Cosmosis

With a perception that nowadays very little is required to create music, musical ability and talent being one of the prerequisites often scratched off the list, it is refreshing to find such a well-rounded figure who has accomplished a vast array of musical achievements through passion and technical dexterity. For Cosmosis aka Bill Halsey, a strong background in both the technical and creative side of music has fueled his immensely impressive career. With 8 albums and 15 years in the industry under the Cosmosis moniker, he began as a session musician whilst composing and recording pop tracks, sharing that the underlying fundamentals of music always being a leading element in his life. "Creating music is enough for me, the form is not that important. It seems to become less so as I get older."

"Perhaps you underestimate quite how ancient I am" laughs Halsey when asked about the influence of his musical pursuits; "Psytrance didn’t actually exist back when I started making dance records, it wasn’t my dream to make psytrance because that particular option was still in the future."

Along with Jez Van Kampen, Hasley became enamored by the sound of the 12" vinyl’s being released by the small South London based record label Dragonfly Records. "Listening to and creating music as well as making it my career had already long been the focus of my life." Involved with numerous areas of audio creation, Hasley can still step back and see music as just that. "I tend to agree with Duke Ellington in that music falls into just two categories: good and bad. In any genre there’s excellence and mediocrity." Sitting firmly in the former, Cosmosis has always been about psytrance. "It just so happens that I’m currently still infatuated with Trance and electronic beats. That may change, we’ll see."

Producing the first Cosmosis album with Jez Van Kampen, and since working with DJ Kuma on the Mumbo Jumbo project, Hasley is comfortable with collaborating or delving into solo projects. "I like both approaches because they offer different advantages. When working in the studio with someone else, apart from the obvious advantage of someone else bringing fresh musical ideas to the session, it can be a lot more fun especially when slogging through long editing sessions. Working with another experienced producer rather than a DJ is particularly useful because you can take more breaks and swap the two major roles of driving the sequencer… [and] maintaining the overview of the track. On the other hand when working alone there is not the same restriction on time", Hasley concedes "There are also no artistic compromises that need to be made between ideas, so I can express my personal artistic vision more completely."

The reaction to his latest album Fumbling For The Funky Frequency has been a positive one; "Judging by the dance floor people seem to like the tunes too. Generally the feedback has been that people are really enjoying the slightly more old school goa melodic approach combined with the modern production sound of a hugely fat-in-your-face kick and bass sound. Which was my intention and the approach I took in my previous album Psychedelica Melodica. The tunes on Fumbling are really a development of that idea." His knowledge gained from the studio has led to tips, tricks and production techniques on his website. "I didn’t originally actually intend to create that per se, it just sort of developed as I published my emailed answers to questions that budding producer friends."

With crowds worldwide having had the privilege to share his music in a live setting, Hasley is uncertain of a favourite, defining moment on the road. "After 15 years or so of globetrotting and continually playing at different parties all the experiences kind of melt in to one big long fluoro dream. The ones I tend to remember are always in locations of outstanding natural beauty, like outdoor parties up high in the Swiss Mountains, on beaches in Goa, Bali or Brazil, in the English countryside, desert parties in Israel, rainforests in Australia that kind of thing. I’ve been playing a lot in Israel lately. I enjoy the parties there, they love their Trance and they really know how to party."

Hasley enjoys the finer pleasures away from music, enjoying a vegan lifestyle whilst promoting spiritual development, able to "Sit in the garden in a place in the sunshine with a view over the mountains and play the blues on my acoustic guitar, learn a new piece of music or write songs. When I am not doing that I read. I also spend time meditating." A nice change up to the life of touring worldwide and creating dance floor devastating tunes.

Cosmosis [UK] plays the Maitreya Festival with Neelix [GER], Flowjob [DEN] and more on Friday March 11 – 14 at the Pyrenees Ranges.

Kelvin Colling