personally I need that to keep myself happy. I also feel like the fans appreciate that, they follow me wherever I go because of this. Because at first, when I did songs that were a little more like Pop, I was afraid - are people still going to like it? but the fans loved it so I am very glad about that! 

What would you consider your most pivotal moment in the past year? 

I guess the moment I signed with management because that was around the time I dropped out of college and started to do music full-time. I think that was a changing point for me because I started doing sessions with other musicians, writers, vocalists, going to the US for the first time to do shows. That was the moment that opened a lot of doors. 

Have you met any of your musical heroes yet? Who was it? 

I actually met, not REALLY met her but I saw her from nearby. When I was at Lolapalooza in Paris, we saw Dua Lipa walking past us with her crew and that was like "oh shit, that's Dua Lipa!" I was fangirling a little bit. I had that moment. I would love to make a song with her in the future. 

What is your favourite moment so far supporting San Holo on the Album 1 tour?

I think it was a show in Charlotte, where people were singing along with all the lyrics, like I could put down all the faders and you could hear them sing all the lyrics. That's when my mind was just blown. People on the other side of the world just singing my songs. It's a crazy feeling! I had a similar experience before at ADE but that was at a bitbird night so a lot of the bitbird fans are familiar with the music but now its just weird coming to the other side of the world, not expecting people to know my music at all, but they still sang the songs so that's just crazy! 

Is there anything you can get in Belgium that you haven’t been able to get anywhere else around the world on this tour that you miss? 

I miss my Girlfriend and Belgian french fries and Belgian/Brussels Waffles. 

New MINDS EP: 

What is the main statement/theme behind the new ‘MINDS EP’? 

I guess MINDS for me was a way to process stuff that I have been going through this year. I guess I went through a phase where I was having anxiety, which partially has to do with going into music full time and expectations and stress. So I was having stuff like panic attacks and the EP was just a way for me to express that, zoom in on that, and talk about what I went through. It's also a way for me bridge the gap between my sound of today and tomorrow. I’m heading in this new direction. Focusing more on songwriting and working with vocalists. That's me trying to do something new out of EDM. 

How do you work through that process of feeling overwhelmed and putting that energy into your musical creations? 

I have this song on the EP Called ‘Losing our minds’ and that basically just sends the message to people, like: don’t lose sight of what you have today and don’t overwork yourself just for a better future and forget about today. I think that was part of my problem, so I want the EP to give the message to people to live in the day, live in the moment. And I have another song “Get out of my head’ which basically describes when I have a panic attack or something. I really got into myself, into my own head, stuck in thoughts. That’s what that song is about. It’s all about describing my feelings and also sharing a message with people: describing what not to do in that moment and how to get out of the situation. 

How involved were you in the non-production aspects of songwriting like writing the lyrics? 

Basically, because I am classically trained on violin and piano, all my songs start when I’m just fooling around on the piano, finding chords and humming along a melody. I’m a terrible singer but that’s why I get excited to be in the studio with a singer and work on lyrics or work on the meaning of the song. I think the melody is my strong suit and it really blends well when I work with a vocalist. I am very involved the lyrics and especially the melodies. I like to be involved in the whole process. 

You said you love working with vocalists, will we be hearing you singing in the future? 

Maybe. I am leaving that open. I want to take singing classes to learn how to sing better, I don’t know if I will ever sing on a record but I am trying to learn. It’s going to take a while. 

What is your favourite track to play live right now? 

It may be ‘Dead inside’ I never expected it to do so well live. But everyone just starts jumping when it drops. It’s weird because I never expected it to do so well because its a very experimental song. But the reaction to that song has been crazy so I really like to play that one. 

Can you tell us about how “In the End ft. Aviella” came together? 

I started it when I was in LA. I was in an airbnb and I had a session planned with Aviella the next day. That night, I just grabbed my keys and got a couple of chords down and I hummed a melody. The next day I got in the studio with her and I said like "hey, can you do something with this melody and I have this meaning in my head for this EP" and we came up with these lyrics and kept the melody I made the night before. We basically made the whole song in that session, then the rest was all production. So the whole song came together very naturally in just a couple of hours. 

Was losing our minds the first track you worked on? 

Yes, It initially started as a demo from Nevve, but it was completely different. It was kind of a pop ballad and I completely changed the melody and the lyrics were initially completely different as well. Then I met with them on that same week in LA, I explained to them the meaning of the EP and how I wanted to shift their demo and change the melody and everything and we just changed the whole thing into a new song that same session. 

We have talked about how your sound has changed over the years and now has more pop elements to it. What makes the songs on this EP sound like Taska Black, what elements carry or create your signature sound? 

Yes, I love pop music. I think my EP and sound is a combination of pop-inspired vocals and my typical production which is I guess is kind of cinematic and majestic sounding. I think it is the combination of those two things that I want to bring out more in the future because I think that’s what makes me stand out.

Who are your biggest inspirations from Pop music right now? 

I love Sia. When it comes to pop singers, I think she’s top notch. Also, Julia Michaels, I think she is great. I followed her from the beginnings when she used to be a writer and worked into her artistry. I am also very inspired by the LA writing scene of pop writers that are not just artists but write and produce songs. People like Benny Blanco. I think that is very inspiring for sure. 

Advice for fellow artists: 

There is so much going on in the industry right now, sounds are shifting and merging. What advice would you give to new electronic artists trying to find their own sound? 

I think patience is one thing, because it takes a long long time. I think finding what you are good at is very important. You shouldn’t try to fix what you are bad to fit in. You should focus on what you are good at. For example, I think for me, I figured that out when I heard a lot of people telling me that my sound was very majestic and anthemic and cinematic. I just focused in on that and that made my sound what it is. I think people who are starting out need to figure out for themselves what they are good at- whether its drums or melodies or vocals- and just do more of that and make sure you communicate that. 

Advice on Mental Health & Dealing with stress in the industry? 

I wouldn’t say I’m a pro at this because I’m still struggling. But, what helped for me was, I did a lot of meditation and breathing exercises. Putting things in perspective is very important. It takes a long time to learn how to put things in perspective but I think using the breathing exercises and taking a step back helped. You have to take time and accept the fact that, you know, I am not going to work for this amount of time and I am going to take this time to work on myself and do the exercises and figure it out slowly but surely. It’s a hard process and it takes a long time but after a while you can see yourself getting out of it. 

Advice on how to spend spare time on tour?

I pretty much spend all my off time on tour making music. Because I have a lot of songs I am working on right now. I don’t have a lot of off time while on tour because it’s basically like waking up in the next city, having a couple of hours and then going into soundcheck and then doing the show and then going back to sleep. I try use all my free hours to work on music but besides that I like to try to see something of the new places I am visiting. Like, I’ve never been in Toronto, so I’d like to see some of the city. 

The future: 

You have had the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing artists like Droeloe, Nevve, and many more. Do you have any dream collaborations? 

My next dream collab would be Louis the child. Because I think they do a great job bridging the gap between pop and EDM and I think that’s also what I’m trying to do, so, I think that would be very cool! 

For anyone who has never seen you live before: What can fans expect from a Taska Black performance? 

I’m working on how I am going to be incorporating the mixing of new elements into the show, it’s still early days for me, but right now my show is still very EDM inspired. They can expect melodic music but still a lot of energy. 

What is something you are most looking forward to in the next 6 months? 

Being home again after two months on this bus. I also have a lot of exciting songs coming out. It’s been a while since I have been very excited about new songs so I am glad right now. Now that I have completed this EP and now that it’s done I am able to write new songs again and I am very excited for those to also come out. I am also excited to just show my music to new people. I am going to be doing a lot of new shows than I have never done. I am very excited to see the reactions of people in this new direction that I am headed. 

Where will we see you in 5 years? 

I haven’t even figured this out for myself yet, but I guess doing my own headlining tour and bringing everything to life in the live shows, the whole spectrum: visually & musically. Performing with the people that I make music with, like singers etc. Putting on a more musical show rather than a DJ set. I would love to incorporate my piano and violin background into the live performance so I hope to have that ready in 5 years. 

We thank Taska Black for sitting down to talk with us and encourage our readers to check out his new ‘MINDS EP’ and the rest of his music on spotify or itunes and follow him here for more news and info!

Bud Light House Party Tour and interview with Nervo

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By Dominic Wren

As it comes to no surprise, Bud light pulled off another killer night for their Bud light House Party Tour when it made it's third stop in Montreal. It’s great to see a major beer company allowing fans to be closer to there favorite artists as it really brought the community together. At 10pm sharp, the long awaited Aussie DJ duo, Nervo, came to stage, opening their set with their brand new single “What Would You Do For Love” (Sedliv Remix). The crowed freaked.

For a party of a capacity of about 100 people, it felt like there were 500 partiers. This was some of the best artist to crowd interactions I’ve ever seen. People having posters, Nervo responding, smiling and talk to individuals in the front row. The two Australians keeping the party to a Big Room House (pun not intended) vibe, they were rocking with “Blah Blah Blah” by Armin Van Buuren (Bassjackers Remix) and “Dreamer” by Axwell Ingrosso and many more.

The next morning I sat down with these world-renowned artists for an interview. While the Nervo twins created a very chill and relaxed atmosphere, I first asked them what they thought of this idea of playing at a house party. They both jumped to express their love of the idea. The two-minute-older sister, Olivia Nervo, mentioned that it was a great vibe: “normally big shows and festivals are all about entertaining the crowd, but this was more of an intimate night between us and the crowd” just a “great vibe.” Mariam Nervo expressed that “variety is the spice of life” so playing at these rare opportunities is truly special for them. The Bud Light House Party Tour has been rocking through out the whole summer, stopping in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Bud Light smashed their first stop with French Montana in Vancouver, then Ty Dolla $ign in Toronto and finally the major beer company reached out to Nervo to host their last house party of the summer in Montreal. “We were super excited for the gig” said the Nervo sisters.

These two ladies work insanely hard to make the best music they possibly can. They casually explained that they frequently fly between LA and London just to get the sound that want. While sipping her tea in the hotel lobby after a big night, the older twin, Olivia, said: “sometimes we fly to London just to finish a mix. The mix we get in our room over there is just… Better.”

The question was brought up about why there are so fewer female DJ/producers in what is known as “the top 40”. The younger twin, Mariam Nervo, voiced that female DJs tend to stay in the techno world, but today we are seeing more and more female DJs become more “mainstream.” Olivia pitched in with a very good point expressing that when they started making music, they made melodies on the piano and wrote down their songs on paper then they would go to a producers house where they could use his computer and his system to produce and it was always a little bit intimidating. Now software and professional programs are easily accessible just from your computer in your bedroom. “Within the next ten years, I think the number of female DJs and producers will explode” added Olivia. It’s a part of the industry that will soon be changed.

Source: Nervo FB

According to Nervo, the knowledge that coming from a certain part of the world is unfair for people trying to “make it” is completely untrue. “Any industry, if you want to be at the top, it’s hard” said Mariam. The duo also mentioned that most people think that LA is the artistic hub of the world but artists who live in LA trying to “make it” say that they feel it’s over saturated. Olivia confidently responds: “It’s a fair playing ground, you just have to be the best.” She added that she’s received an email from an Iranian producer seeking help claiming that he is one of the few EDM producers in Iran because that genre of music is actually illegal there. So to conclude that segment, anywhere you are in the world, it’s a grind claims the Nervo duo.

These two ladies were off going to Fabulous Las Vegas the very next day of the Bud Light House Party. Nervo will be on the road from now until October 13th where they’ll be touring in many cities from the USA to Europe to Asia and South East Asia. If Nervo is playing near you, then make sure to grab your ticket and your best friend and take part of a memorable night.

 

 

 

 

Watch this: Cosmic Gate - Materia The Documentary

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The legendary German duo Cosmic Gate has released an expansive documentary giving fans insight on how they created their latest two albums, Materia Chapter.One and Materia Chapter.Two. Cosmic Gate also lets you gain insight on their favourite gigs and their hectic touring life, as well as beautiful shots from their live shows. If you love Cosmic Gate then you'll love this documentary.