After winning this year’s Sound Off! at the EMP Museum back in February, we’ve seen nothing but high energy and even higher goals from the hip-hop neo-soul band, COSMOS. Led by frontman Campana, the genre breaking six-piece has gone on to play at Sasquatch Music Festival, Seattle Seafair, Rock n’ Roll Marathon, and Hempfest, among many, many others this summer. And now, they can proudly add Bumbershoot to that list.

With only thirty minutes to their set, COSMOS planned an intense and highly energized performance, which they executed perfectly to kick off the Bumbershoot weekend. Their set showed progression and a growing musicianship compared to when we were first introduced to them, and KXSU’s Priscilla got the chance to talk with Campana before the band continues to go further up from here.

PG: 2016 has been so good to you this year! Even before your win at EMP’s Sound Off!, COSMOS had been playing shows, releasing new music, and making a name for themselves. How have you guys been able to handle being so busy?

Campana: What’s great about COSMOS is the fact that we operate on a collective-basis, meaning that what we as artists do towards our individual brands highlights what we do as COSMOS as a whole. Not all of us are needed to be involved in every step of the process in order to stay on top of things, which I feel is essential because we all have individual things going on within our personal lives — some more than others. Whether it be school, work, family, etc., that requires one of us to divide attention from music, there’s always another one of us working on material and contributing to the brand to keep it thriving.

PG: What have been some highlights this spring/summer that have really stuck with you guys?

Campana: Definitely being able to perform at the wondrous Gorge Amphitheater. Sasquatch! was an experience like no other. We also have been very grateful with the connections we’ve been able to make with artists/new friends. Just being able to expose more people to our music and what we’re about has been a major highlight as a whole!

PG: How has your win at Sound Off! changed, influenced, or supported the path that COSMOS has decided to take?

Campana: Sound Off! has definitely supported our path towards presenting music to a broader audience. We’ve gotten the opportunity to perform at many renowned city events, events that we never would imagine playing at this early within our career, and it’s safe to say that the momentum carried out from winning Sound Off! has catered to the overall process of what we we’re intending to do anyways.

PG: Campana, you released your album, Eviction Notice, just a few months ago and it has been doing so well! Is there a full-length in the works for COSMOS, and if so, when can we expect it?

Campana: Thank you! And yes, COSMOS has been curating TONS of new music. Meno and myself just released a single that’s going to be on the project entitled “Xtra! Xtra!” The song is available now for free streaming on SoundCloud. You can be sure to expect that hopefully by the end of the year; want to make sure we can polish everything nicely.

PG: You also recently made the decision to pursue music full-time. Congratulations! With that, what are your plans for the near-future, and what role does COSMOS play in that new pursuit?

Campana: My plans in the near future are definitely to market myself in all aspects possible. Cross-branding, fashion, etc. Basically staying creatively stimulated while exploring different avenues that will cater to the heightening of my branding as a whole. As I said, along with that, it will help put COSMOS in the spotlight even more so. Really just trying to play my cards right and really indulge into the art I enjoy while finding ways to monetize off of doing so to stay afloat.

PG: Each member of the band seems to have something of their own going on the side. How do each side projects influence COSMOS as a whole? Does it allow for more creativity and ideas to be shared?

Campana: The side projects we do really give a perspective to each of the artists’ individual influences and puts it to the forefront. Side projects allow for one of us to have total creative control with what we’re doing, which is essential for a musician. When those side projects come into play with being incorporated into the COSMOS experience (as far as performances go), we each then shed light onto what’s being implemented, with all of our ideas taken into account, which then allows room for a more inclusive/unifying sound.

PG: What can we expect from COSMOS after the summer?

Campana: More merchandise, more music, more shows!

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PRISCILLA GAMIT | Is it bad that I still haven’t fully recovered from the weekend? | General Manager