Inside the IM with Kosmas Epsilon & littlemissbluedress
House music is heard everyday by thousands of people around the world, but are we all listening in the same way? Are you really hearing what’s streaming through your ear buds, every bass line, every separate synth and every electronic beat programmed just right?
Some of us enjoy the music as a whole, some like to separate the sounds into different levels. In this interview I learned what its like to hear music through Kosmas’ ears, the challenges of being a producer and how he found his passion from a very young age.
Kosmas: Hi lisa!
Lisa: Kosmas! Finally, how are you?
Kosmas: Haha, cool thanks how are you??
Lisa: I’m good, just chillin’.
Kosmas: Chilling on a Saturday night?
Lisa: Well we work on Sunday here.
Kosmas: It’s so quiet here. It’s a small town you know.
Lisa: So not much happening party wise then?
Kosmas: No, 0 action, only 2 times a year maybe and a few small nights that I play, not actually nights, afternoon parties.
Lisa: That’s cool, I like to party in the day. So you don’t play regularly then?
Kosmas: Here nope, the city only has 60,000 people.
Lisa: That’s smaller then the city I grew up in.
Lisa: How did you get into this music?
Kosmas: A long time ago, it was about 90-91 when I started digging it, I was about 12. My cousin had all these records. I loved to go at his place when he wasn’t there to listen to them, then he handed them to me as he got bored.
Lisa: You like to listen alone?
Kosmas: Yep, I prefer it actually, I can understand music better.
Lisa: What kind of music do you listen to when you go out?
Kosmas: Depends on the place. I enjoy smooth grooves, more organic and natural or electronic, but humanly made, not so digital.
Lisa: So like jazz?
Kosmas: No, not pure jazz, maybe some broken beats. Last night at a friends place and he was spinning Fort Knox Five, and showing off proudly his CD’s.
Lisa: Is that a group? I’ve never heard of them.
Kosmas: Yep US guys, funky breaks, jazz references, slow beats, maybe 110 bpm.
Lisa: I will have to check them out.
Kosmas: This guy mixed everything from funk to electro and so on but no 4/4.
Lisa: So you like a good variety in music.
Kosmas: Ya, I Iike some soul techno from the past too.
Lisa: Soul techno, those words don’t sound like they go together.
Kosmas: Hahaha yes there’s techno with soul, it’s not aggressive, kinda jazzy, futuristic but so retro.
Lisa: Hmmm I’d like to hear that.
Kosmas: Check out Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Kenny Larkin.
Lisa: Will do.
Kosmas: Guess you’ve heard Joris Voorn’s last CD?
Lisa: Ya for sure, I love it, it’s so different
Kosmas: Its lovely isn’t it?? It has some deep sounds, soulful techno vibes and house.
Lisa: I like that, a DJ who is willing to push boundaries and takes you somewhere, though the last track on CD 2 kinda gives me the creeps.
Lisa: What’s your favorite thing to listen to at the moment?
Kosmas: Hmmm, cheeky house, more bright, there’s some around atm.
Lisa: Like what?
Kosmas: Some shur-i-kan for example, Jimpster, the curly stuff gets me grooving.
Lisa: Ya, love both those guys, I saw Jimpster a few weeks ago, amazing set.
Kosmas: And also a track that’s a bit older, but so cool: Pitto- Feelin, the track is out on Rejected label, Voorn’s one, it has a disco vibe goin’ on, filtered and funky.
Lisa: Nice, sounds like something I’d like.
Lisa: You have some real funky grooves in this mix.
Kosmas: The sets I sent you are inspired from a gig I had in Amsterdam a few days ago. It’s not mixed there live but the track list is 95% from there. Ramon Tapia was spinning before me, so I got into more techy territories.
Lisa: This track coming in at 17 min is great, I love the flute sound.
Kosmas: That’s the organic feel I was telling you about, flutes getting loopy, love it myself too, it’s Triangle & Joel Xavier, a Mic Newman rmx.
Lisa: So what came first producing or DJing?
Kosmas: DJing, in about 93-94, early European and US techno, then I got into more housey stuff, US house but mostly instrumental.
Lisa: What made you want to start?
Kosmas: My cousin gave me these 100 records he owned and I got a weekly mix on a local radio station, 2 hours every Sat and Sunday.
Lisa: Nice, so you started DJing on vinyl?
Kosmas: Yep, for a lot of years I only played records but it was about 2004-2005 that I stopped doing so.
Lisa: This track at 22 min is so funky.
Kosmas: Definitely, there’s a summer vibe going on at that time of the mix.
Lisa: Tapesh, sweet track! Great for the start of summer.
Kosmas: Yes!!
Lisa: How did you find the transition from vinyl to digital?
Kosmas: Easy, I got my first CD decks in about 2004, so was easy to exercise a bit but used to play a few tracks on CD before that too, not everybody was sending vinyl promos. That was the early stage that shown vinyl is going down…I still love it, really do, it sounds different, not so clean but I like that ‘dirt’.
Lisa: Wow what a build up in this track at 28:50
Kosmas: Big room sound.
Lisa: Really breaks in.
Kosmas: Ya totally, there’s a tribal groove until here for the last 15 mins or so.
Lisa: Ya, very chuggy.
Lisa: When did you start producing?
Kosmas: First attempts were in 2002 but finished products I could only deliver after 2003. Before that I was learning.
Lisa: And you learned well!
Kosmas: Hehe, thanks! I Try to.
Lisa: You’ve had some incredible productions really. Funny cause at 360 one of the residents, Raxon, is always playing this track I love. I didn’t know what it was then he told me it was a remix of yours, Heatsteric – Boiling Point, always gets me jumping!
Kosmas: Thanks for letting me know, say hi to him for me.
Lisa: How do you keep yourself creative with your productions?
Kosmas: I have a big ear open to everything that has sound and there is sound in everything, except in silence, I dislike it, trick is to use new sounds.
Lisa: There are so many producers out there that have one hit never to be heard from again, what do you think it takes to consistently produce good tracks?
Kosmas: There’s no special recipe to that. Some might have millions of ideas in their head and some not. I listen to stuff from many people everyday. There’s a lot who improve greatly within each release, there are others who only do one thing each time.
Lisa: I guess it depends on your level of creativity.
Kosmas: Exactly and you have to know how to use the tools well, this way you can work faster and be more productive.
Lisa: Who are some producers you like right now?
Kosmas: Hideo Kobayashi, Robert Babicz (always), Joris Voorn, Ian Pooley, Zoo Brazil, Scope, shur-i-kan.
Lisa: Wow, Ian Pooley, haven’t heard him in years, good to see he has remained over the years.
Kosmas: I’ve been listening to his music from ’94, early acid house.
Lisa: I loved his stuff back in the day, I have a CD of his.
Kosmas: He’s still very housey, but this collab is a bit techier.
Lisa: Ya, I used to love very housey stuff.
Kosmas: House music never dies, such a cliche answer, but it is true.
Lisa: We keep it alive.
Lisa: You did some excellent work with Somnus Corp, what was it like working with them?
Kosmas: Funniest fun, they’re really great people. I enjoy working with them and also hanging out and have beers together. Lots of time was spent in the studio and at Jorge’s house. Whenever I am there, we can finish a tune in 5 hours.
Lisa: What’s the production process like when you are collaborating with someone?
Kosmas: Depends on whom you are with but with Somnus for example, we wake up, set up the place with frappe and Manzanita, loads of it.
Lisa: What’s that?
Kosmas: Frappe is a famous (here) Greek cold coffee, one that I made for them there, they didn’t know what it was ’til then. Tom Morgan loved it immediately, he asked for doubles.
Lisa: Hehe I want to try it.
Kosmas: Manzanita is a cool drink like apple juice, but fresher. Anyways after the studio is set up with drinks and we have a good laugh or two we start on an empty file, one person works on an idea then someone else plays, another on keyboard and we get ideas, we see what goes well, then record it down, slowly, we progress. It might take 2 minutes to find a great bass line but maybe it takes 30 minutes.
Lisa: Cool, I would love to see how that’s done.
Kosmas: Hehe it’s interesting to watch.
Lisa: What program do you use?
Kosmas: At Somnus’ place, we use Ableton live alongside a tb-303 Roland monosynth, an access virus synth for pads and chords.
Lisa: I love the vocals that come into the track at 58min.
Kosmas: Sounds like something that was taken from an old song, right?
Lisa: Ya, totally.
Kosmas: On the Latino side, I enjoy the funky filtered loop underneath, gives a nice running kinda feel to it.
Lisa: Totally, you have a great way of explaining the tracks.
Kosmas: It is my job nowadays; I listen to a track and separate the sounds in my head. I know exactly what something would need to sound better etc.
Lisa: I guess since you know how to produce it you hear it in a unique way.
Kosmas: Yeah, all musicians and producers actually.
Lisa: It must be hard to be able to create a new sound that builds on your past work while maintaining your style; do you think producers should stick to the sound they are best known for?
Kosmas: Not necessary, it is always cool to make new things.
Lisa: I know some that have changed their style and then lost a lot of listeners because of it.
Kosmas: Well, you can always use an alias for that so as not to confuse your fans.
Lisa: Have you ever done that?
Kosmas: I do it yes, with only a few tracks though.
Lisa: Want to tell me your alias?
Kosmas: Nope, they are all incognito.
Lisa: Haha, didn’t think so.
Lisa: I know Greece is a big party place, do you like the scene there or is it mainly commercial?
Kosmas: Everywhere is commercial, not only in Greece. But people here enjoy listening to Greek music a lot, they love Greek folk. I cannot understand them. There are a few parties happening in the big cities and also in Mykonos. I have played there at Club Paradiso, it has a perfect view of the sea, it’s gorgeous, every 2 days there is a big party.
Lisa: Wow Greek folk music, funny, young people enjoy that?
Kosmas: It suxx, ya everyone, it didn’t use to be like this but all these tv shows like ‘Wanna be a Star’ has had a big influence.
Lisa: So is there much of an audience for your sound in Greece?
Kosmas: I guess so, yeah. I play quite a lot in my country. There aren’t more than 200-300 people at the parties but taking into account that they’re mostly in small cities, it is ok.
Lisa: Small parties are great, more intimate.
Kosmas: A nice intimate vibe is fun but I also enjoy some festivals with thousands of people every once in a while.
Lisa: What’s your favorite festival?
Kosmas: Best one I’ve been to is Extrema in Holland. It’s a great organization that has lots of big DJs and acts and the atmosphere is special, 30 000 in attendance.
Lisa: Wow, I’ve never been to a party that big, I would like to someday.
Lisa: Where is your favorite place to play/party?
Kosmas: I loved some moments in Mexico and Argentina. Well all of Latin America must be my favorite. I also like Russia. I had a few great gigs there. It’s cold, but so hot in the nightlife!
Lisa: What is your biggest challenge as a DJ / producer?
Kosmas: Morphing, meaning, moving along with the times, the progress in sound, technology which is changing all the time, being open to new things, new patterns, not getting stuck in the past, you’ll lose the game if you don’t keep up. But it is sooo interesting and important to morph in this way.
Lisa: We look to producers to create the sounds of the future, not an easy task I’m sure.
Kosmas: Right and many times it happens that I get really tired of trying to create something new, something ‘awesome’, either freaky or just beautiful. Inspiration comes at random moments like at 4 a.m., while you’re at home sleeping, but had a nice dream.
Lisa: Do you have any summer plans?
Kosmas: I’m planning to arrange some tours and write more music before I move into the new studio in about 50 days from now.
Lisa: Where do you want to go?
Kosmas: I’m planning for Mexico, South America and Australia.
Lisa: Nice!
