This week’s Savvy Seven is all about Sydney’s savviest duo of all, Cosmo’s Midnight! With the fresh release of their debut album What Comes Next on June 15th, you’d be lucky to catch them performing the exhilarating dance tunes on the fast-selling tour across the country, kicking off this week at The Metro Theatre.
After the success of the latest single “Lowkey”, along with a myriad of songs from the album on Triple J, it’s no wonder the duo have managed to attract massive crowds at some of Australia’s largest festivals. Incorporating features from well-known rappers such as Buddy and Jay Prince on the aforementioned track, to fellow Australian artists Winston Surfshirt and more, it’s unsurprising that Cosmo’s Midnight are on the rise with fans flocking to purchase tickets to the upcoming shows in order to catch them live and in action!
Read on to see what Cosmo’s Midnight had to say about their exciting music industry experience so far.
1) Who was your first musical inspiration? Why? Who inspires you now?
Our first would have to be Daft Punk, purely for the fact that they are the reason we wanted to write music. But now I would say so many things inspire us; places, people, old and new music. Recently we’ve been listening to a lot of older music like Boney M, Donna Summer, Chic, Michael Franks, but also some of the newer stuff like River Tiber, Steve Lacy, and JPEGMAFIA. Although you might not hear the direct influences, our music is sort of a collage of all our favourite bits of all the music we love filtered through the lens of our experiences in life in general and as musicians and songwriters.
2) What advice do you have for someone who is about to set off on their first tour?
Confidence! The best part of a performance is seeing the artists enjoying themselves while they play the music you want to hear. It’s taken a while for us to get comfortable with performing live but it was really all about building that confidence.
3) What has been one of the most defining moments in your career?
I’d say our last few tours have been a great milestone for us. At Falls Fest and the recent Groovin’ the Moo tours we were clashing with huge acts but still managed to have crazily packed tents with super intense and engaged crowds. We were nervously optimistic but our expectations were blown away.
4) How has your music practice changed over time?
We’ve learned so much since we’ve started writing and every time we think we’re about to plateau one of us learns something new or picks up a new instrument and we just progress to another level. This album was really about doing the most with as few elements as possible. We pretty much only used really simple sounds and instrumentation, as we wanted to limit ourselves to a specific palette so we would be more creative in the songwriting process instead of nerding out over weird sounds.
5) My top business tip for new artists is…
Put yourself out there and don’t be afraid of failure. Good music is always recognized. It’s cheesy but you miss all the shots you don’t take.
6) My biggest career mistake has been… What would you do differently now?
I just wish I had started sooner and had kept up instruments when I was growing up. In all honesty, though I wish we held back a little bit from releasing so many weird songs when we were super young. But I mean we were also finding our feet as artists and we gained many followers from those weird songs so maybe I just wear it on my sleeve now haha. In a way, I think it’s endearing that people have been able to see us progress throughout the years.
7) In my opinion, the most important issue facing the music industry is… What do you think can change that?
Being realistic and telling people of your failures. The most toxic aspect of every creative industry is how success is portrayed and how some people seem to only be winning or become overnight successes. The path to success is never linear so I think people should be honest about their failures to both themselves and to their peers.
You can listen to the new album ‘What Comes Next’ here, or catch it live at one of the dates below. Be quick as tickets are selling fast!
Fri, July 6 – The Metro Theatre, Sydney (SOLD OUT)
Sat, July 7 – The Flying Cock, Brisbane (SOLD OUT)
Wed, July 11 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne – JUST ADDED
Thur July 12 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (SOLD OUT)
Fri, July 13 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (MATINEE/ALL AGES) – JUST ADDED
Fri, July 13 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (SOLD OUT)
Sat, July 14 – Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth (SOLD OUT)
Sun, July 15 – Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth – JUST ADDED
Sat, July 21 – The Metro, Sydney – ALL AGES – JUST ADDED
Fri, July 27 – The Metro, Sydney – ALL AGES – (SOLD OUT)
Sat, July 28 – Fat Controller, Adelaide (SOLD OUT)
Fri, August 3 – UC Refectory, Canberra – JUST ADDED
Sat, August 4 – The Metro, Sydney (SOLD OUT)
If you loved hearing what Cosmo’s Midnight had to say, make sure you check out the Savvy Sevens archives for more industry insight!
