Kosmogonia
Interview conducted on July 23, 2021
By Dan Locke
Kosmogonia a pagan folk melodic death metal band originated from Athens, Greece.
The band was founded by Kostas Magalios (vocals and guitars) and Christos Drossos (guitars) in 2015.
In the beginning, Kosmogonia played melodic thrash metal until the year of 2017. As the lineup was completely changed and Kostas decided that the band should follow a different music style which incorporated more folk elements.
The Beginnings of Kosmogonia
What is your upbringing?
Maya : I grew up in Chalkis ,a city next to Athens. Since I remember myself, I was into art stuff. I used to draw a lot, and make handmade creations. I was never into sports actually, but since I love horses, I did horse riding for a while. I also did a lot of dancing starting with ballet and in an older age I got into Latin. And of course, a lot of music.
Ismini : I grew up in Athens, the capital of Greece, and I was brought in contact with many forms of art such as music, dance, drama and fine arts from a very young age due to my mother’s love for art in general. Being an only child, I was encouraged to socialize a lot hence I became a very outgoing person and grew very curious about life in general.
How did you discover music?
Maya: Music was always playing in my house, especially classical. As a teenager I started with guitar lessons, but soon I realized that singing was my true passion. I also really enjoyed metal music and that’s why I started joining bands and making my own music stuff.
Ismini: From the age of 4 my mother enrolled me in a music school for basic music classes and I got so hooked on it that I haven’t stopped being around music ever since.
Odysseus: When I was at the age of 6, I used to get excited while watching piano players on TV. My parents noticed that, so they hired for me a piano teacher and so my journey began.
How did you start to write music?
Ismini: Since I was around 7 years old, I was very keen on improvising small melodies on my flute but I never wrote them down. My first attempt to actually write music was when I first joined Kosmogonia.
Odyseus: Before joining the band, I wasn’t not aware of being able to compose music. Now I have the change and I’m really grateful for that, to express my own music ideas with people that we share the same dreams and goals and of course with our fans.
How did your band form?
Odyseus: The band was founded by our singer and guitarist Kostas Magalios. At the beginning the band played thrash metal but as time got on and the line – up changed the band changed as well and is now considered a folk melodic death metal band. This genre combines epic melodies with death metal riffs, operatic female vocals and growls that make a quite unusual sound.
How did you get your bands name?
Odyseus: Our name comes from the Greek word “κοσμογονία” which means the edge of the world, where everything started. That’s where our music journey starts as well.
Describe your music
Odyseus: Our band is described as folk melodic death metal. The folk element comes from the flute and keys, the death metal element comes from our guitar riffs and male vocals and the melodic part comes from our guitar melodies and our female operatic vocals. As for the lyrics, we take our inspiration from ancient Greek history and mythology.
Ismini- How is it to be a flutist in a death metal band?
Ismini: At first it was a bit intimidating knowing almost nothing about metal music but as time got by, I feel much more relaxed and a bit special as well, being one of the few flutists of the genre.
What was your first performance at like together?
Odyseus: Up until now the band hasn’t performed live with the current line-up due to the covid-19 pandemic that has been a part of our life for the past two years, having to deal with strict anticovid regulations. We tried to stay safe and healthy so that we can be a part of a big live performance which is something we ought to do both for ourselves and our fans.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
Ismini: No, we are not a part of any organization. We are quite new in the industry and for now we are completely independent.
What makes a good songwriter?
Ismini: I think that the most important thing is writing from experience and being able to express your emotions on paper.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
Odyseus: Our first ever song to be created was Τριήρης (Triiris) which was digitally released as a single at first but was later on integrated into our first full length album “Enthrone the gods”.
What is the process of writing your music?
Ismini: We usually start from our guitar riffs and we slowly build the rest of our music around it. Both the lyrics and the vocals come towards the end of the writing process.
About a year ago you released “Enthrone The Gods”, tell me about it?
Maya: “Enthrtone the Gods” is our first completed project, which was created under plenty of difficult circumstances. It was recorded and engineered by Dinos Lavrentakis at Woodstock Studios. It was mixed and mastered by Athanasios Karapanos (OGrego) and for the symphonic orchestration we had the precious help of Marinos Tokas. It was finally released independently by Cronus Productions.
Tell me about the making of the video “Raven’s Call”?
Maya: For me it was the best videoclip I’ve ever participated in so far. The experience was so much fun. I also had a little accident during the indoor shootings. However, I didn’t play much attention and I continued, enjoying the whole thing!
Odyseus: During filming we were quite anxious as it was the first video clip for most of us. We wanted to do this for such a long time and finally we succeeded to film it with our director and very good friend Danny Ntarlas with the help and great ideas of whom we produced a very good end product. The filming lasted two days and in these two days we had a great time and we can’t wait to film our next one.
What is your favorite track on your album?
Maya: “Enthrone the Gods” and “Pandora’s Fall”
Ismini: I honestly love every single one of our songs since they all are our creations but if I had to choose a favorite that would be “One lost army” since it’s a powerful yet very melodic song that comes closer to classical music with which I grew up with.
The interesting part is that at first, I wasn’t so keen on it but as I kept listening to it, it gradually imprinted my mind.
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
Ismini: We participated during 2020 in the heresy fest which was a streaming online festival and it was a great experience especially since we couldn’t perform live.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign, and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
Maya: Well for non-musicians I’m not sure but personally I think every musician knows the meaning of #1
Digital vs. vinyl?
Maya: Vinyl
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Ismini: We all have such good memories from many songs with deep meanings for our lives that is extremely hard to select just one.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
Maya: Well, for a while yes, but I don’t think this situation is going to last for much longer. We hope that it will end soon and we can’t wait to go live again!
The state of the pandemic and music
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
Maya: Only if someone really wanted to get isolated for a while and compose new music, then it might have been helpful. But mainly, it was a disaster for most.
During Covid-19. Almost everything got canceled. Which included Metallica tour. Prior to the tour Metallica purchased a “cancellation, abandonment and no-appearance insurance” policy from Lloyd’s of London in any case of any potential postponement or cancellations. Lloyds of London refuse to payout of the policy because of the policy’s communicable disease exclusion.
Do you think that Metallica is right or the insurance company is right?
Ismini: I think that the whole point of an insurance is to predict any problems whatever they might be and Metallica did very well on that so I think that they had the right to be paid for all the cancellations due to covid-19.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Ismini: The thing that what kept me going during quarantine was my everyday schedule. I had university classes in the morning, music practice in the afternoon and exercise in the evening. Having always something to do even if that was at home gave me no time to duel on the negative side of quarantine and really focused on the precious time that was given to me.
Odyseus: This year was very different for me as I was in the army doing my duty while everyone else was having a hard time due to the lockdown (in Greece every man has a mandatory 9-month military service). However, I was trying as best as I could to keep in touch both with my friends and family and the band.
Maya- Tell me about your other music projects you have been working on?
Maya: I have started to make some covers on my personal Youtube channel. Most of them are homemade. But my newest material is more professional and has been recorded mixed and filmed by Danny Ntarlas . I also have some original songs which I will upload when they are ready. They are mostly soundtrack music since I love that kind of stuff …And I also want to make more song covers in the future.
How do you stay healthy during the lock down?
Ismini: During lock down, having the time and the energy, I felt it was the right time to finally take care of myself and adopt a structured healthy diet and start exercising daily. Exercising really helped me escape an almost inevitable sedentary life due to the lock down.
Maya: Personally, I didn’t …I gained so much extra weight during quarantine. Lol!
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
Ismini: As I said earlier during lockdown, I found the time to exercise more regularly. I decided to try running for the first time and I took a liking to it, so I could say that running has become my new hobby.
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will include [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook and YouTube?
Maya: People have to adapt to cosial media’s changes. However, I don’t think they will change that much, that they’ll cause any serious problems to artists.
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
Maya: As I mentioned before I don’t think that, this is going to last. It is a temporary situation and things are going to get better, for both artists and everyone else. And the fans know that.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Ismini: Of course, is still a thing especially for festival slots in which the band pays to play live and on the fan’s side they have to pay to listen to their favourite band’s music even if they only listen to it online.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Maya: I prefer live concerts.
In the past if a musician stops doing music, they find a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
Ismini: Apart from music I study enology at the University of Athens and it’s a profession that I would very much like to do.
Life outside the music
What is your happy place?
Maya: I really enjoy nature. So maybe a forest could be my happy place.
Ismini: I’m very lucky to have quite a few very good friends and very supportive parents that I really love and appreciate and I honestly feel that when I’m with these people I’m in my happy place wherever that is.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million), Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. And it was not an easy thing for him to do. But by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off of his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. And now he doesn’t have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
Maya: Well, I ‘m not 70 yet…So I cannot tell. But right now, I personally wouldn’t do it.
Spotify’s ‘Stream On’ event on (February 22), the company confirmed that more than 60,000 new tracks are now being ingested by its platform every single day. This means people are added new tracks uploaded to its platform every 1.4 seconds.
The figure, announced by Spotify’s Co-Head of Music, Jeremy Erlich, means that across the course of this year, approximately 22 million tracks will be added to Spotify’s catalog. Spotify confirmed in November last year that its platform now played host to around 70 million tracks.
Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
But still back at the beginning of the year Spotify deleted 750,00 songs, mostly from independent artists. What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?
Maya: Surely it would be very disappointing. We hope it won’t happen again.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artist to earn revenue when people use their music. Which in many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to hug boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the TikTok has algorithmically generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group-, The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group.
Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
Maya: As a matter of fact, we are about to create TikTok accounts soon. As a band but also as individuals. I don’t like the challenges thing though, but that’s just my personal opinion.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer. The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty-One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
Maya: Of course, It’s the new trend!
At the end of the year, you are playing HRH Vikings in Sheffield England. With the virus still present and showing no signs of going away, what precautions would you like to have in place?
Maya: As long as we stay healthy and safe, we just want to rock the stage and have fun!
Kosmogonia in Closing
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Maya: We would like to thank you, for this wonderful interview. And of course, we would like to thank our fans that support us all this time!
From Maya, Ismini and Odyseus …Stay Folk and Stay Metal! Love you all!
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International music keeps the world rocking. Thank you Kosmogonia
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