An audioillustrated encounter with Sangoma Records’ deep friendly forest psy-storyteller, Cosinus.

What were some of the events or experiences that set you off on this journey?

I’ve been heavily influenced by my parents and their taste in 60’s rock music, from the time of being a young boy experiencing several rockbands where my father was crunching his bass guitar to the time of my first rave parties that I discovered in the late nineties. Also, of course, my first dj experiences in my teenage years — becoming infected with the psytrance virus by an oldschool teacher of mine who was travelling through India and Goa. After a friend of mine handed me over some demo tapes from psytrance dj’s, there was no turning back for me and I got hooked on to it.

What stands behind the name of your project?

Cosinus stands for my love/hate relationship with algebra and was born 20 years ago in a small basement room with one of my best buddies. That night there were lots of beers downed, as we thought that I need a new dj name to start spinning psytrance. Also I’m super addicted to anything related to science-fiction movies, science in general, and paranormal experiences. I guess the name fits very well.


Who have your greatest teachers been, your greatest inspirations? Musically speaking, who has had the greatest influence on your musical soundscapes?

Back then, when I started with psytrance, I would say the early Tip Records stuff like Organic Noise, Synchro or Kopfuss Resonator. Also German Labels like Spirit Zone or Nephilim Records had a huge impact. And of course, Rastaliens. Nowadays, teaching-wise, I have to say that the countless sessions, conversations, chats and parties with Southwild, Braincell, Evp and Dj Cybird got me back on track when I started writing my own music again. Plus I’m really happy to call them friends and not only “oh those are my buddies for the Geektalks”, so it’s really nice to not only talk with them about music production. It’s also very inspiring that we all have our different styles and influences outside of psytrance that we share with each other. This in and of itself gives a lot of creative mojo to the studio.

How has your sound, your taste in music developed throughout the years?

In my dj years I was never a big fan of making a dancefloor yell and scream around. I always had the approach to send them on a deep journey. There was also always a focus to play the appropriate music for the time of the day I would play. I would always try to make sure that everyone was dancing, as well as telling a good logical story. As a producer I have the same approach, but making deeper nighttime psychedelics are my fav.or, as I would say, – trying to transform the sub-genre of ‘forest’ together with my love for science-fiction.


How about those mind-blowing, life-changing experiences that have shaped you and your sound?

Natraj Temple in Munich, which was the only 100% Psytrance Club in Europe around the late 90’s, had a huge influence on me as a dancer and as a developing person – meeting new friends there, discovering psychedelics and the lifestyle that came with it. Also my first gigs outside of Europe, like Mexico or the gigs that I played so far upstate New York, had a deep impact on me as a person. In general I like travelling around and meeting new people, having a good time with them, and sharing good moments.


Which one of your releases/tracks are the most characteristic of your sounds or stand the closest to you for some reason?


Hmm, that’s a good one, cause I think that all producers take a step further with every new track they create – composing-wise and quality-wise. My personal favorite tracks from myself are Hyperdimention (released on my 2nd EP on Sangoma) and Lifeform Transmission (which was released on Forestdelic Rec.) Those ones are maybe the blueprint of what I’m trying to do with my music.

What projects are you involved in? (Or would love to experiment with?)

At the moment I’m working on 2 side-projects with my good friends, Yan Sequoya and David Kabayun. Besides them, I had the great pleasure to write one track with Antonis Antonymous in a crazy afterhour studio session and would definitley be open for round 2 with that Greek super-talent!

Who do you think are the most cutting-edge newest sound makers in the scene? Who are your newest discoveries?

There are so many new ones popping up every week that it is difficult to pick one who really takes my socks off. What I really like lately is the fact that we are making a step backwards and that the original raw psychedelic night sound is coming upfront more and more again instead of all that commercial or progressive edm stylish sounds which is and was out there for the last decade. But my personal all-time favorite artists that leave me smilling and exhausted on the dancefloor, besides the Wildthings Boys from the UK and of course, our Sangoma Gang, are Arjuna, Antonymous, Atriohm, Orestis, Ajja & Gaspard, and of course, the Russian master himself, Parasense.


Which artists remain the ultimate classics for you in the scene (or in music generally)?

Synchro (check out his album Science Frictrion on Tip Rec.), Kopfuss Resonator, X-dream. In music generally, I’m a huge fan of Trent Reznor and his projects and good rock music.


Scene at home?

Good, healthy and growing (maybe a bit too much – sometimes I can jump around at more than 20 parties on 1 weekend). I would say Switzerland has one of the most professional party productions in Europe — always producing at a top-notch Level. It’s also nice to see that the German part is jumping on the train for true psychedelic sounds – best dancefloor, for me personally, are the parties in Geneva ( Le Usine ) thrown by our legend Brouss Psyberpunk, which are always a guarentee for a killer evening.


Most memorable gigs, experiences?

Toulouse France for World People Pirates, which was so far my biggest indoor gig on the best sounding PA System. Also playing in the morning on a private ranch close to Mexico City is a nice memory that has stayed in my mind since back then. Also worth mentioning are the b2b dj sets I played with Izzy in New York, which left many people speachless afterwards, or the b2b Liveset I played with Sequoya at the well-etablished Alice Wummerland Party in Germany was a nice experience


What do you think about our scene (psychedelic gatherings and community) and their role in our lives, if any:)?

Hmm, also a good question… We are still a global phenomenon for me – super-big and still underground in a certain way, and I hope we keep this mindset and spirit alive (less hipsters, more hippies). Sometimes I’m missing the family vibes from the good old days. For me personally, I feel very grateful and privileged to be able to travel, meet new people and make new friends inside our scene. And, of course, to share some good dancefloor moments.


What are some of the greatest challenges you faced so far as an artist or producer? How about the moments that you felt were the greatest rewards so far?

Some of my greatest challenges are not having enough focus in my spare time behind the computer and getting disturbed by too many facebook messages, haha. Facing my addiction for videogames was also a big challenge which I would not have overcome with the help from Daksinamurti Till, haha. Or nowadays facing the challenge of building my dream synth out of Eurocrack Modules and programming it – but I have to say that one was also a big reward for me and helped me understand synthesis on a whole other level. But the greatest reward was the opportunity to join Sangoma Records, first as DJ, and now as producer/ teamaker / waterboy for Till, haha – this partnership resulted so far in 2 Compilations and 2 Eps and more to come for sure :)


Musically speaking what’s still on your bucket list? If it wasn’t this, what would it be?

Maybe sound design for science fiction movies (friends are calling me a big Star Wars geek here). Also popping out new tools to play with and create inspirational and weird psychedelic noises that haven’t been found yet. I’m also a big fan of chill-out music like Aes Dana or Solar Fields, but when I look back on old childhood pictures I would maybe be a good drummer, as I was always rocking the shit out of pans, mugs and so on, hehe.


What are your other passions in life?

Photography! Nature, good food & wine. Really good movies and discovering new places. Sharing not only the passion for music but also having really good conversations in general with the secret SAC Association.


What are you working on at present? What are you looking forward to the most?

At the moment I’m working on the final pieces for my upcoming debut album, which is gonna be released later this year, and also, David Kabayun and I started working on our first Ep for our new project.