The Reality of the Cosmic Boys

“At that time we didn’t knew each other at the time but we had a common interest of BAR LIVE, France’s biggest after hour which was a 10 minute drive from home near Montpellier in the South of France,” they say. “It was open every Saturday and Sunday morning from 5 to 12 from 2000 to 2008 and this is where we got our techno education, through their residents, Cebb, Greg Delon, Bastien Grine etc… but also the guests they were bringing there. This is where our dream to become DJs and producers began. We met in 2012, so 10 years ago and we started producing together. We always knew that this was what we wanted to do and the moment it started to become a reality was after winning a contest for Marc Houle’s track ‘Girl One’ which was released on Minus which was huge at that time. Everything started at that moment really!”

They describe their sound today as hypnotic techno, but there are twists.

“[It’s] pumping, minimal but with melodic touches & strong drums always with a solid groove… at least this is what we think about our music,” they say. “We try always to keep a happy note with our techno, even if sometimes it can become quite dark, even melancholic. This is the complexity of Cosmic Boys.”

Regarding the current state of techno the guys say that the genre is in perpetual evolution but it’s also a circle.

“It is also quite a question of taste and culture for us,” they say. “We grew up with the power of Kompakt, Sender & Bpitch Control in the early 2000’s. Then there was the rise of the minimal sound pushed by Richie Hawtin and his Minus label, followed by the hype of the ‘Drumcode sound’  5 years later leading into the today where kids are listening to techno as hard as it was in the 90’s!!! 125-130 bpm techno is now kind of the new EDM, underground became hype, so this is notwhat we can call underground anymore! Nowadays, it’s hard to be original, to feel different. With our labels Scander & Legend, we are trying to release only different sounds, that you won’t find on other labels, this is our way to be & feel different.”

“France had always been a hotbed for electronic music and in all genre of electronic music,” they add. “From the first generation that includes Laurent Garnier, Daft Punk, David Guetta, Kiko, Oxia, Miss Kittin, The Hacker, Manu le Malin… we can state so many of them that built the foundations of that culture. It was the golden hour of techno in France! France had always had some strong night identities and festivals over the past until today… From Borealis to Nuits Sonores, from Bar Live that we talked about before to Concrete, that big boat on the Seine river in Paris with 24h licence closed in 2019, from Rex Club to Possession who are exporting their parties all over Europe and the world at the moment. France is full of good clubs & events but actually, right after Covid, it’s getting a bit more difficult for them, because people are not used to partying anymore, so nightlife is a bit struggling but we have no doubt that it will come to better times very soon.”

Their latest release is the Reality EP.

“We made the choice to release this EP on our first label, Scander, where we’ve previously had releases by the likes of Reinier Zonneveld, Traumer, Matt Sassari,” they say. “The 2 tracks are very different but in a similar melodic minimal techno that was right for Scander. As usual the tracks have been produced in our studio in sunny south France, in a small city called Perols close to the beach. ‘Reality’ is a track for peak times, with a very strong melody on the break & touch of acid on the drop. ‘Carbon’ is something more minimal on the groove & more hypnotic. We have played those tracks in our sets for months & the effect on the crowd have always been crazy, we can’t wait to get it released!”

Looking ahead, there’s plenty of Cosmic Boys action planned for the rest of 2022.

“A lot of things are in the making, we have a full touring schedule for the coming months,” they say. “We can’t wait for some very special shows and tours to happen like our Australian debuts in October, like our first US tour to come at the end of the year, like discovering South America, discovering New Zealand, back to India, South Africa and so on! Some very special festivals also to come this summer like Nature One, like Insane or also our own LEGEND open air happening at the end of august! 🙂 We have also some very big musical projects. First that ‘Reality’ EP this month, then we have a strong collaboration to come with T78 out in September with some (very) huge remixers. Probably our best tracks ever produced to come out also by the end of this year… Let’s keep a bit of mystery but we have many things to share & can’t wait for the next months!”

The Reality of the Cosmic Boys: Cosmic Boys’ Reality EP is out July 21.