Written By Shane Price

 

Cosmic Gate is one of the longest standing trance acts of our time, having shaped multiple generations of music lovers all over the globe. The duo have done more than survive the test of time within the music and trance industry, they have cemented their place and flourished, pushing the boundaries of Trance, all the while creating some of the biggest anthems that are played from house parties to the main stage.

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We got to sit down with the legendary German duo ahead of Festival X. 

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Come with us as we step Behind The Decks with Cosmic Gate

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We are super pumped to have you for festival X here in Australia, anything you’d love to tell our Aussie fans for the upcoming show?

We love the whole “festival tour” concept, bringing not just artists, but multiple stages, genres, atmosphere, sound and production; there is something so exciting about going on tour with some of the worlds best acts. When we were approached to tour Australia with Festival X, we knew it meant big things for the Australian EDM festival scene; it’s such a positive step for the future of EDM on Australian shores.

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If you could be eternally stuck in one year's music scene, which year would it be? 

For us I think, 1989-1990; the golden era of when music truly began. Tech-house tracks came out, also came distinct European sounds from Belgium, Germany, Holland, all suddenly emerged and house music took over some of the techno scenes. These were the days where you would go weekly to record stores to find new emerging sound ideas - to us, this era was the most creative musically. If I could go back, it would be to one of those years; where we were just young lads who had a fire for finding those new sounds, and a passion to absorb new trends, with absolutely no clue how to produce those tracks. 

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It's recently been commented that “Trance in 2019 is such a complex, multilayered musical genre”. Do you wish we could go back decades and just have the fun-loving old schools style or is this progression something that the trance world needed?

Well, those “fun-loving old school” days you talk of, was the golden era is 1998-1999, when trance was a lot more one dimensional back then; everything was 138-140bpm with the occasional little bit harder sounding styles. In 2019 there are so many different styles; the slower progressive house with trance influence, our true 138bpm, psytrance even made a comeback, and now evolved into pop psytrance. There are so many sub-genres existing within the EDM umbrella; if you dig a little deeper, you are able to find some really cool artists and sounds.

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Where do you think the scene is headed, 1 year from now, 5 years from now

That's pretty hard to say…  I think genre's are going to mix more often, like what has happened in the last few years - trance is not pure trance anymore. For example, we have influences from dance, from techno, from so many other genres even outside of the EDM scene, which should make us more open-minded of what's to come. It doesn’t even really matter where it’s going, what’s most important is that there used to be rock-and-roll, and from there we evolved dance music. That's the important fact to always remember. The most important thing is that we always develop, it encourages artists to come up with new, refreshing sounds.

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You've played at some of the biggest festivals in the world, do you still get the same feelings and nerves like you did from first shows, or has this all become second nature to you now?

Well no, shows are never “another day at the office”. When we played the first time in the club, it was vinyl, and your fingers were shaking and you could barely place the needle down. It’s not like that anymore, but you still have that same kind of excitement, like minutes before going on “come on, let’s do this!” amp up and when you get on, you get a warm welcome from the crowd, you feel the butterflies again and the crowd will always get the best of you. Those are the feelings you repeatedly feel. If it turned into a routine or another day at the office, then that would become a job.

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What do you love about the scene?

The emotions; a good harmony, and an even better melody - it's the way the music touches us. I don't want to say that “warm and fuzzy feeling”, but you know what I mean. Then there is the Trance family - they are very unique in the EDM world. When you compare most EDM listeners that go to festivals, we regard them as “music consumers”.

But the trance family, they know everything about the DJ's style of music, their melodies and drops, event right down to latest release dates. That’s what makes the trance family so unique; they live and breathe it.

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Did you ever think that Cosmic Gate would last the test of time as well as it has?

Absolutely not! We had dreams to be big, but never to this level. When we started djing, it wasn’t something “cool”.

The other day I heard a comment “Everyone and their mothers are DJ's today”, yet when we started, people would ask me, “Why are you here? We are here to dance and talk to girls at the bar”. We always wanted to set a mood, didn’t mind where, just bring us water and we do it all for the love of the music - it’s the most amazing feeling.

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What is on your personal Spotify playlist right now? 

What am we listening to? Melodic techno, slower beats but still with harmony and light, subtle melodies. Don't want to call it “chill” because it still has distinct drops, but it’s light enough you can play in the background, listen in the car, and still versatile for a nice warm-up - it’s my personal favourite.

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What song will never get old for you?

Oh boy, this is one of my least favourite questions. There are so many different music genres, and within each genre has 10 tracks I cannot stop thinking about - my answer to this question would change every 10 minutes!

When you know SO much music, and have knowledge in SO many genres, there are a million tracks that could deserve this title, that I could say one, and then be in an argument with myself over it.

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What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen from behind the decks?

OMG we have seen so many things! The first thing that comes to mind (but it was not entertainment, it was kind of scary) was when we were playing in Egypt there was like 2500 people and suddenly people started jumping the fence! Hundreds and hundreds of them and they were getting on stage and we had to evacuate and leave!!!