Cy Kosis
Origin: None
Based out of Los Angeles, Queens, New York native Cy Kosis, aka Jamaal Taylor has been hard at work refining his unique style of production. With support from heavyweights like Diplo, The Partysquad, Aylen, David Heartbreak and many more his trajectory for the future is set sky high. He continues to inundate the scene with unique original tracks and huge remixes: his latest original track ‘Clox,’ released by www.trapmusic.net, now boasts over 40,000 streams on soundcloud. He has rocked clubs and stages alike with his energetic live show, playing everywhere along the West Coast. His distinct production style combined with equally engaging live performances makes Cy Kosis a force to reckoned with.
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I always strive to make tracks that are both creative and technically sound. However, I’m always interested in creating new sounds, whether it’s a new synth I design, the way I process a kick drum, or recording a steel canteen filling with water to use as an FX build; I’m always looking for a fresh way to create music. The music industry, as of late, has become more about “mass production” where appealing to the widest audience possible is the goal. Often creativity is given up for profit. That being said, music is one of the last avenues of expression that is full of “the unknown.” That’s something I like to play with in my own productions. It amazes me that one song can make one person scream for joy and another cry in pain! I think it’s this subjectivity that creates the magic in something you’ve never heard before, and I love that a lot of people are still taking interesting chances with music.
Interview
Home Town: Queens, NY
Currently Living: Los Angeles, CA
Origin Of Name: My name is derived from “psychosis,” which at its most basic meaning is loss of contact with reality. As a musician and DJ my goal is to get people to forget about everything around them and just get lost in where the music takes them.
Weapon of Choice: My Numark 4-Trak. I’ve started using it, not only live, but also in my recent productions to add live elements to my tracks. I’m also pretty adept with a light saber.
Source of Power: Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, The Parliament Funkadelic and Freddie Hubbard. They’re artists I use as inspiration more than literal sonic influences.
Are there any dots to connect with where/how you grew up to your musical output?
I grew on the southeast side of Jamaica, Queens—the same neighborhood as Run DMC, LL Cool J and A Tribe Called Quest. So a big part of my love for music developed in a neighborhood where almost everyone could freestyle or beatbox. It was like a requirement where I’m from. However in my group of friends I was the designated beatbox-machine and everyone would freestyle as I beatboxed for hours on end. Sometimes they would just stop rapping for a while and listen to me beatbox as I played around with the beat. I think that’s where my love for producing came from. I can always hear a rhythm in my head, or I can always hear how I want to flip something. And I always prefer improvisation when I’m working with someone; I feel the most magic moments in music happen when there’s not a strict plan already. I took piano lessons for a couple years as a child, and I was also in every choir, chorus or whatever growing up. Whether it was at church or at school, if it was music I was doing it. As I grew older some of the musical extra-curriculars were replaced with sports, but I still made beats in my room after practice was over. My deep love of music is something that’s always been with me.
What do your parents think of what you are doing?
My dad still tells me to this day he would rather I was a doctor or a lawyer. But he always told me whatever I wanted to do, to be the best I could be. If I was a garbage man then I should be the best there ever was. He straight up told me once he hated that I’m doing music but he said that he challenged me to become the best I could. He knew I would do what I wanted to do with my life and the fact that he gave me so much shit about it coerced me into working my hardest to be my best. Don’t get me wrong, he has literally thousands of CDs and cassettes and vinyl and it’s obvious I’ve inherited my love of different forms of music from him. There are times where him and I would talk long hours into the middle of the night about music. At the end of the day though he was extremely proud of me and he was pleasantly surprised that I had mastered my craft to level I have.
My mom was almost the opposite of my dad! She absolutely loved what I was doing and that she was proud of everything from the start. She herself was part of an all-girl R&B group in the ‘90s but the group ended up splitting up so her support was a little deeper than my dad’s. My mom loves disco and old-school house music, and a lot of the tracks some people are just now re-discovering are tracks I woke up to on a daily basis to as a little kid. It’s funny because my dad hates some of my new stuff, but he likes some of my older more jazz influenced (unreleased) tracks, and my mom literally loves everything I do. I know it’s not just because she’s my mom because one time she rolled up bumping my “7 Deadly Beats” EP on full blast!
What’s the biggest misconception about being a DJ?
That people thinking DJing and producing music are the same nowadays. I’ve read and heard things like “You’re a DJ, why don’t you just remix it?” It just let’s me know a lot people don’t really know the difference nowadays. They are both skills that take years of practice and educating yourself, but two completely different skills. One requires knowledge music theory, sound engineering, and an eye for detail. While the other requires extensive hours practicing mixing two (or more) songs together, reading crowds of people you have never met before and showmanship. Nowadays the line is definitely blurred, but I think people deserve to be respected for becoming great at two separate skillsets: it’s really difficult to do.
Are you impulsive with your work or do you have a sketch in mind before you start?
Both. Sometimes I’ll hear a car engine start or a particularly melodic wind chime and it’ll spark an idea and I’ll immediately record me making weird noises into my phone. Sometimes I just open a blank session and just experiment with sounds until I get something I like. I also often use tracks as references and I’ll pull certain drum rhythms from one track, or maybe I like the sound design on another track and I’ll just slap them all in one session and work from them. I think it’s best not to have a definite plan every time you make music because it allows space for something new and magical to happen.
How important is it for you to experiment and take on the risk of failure?
I’ve always believed taking risks is an important part of being creative. Some things you have to just try out in order to see what happens. I always try something before ruling it out; I honestly think failure is impossible because even if things don’t go the way you intended, it is still a learning experience and now you know what to do when the situation arises the next time.
What should everyone just shut the fuck up about?
Everyone should shut the fuck about “retiring from the music business” or whatever. Seriously, it’s not like you’re a construction worker and your body is shot from working for 20 years. That’s not to take away from the stresses of touring and whatnot, but you make money doing something you love, shut the fuck up and be happy. If you don’t love it as much anymore then I don’t need my perception of you and your music marred by a “retirement” announcement.
When you look at electronic music and the surrounding culture, what worries you about the future?
I worry about situations like what happened with Martin Garrix. Although I can’t knock the hustle, I feel like it’s cheapening what music is. Garrix’s song hit the #1 spot not because it’s amazing but because of the hype surrounding the release. If quality isn’t what determines whether something is #1 then what is the point of these charts in the first place? There was a time not too long ago where the Beatport top 100 was actually full to the brim with good music, but now it’s a crapshoot.
Is success physical or internal?
Totally internal: Another man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I believe success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal to you. No one else can tell you what you think is a “worthy ideal,” and no one can tell you what you think success is. It’s something you have to figure out yourself as you move through life.
What do you remember about your first DJ gig?
OMG my first paid gig was DJing a high school talent show. The gig itself actually went really well. I was secretly freaking out; because it was the first time I had really DJd outside my bedroom. I was sweating like a pig and afraid I would mess up the rotation of music during the acts or something, but it never happened and no one could tell how nervous I was. I just wasn’t really prepared for bringing my equipment everywhere. I had no car at the time and no coffins for my turntables or my mixer… Total rookie moves for transporting my equipment around and I think I may have damaged my mixer that day during transport, but you live and you learn! That’s a big reason why I use midi controllers now.
What’s the hardest professional lesson you’ve learned thus far?
The biggest lesson I learned was one of the first parties I headlined. It was in Long Beach and this promoter I knew was putting everything together. He got all the acts, got the contracts signed and ready to go. In the contract I stipulated that I receive half of the payment before the gig, and I never received payment from him. I even rented equipment to him for other DJs to use during their sets, and I never received the deposit from him. Despite these two red flags I was really eager to play the gig, and just excited I was a headliner. I thought it was going to be an amazing night! And it was pretty amazing, a good amount of people showed to the club (even with just a couple days of admittedly weak promotion). However when it came time for everyone to get paid the promoter just seemed to have excuse after excuse. He even got the club owner pissed off because he was supposed to give him a portion of the door…and didn’t. So the promoter ended disappearing into thin air, and never actually paid anyone for the whole event! It was a hard lesson to learn but I should have never participated in doing business with someone who had already shown me they didn’t respect a contract. It’s actually made my life easier because I’ve learned to never ignore the red flags. Looking back at it, I realized it was a beneficial experience, even though I lost a lot of money, because I was essentially paying for an asshole to teach me an invaluable lesson.
What advice would you offer someone thinking about entering the Discovery Project competition?
Do your best to create the best mix you’re capable of. Make sure all of your transitions are clean and your track selection is the best you know how. If you’re asked to submit an original track or remix, mix and master it to the best of your abilities. If you don’t know how to mix/master then send it off! Make sure everything you present is your best possible work and leave nothing to chance. Honestly, I would say do this with all of your tracks, from top to bottom. That way you show a consistent level of quality work. If you work hard on your craft it becomes obvious, and you might be picked.
Link to winning track:
Link to winning mix:
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