Cosmonaut Radio planted its roots in Brooklyn in 2010 and has since stretched its branches across the country with its innovative sound, incorporating vibrant melodies and rhythmic complexities. Turning the bass up to eleven, the band requests that you let the funk and your heartbeat intertwine, creating a musical infusion fueled by Led Zeppelin, Jameson shots, and the ever-expanding universe. Growing and changing from both personal experiences and the capricious nature the current global environment, the songwriting has both structurally and thematically evolved, running the emotional gamut from joy to heartache to several spots in between.
In this interview spotlight, I speak with Austin, Freddy and Russell of Cosmonaut Radio about their latest project, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Austin: Cosmonaut Radio is a Brooklyn based band and we make funky rock and roll, which doesn’t really answer anything. It’s difficult to define our sound, and that’s purposeful. We aim to write dance-y music, with pop and funk sensibilities, while still being unique and adding different musical elements to keep the songs interesting, for us and the listener. That’s why you’ll hear a basic pop structure, with meter changes in the choruses, or an unorthodox structure with a big sweeping, easy-to-attach-to chorus.
Freddy: Cosmonaut Radio is based in Brooklyn. We generally identify ourselves as a funk rock band, but we also try at every opportunity to branch out and experiment with new styles and sounds. Despite the differing styles, the uniting ethos behind most of our songs is the idea that complex music can still be accessible and engaging and that upbeat and dance-y music can still have depth, both instrumentally and lyrically.
Russell: We’re based in Brooklyn and we make funk-based rock music. There’s a wide array of musical influences between all of us in the band and so our sound can go from hard hitting rock to dance/pop to funk/RnB and there are usually some interesting meter choices and chord progressions happening.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
A: I started playing the drums in 4th grade. My mom is a musician and very musical in general, and my dad is a huge lover of music. So there was always music in the house and singing and dancing constantly. I’ve been playing in bands since I was about 12 or 13, and the more I’ve done other things, the more I realized I want music to be the center of my life. We’re all from different musical backgrounds, but we all love creating, and making this art, and we all want to be doing it as often and possible. It’s an uphill battle, but music is what makes us the happiest, so we forge on.
F: I grew up in a family that listened to a lot of R&B, and I’ve been singing along for as long as I can remember. That’s when I knew I wanted to sing, but it was actually hearing “Dance, Dance” by Fall Out Boy playing during a basketball game on TV when I was a teenager that made me switch from acting and musical theater to wanting to join a rock band. In the intervening years, I’ve been kept going by the support of my family and friends, the fun of writing and performing new music, and the (mostly confirmed) suspicion that I wouldn’t be content doing anything else.
R: All of us have more or less always been on the path of making music or performing. This band was the result of chance Craigslist connections that somehow evolved into three guys that work really well together despite having very different backgrounds and styles of playing. We stay the course because we’ve come so far already and we feel our music has taken shape in a really nice way that we’re all pleased with, why stop now?
How is ‘Creatures’ different from ‘Work Harder, Comrade!’? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
A: I don’t think we set out to do anything other than set the world on fire haha. Creatures is an evolution. Comrade was written with our original lead singer, and more rock based. This record is much more complex, musically and vocally, and I think is a more obvious elevation and evolution from Comrade. The styles and sounds you hear on Creatures are much closer to the kind of music we want to be making and want people to hear.
F: As the first album written since the departure of the original frontman, “Creatures” is extremely different from “Work Harder, Comrade!”. The main difference is that “Comrade!” stuck much closer to an overarching funk rock template and had a tendency to drift into prolonged and repeated instrumental sections. While “Creatures” retains some of these elements, it combines them with new styles and influences while also trimming the fat for an overall tighter, sleeker, and more focused album. While the songs weren’t written in any kind of order, they’re connected by themes of existentialism, self-reflection, and the desire to have fun and enjoy life despite personal, social, and global dilemmas bringing you down.
R: The new EP is called “Creatures”. It’s very different from our last EP mainly because most of the tracks on “Work Harder, Comrade!” were written with our former frontman and once Freddy joined we had him change only a few things. “Creatures”, however, is truly a collaborative effort from all of us, as well as our former bass player, Mike Tamola. It is much more complicated from a musical standpoint, reaches a little deeper lyrically, and really defines the type of music we’re looking to create and show to the world.
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
A: Yes, every single day. Our biggest hurdle is getting our music in front of people. The best thing about the digital age is that it has made making music, and more specifically recording it, so easy and accessible that almost anyone can; and that’s incredible. The down side to that, is that it means everyone is making music and putting music out there. I think our style and quality differentiates us enough, but the struggle is actually getting people to hear it. Once they hear it, we’re all set.
Another interesting challenge is the rise of EDM and DJ music. So many clubs and venues have DJs on weekend nights because that’s what people want to party to, it’s a little more difficult to find good rooms, and get them filled with people who want to hear live music.
F: Yes, absolutely. Our challenge has always been getting our music in front of the right audience because it is different. While we recognize – and embrace – that fact, it can be tough to find the people who are really looking for it. Spotify and Facebook have actually helped a lot with this because we can identify those audiences a bit and this helps us plan tours and marketing.
R: The main issue that I feel most artists face in the digital age is oversaturation. When pretty much the entire past and present of music history is available at your fingertips 24/7 and basically for free, there’s very little impetus for people to pay for music or go out to shows or even look for new music in the first place. Technology definitely helps us get our music out to the public much faster and on a scale that would have previously been unimaginable, but it also means that almost anyone else can do it as well. There’s a much larger sea of options now than there ever has been before, and finding a way to rise to the top and stand out can be exceedingly difficult.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
@CosmonautRadio everywhere. Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Tidal, ReverbNation, Soundcloud, Bandcamp. We can be found on all of the streaming platforms as well Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and at www.cosmonautradio.com for dates and merch!
