Back in January, Trance duo Cosmic Gate released a new album titled Materia- Chapter.One. A jam-packed album, every single was a hit and their collaboration with JES in “Fall Into You” garnered them over 2.5 million streams on Spotify. Chapter One also saw a partnership with Ferry Corsten, Ilan Bluestone, Alastor and Eric Lumiere.
The guys were upfront about creating a second part to Materia, and in an interview I had with them during the release party for chapter one, they stated that Materia- Chapter.Two would be very connected to part one—and they were right. Collaborations with Emma Hewitt (Tonight), Markus Schulz, Super8 & Tab, JES and Alastor have helped make Materia Chapter One and Two a delightful compilation to listen to. Cosmic Gate during their L.A. album release party. Photo: ExchangeLA I listened to Materia Chapter One and Two back-to-back and every single track is impressive and it's all cohesive. Was that the plan?
Bossi: Yeah, we knew we had too many songs for one single album and when we decided to make it into two albums we knew they had to be tied together.
Nic: We also like a wide range of music when it comes to trance. On every album, we have songs that are harder, like our track with Markus Schulz, and songs that are more mellow. That's always a good way to build a journey and a vibe on an album.
What's the fan reaction been to breaking this down into two separate albums?
Nic: Fan reaction has been great so far. I'm sure people appreciate that we're not giving them sixteen tracks at once and are able to give them time to enjoy each track separately.
Bossi: Yeah, if you give them so many songs at once they might miss out on some songs that they otherwise may not have discovered.
“Tonight” with Emma Hewitt was the first single to be released off Chapter.Two, it's a big trance track, how did you three get together?
Bossi: Sometimes things come together like magic. Emma had this vocal that she wasn't really sure of and did not want to send it to us. We knew that it was big and asked her if we could work on it. We heard the final version of it and we really enjoyed the outcome.
“AR” is another collaboration, this time with Markus Schulz. How did you guys make that track happen?
Nic: Every time we're on tour we run into him touring on occasion and we would hang out and laugh and have a good time. We couldn't believe we hadn't worked together.
Bossi: Basically, as it worked with Ferry Corsten before, we're always enjoying our company and throw the idea around. He sent something, we sent something and then, “boom”.
I wanted to congratulate you guys on your over 2.5 million streams on Spotify with two tracks from Chapter.One, “am2pm” and “Fall Into You” with JES.
Bossi: Thank you. It feels good because it's not the average kind of sound that would get those kinds of streams. Those numbers show us that its right to do what we feel is good.
Nic: “Fall Into You” is one of those songs that we feel people are still discovering and loving it. Usually, songs have about a 3-4 week lifespan and we have seen that this is one that keeps growing.
There has also been an extended mix release of both chapters. This gives these songs a breath of fresh air and really lets the listener understand the production of each track. Why did you release extended mixes?
Nic: It's interesting that you say that because when we did the radio edit to “Fall Into You” we really struggled a little bit. We knew we had that amazing bassline and we didn't know where to fit it.
Bossi: Sometimes it's tough to make dance music radio friendly. That was one of the reasons we decided to release an extended mix of all the tracks.
When we last spoke, you said that Materia would be the defining sound of Cosmic Gate. Does that still hold true?
Bossi: Yes. We felt that Materia brought together the harder trance sounds of 20 years ago to the more progressive sounds of today. We had the feeling that this was the most Cosmic Gate sounding album ever.
You guys are currently touring, is there a break coming soon or will you continue to record new music?
Bossi: We already have a few songs that we're preparing to release. We're also looking at doing another DJ mix compilation and we still have our radio show.
Nic: Yeah, were not done yet. We have a lot more planned for our fans.
JES performing alongside Cosmic Gate. Photo: ExchangeLA
You can listen to Materia Chapter One and Two on Spotify.
To find out where the boys will be playing next, go here.
