Live from Berlin: Cosmo Vitelli is at the studio!

Exploring the fringes betwixt indie/prog-rock-infused melodic soundscapes and daringly off-kilter electronics, French disc jockey and producer Cosmo Vitelli's name has become synonymous with deep, no-holds-barred forays into uncharted territories and full body-&-soul sonic immersion. Schooled by the sound of guitars, it’s when confronted to a 4-track tape recorder that young Cosmo experienced an epiphany, which resulted in him dabbling in production as French Touch was soaring towards worldwide popular acclaim. Released in 1998, his eponymous debut for Etienne de Crécy’s Disques Solid launched his career, soon followed by an array of extended players and remixes that established him as one of the spearheads of the French electronic scene on an international scale.
 
Taking a sharp turn back to the leftfield after a ruthless stint in the arcane world of the majors, Cosmo Vitelli created his record label I’m a Cliché in 2004. Always a step ahead of his time and contemporaries, the Frenchman’s made it his signature to scout artists on the rise - Simian Mobile Disco, Azari & III, Yuksek, Moscoman, Red Axes to name but a few - offering them bespoke support and assistance to climb the ladder towards wider recognition. In parallel to his label-running venture, Cosmo went back to the basics with Bot’Ox, his joint project with Tekel’s Julien Briffaz. Merging alternative pop harmonics with a rock sensibility of varying scale and synth-heavy precision mechanics, the duo’s graced the grooves of labels as diverse and highly regarded as DFA and DC Recordings, eventually landing a gig at the legendary Olympia in Paris.
 
Now working from his Berlin studio, Cosmo Vitelli immerses himself in the heart of the vibrant European electronic music scene. Over recent years, he has left his mark with noteworthy releases and remixes on labels such as I’m a Cliché, Edit Service, Les Disques de la Mort. Among his standout releases are the two EPs 'Holiday In Panikstrasse' on Malka Tuti. Rather than conforming to formulaic and DJ-friendly beats, Cosmo's focus is on sound, deeply immersing himself in production, working towards aesthetic unity in each release, and refining his craft with each new record. 
 
In 2020, he curated a triple-LP VA compilation entitled 'Bongo Beats & Bankruptcy: The Sound of I’m A Cliché', released during the peak of European lockdowns, before releasing another EP under his name, 'As She Rolled Another’.
 
In 2022 he finally delivered his third album, 'Medhead', featuring eight cuts, five of them with vocalist Truus de Groot from the Dutch new/no-wave outfit Plus Instruments, 'Medhead' saw Cosmo liberated from conventional confines and arbitrary labels, effortlessly traversing various genres—from slow-drip kraut to intoxicating disco, murky motel-pop, neo-kosmische, hip-hop, industrial, and revamped indie-rock elements. This was followed the next year by an album of Medhead remixes by up-and-coming and well-established producers, including Krikor, Froid Dub or Khidja's Andrei Rusu.
 
In 2024, Cosmo Vitelli will have a busy year with the release of two collaborative albums. 
'Dopamine Dreams', set for release in March, renews his creative partnership with Truus de Groot, through a full collaboration authored equally by both artists. The dream-like soundscapes, enhanced by de Groot's vocals, evoke moods reminiscent of the 70s and 80s, with a timeless, debonair, and almost sardonic attitude. The next step in Cosmo Vitelli’s focus on high production values, Dopamine Dreams invites listeners to delve into its melodic and emotional depths.
 
This will be followed in September 2024 by a brand new album created with his Bot’Ox partner in crime Julien Briffaz after the project was left on standby for almost a decade.

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