Interview with <br><b>Cosmosis</b><br>/Laughing Buddha

Interview with Cosmosis
Older interviews in the History section.
There is another (new) interview from Pi Magazine in April 98
Reproduced From The UK Underground Trance Mag "Dream Creation"

Dream Creation
>When I last interviewed Cosmosis it was with both Bill and Jez,
>who were both involved in Cosmosis and Laughing Buddha. Now each
>prefering to work solo with all the freedom that brings, they both
>simply took one of the names. Jez became Laughing Buddha and
>Billy became Cosmosis. Cosmosis (Billy) releases his album
>Synergy² very soon on Transient. Using all my powers of
>persuasion and blagging skill I managed to procure myself a
>pre-release copy on tape, with strict instructions not to let any
>DJs with DATs anywhere near it. It's an extremely juicy, funky,
>varied and enjoyable listen, positive and uplifting.

Cosmosis
>I think music shouldn't be just one colour it should be a healthy
>mixture that flits around. There are some dark bits in my tracks
>but I don't focus exclusively on darkness. When I first started
>smoking wacky baccy I was really into Black Sabbath, it's probably
>why I don't do dark music now, no more church bells and demons
>for me. I think I've been through my dark stage. It's a bit like
>growing out of watching horror films.

Dream Creation
>         I see you're on tour with Mindfield, Zen and Slide throughout
>March and April (see gig schedule). Do you enjoy travelling to other
>countries to play?

Cosmosis
>         Yes, infact I recently got back from Russia which was wicked
>even if it was a bit on the cold side. Travelling provides an
>excellent opportunity for cross cultural fertilization.²

Dream Creation
>         I believe you had a bit of a rough time in Columbia? By the way
>thanks for warning our readers in the last issue. I think most
>people will be avoiding Columbia for the eclipse. Venezuala seems
>to have become the prefered destination.

Cosmosis
>         Ah man, in Columbia there were uzzi's, dodgy war zones, it was
>dangerous there were tank road blocks, machine guns etc and you
>had to show passes. We were surrounded at all times by the people
>who were looking after us. We could not stray too far. One time we
>got lost in a market and when we got back and joined our escorts
>they were shitting themselves because of all the kidnappings that
>take place. They were worried about us being mugged or
>kidnapped.

Dream Creation
>         When making live appearances as he did spectacularly at Cream in
>Liverpool on Friday 6th Feb (see review) he likes to be joined on
>stage by either DJ/mad dancer Pied Piper or Wei, an oriental
>guitarist with uncontrollable Hendrix tendencies or sometimes
>both. How did he meet Wei? and who plays guitar on the album?

Cosmosis
>         I saw him at Tyssen Street, London one night playing a brilliant guitar
>version of Hallucinogen's LSD. I was amazed. As far as the guitar
>on the album goes thats all me. I expect I'll do some recording with
>Wei sometime in the future, probably more ambient stuff though.

Dream Creation
>         Favorite tracks on the album?

Cosmosis
>         Intergalactic Fluoro Funkster, I like the groove of that one. I
>like the production and textures on Turn On Tune In and I like the
>guitar on Down At The Crossroad - a tribute to John Lee Hooker.
> (Featuring blues guitar, an old black geezer talking, and a chorus of
>Ciccadas).

Dream Creation
>         For more detailed insight into the inspiration behind the tracks
>see Billy's track by track guide [below!]
>-Stu and Ricki

Thanks to Stu and Ricki of Dream Creation. DC can be contacted via the 3rd Eye site, http://www.third-eye.org.uk/.

Synergy: Blow by blow description

1. The Ultimate Sin

Apparently, Aldous Huxley once remarked to Timothy Leary that the original sin may have been the consumption of mind expanding plants "the eating of the fruits of the tree of knowledge". What is the apple? and what does it represent? The two "bridge" sections are what I imagined James Brown's rhythm section (Clyde Stubblefield and Bootsy Collins etc.) would have played after an apple or two.

2. Intergalactic Fluoro Funkster

The idea for this one was to create a groove to which, rather than stomping your feet to, you could wiggle your bum to. Incidentally, in case you didn't know, you are becoming an intergalactic fluoro funkster and in May 2012, all fluoro funksters will trancend this MEST (matter, energy, space and time) dimension and enter the ideational realm where James Brown rules and Bootsy Collins is Minister for sub bass.

3. Spores From Space (a microscopic trace)

Did magic mushroom spores travel across the void of space carried by solar winds? Or were they brought by benevolent extra terrestrials with our own interests at heart, with the intention of providing us with a tool to allay our self destructive nature? Or is this just a load of old cack? If so, Albert Hoffman must be an alien in disguise or at the very least, an undercover agent working for them.

4. Moonshine

You may have seen it yourself, A clear black night sky full of stars with the full moon casting greeny pinkish blue pearloid reflections upon the glassy waves as they arch over to break onto the beach at night. This track was inspired by just such an experience, New Year's Eve night/ New Year's dawn 1996/97 Wangamata, New Zealand (high summer). So beautiful it hurt.

5. Higher Access

This was an experiment in allowing the track to have a mind of it's own. I started with a fat and chunky groove, after which I followed or developed all of the "accidents" that I made in the studio that sounded good to my ears. My job was to create some order from the chaos by listening to what the track was telling me, then selecting those sounds and parts which were "asking" to be used. This journeyesque track is the result.

6. Turn On, Tune In...

Features the voice of the one time "most dangerous man in America" Timothy Leary, urging us to turn on, tune in and drop out of the destructive, competitive, consumerist rat race, and to follow our own spiritual path. Yep, sounds like the anti-christ to me. Especially designed for the more psychedelically inclined, with more emphasis on the shapes, textures and sonic spaces than on melodies.

7. Down At The Crossroad.

After an interview on a dance radio station in Greece last summer, Jez and I were taken to lunch by the radio D.J and a few radio staff. After a while of chatting, the interviewer asked in a rather concerned tone whether what she had heard was true, about psychedelic trance in fact being a devil worship cult. I looked at her in the eye and replied with a look of po faced seriousness, that it was indeed true, and if she was ever to come to the U.K. that Jez and I could take her to one and we could all worship the devil together. At which point she physically jumped about 2 inches off the chair as if I had suddenly sprouted a pair of red horns and a tail. I took the next 5 minutes explaining to her that I was joking and that it wasn't true. Poor woman to this day I don't think she believed me. I must say I thought the d.j.s and producers on the trance music scene were beyond such judeo/christian superstitions, looks like I was wrong. After all, I suppose the devil does have all the best tunes. Heh heh heh.

8. The Big Bang Boogie.

The original kick drum sound, the entire space-time continuum exploding into existence. On a recent tour of Colombia, it seems I couldn't escape the influence of Salsa music, seemingly emanating from every window and doorway in downtown Bogota and Cali. I gave them some trance, they gave me some salsa, seems like a fair exchange to me.
-Bilbo Bagginz aka Cosmosis

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