Three-piece Cosmo Gold ascend to new dimensions on debut album Krong. Its narrative follows an astronaut, jaded by the world’s downfalls and the shallow trappings of ego, who ventures into an alternative universe – “Krong” – where they find comfort in the power of doubt and not knowing all the answers.
Psychedelic sensibilities lead this embrace of blurred lines and uncertainty, created at the height of the first lockdown when Cosmo Gold were living together. With personnel including Jason Kingsland (Deerhunter, Belle & Sebastian), the trio’s otherworldly explorations culminate in an alt-pop record that illuminates with poignancy and charm in this very reality.
A coming together of their diverse array of skills, even beyond music–“I think what makes this band special is that we all have very distinct strengths, so when we join forces it makes something really unique,” they tell us below. Member, Emily, for instance, created the group’s video for single “Stranger”. Another, Mike, is a dab hand with a graphic and Stephen also works as a copy-writer so has been instrumental in building the narrative around their work. The ingenuity fostered when these three minds come together is evident upon the first listen of Krong, so much so it seems almost far-fetched that this could be the group’s debut.
Head below to read our chat with Cosmo Gold all about Krong, right now…
Congratulations on Krong, your debut album. Can you unpack the record’s title?
Thank you! Krong’s etymology really began with a song called “What If Your Heart Is Wrong?”. The whole ethos of the album—that doubt is a virtue—actually stems from this song. The song itself was scrapped, but the name was derived from one of the many versions of the tune that we worked on. We were recording our band practices to voice notes, and we gave the ideas silly made-up names, and over time one of those names morphed into “Krong”.
The word Krong seemed to have some strange kind of magic in it, and it also just kind of made us laugh, so we committed to the bit very early on. You can still actually hear a snippet of the original voice memo on “KRNG.FM”.
As a group, how do you even begin to embark on the process to make your first record? What were those first sessions like?
We were drawn to creating a long-form, cohesive, body of work, but we really only had a few songs when we started recording. So we would record a few songs and then write a few songs, and we just went back and forth like that until it was done. That rhythm really leant itself to the “yes, and..” nature of creating an album. That is to say, we didn’t aim to make a concept album, the story revealed itself to us as we went along.
The beginnings of recording lined up with lockdown in March 2020. The band (minus Stephen) and our producer, Neil were all living together at the time. We had a studio in the house, so it was easy for us to really dive into those first demo sessions. We had plenty of time on our hands.
The narrative arc of the record has an intergalactic edge. What made you look beyond the world for inspiration?
I think the fact that we began diving into this during lockdown, we were seeking some form of escape. With everything being so scary externally, we were drawn to this colourful, almost cartoonish, internal world as a coping mechanism. Subverting our learned aversion to doubt, it was almost as if this perspective could only exist in an alternate reality.
I’m not totally sure when or how it happened, but my sister Victoria sent me a mock-up of Krong, the purple cloud alien character, which we now all have tattooed. I think that really kicked off the visual element of the album for us.
Emily – We love that you create all of the group’s visuals yourself! Tell us more about your journey in filming, on top of music!
Thank you! We wanted to do a performance during our quarantine but weren’t really into all the live-streaming stuff. We recorded a full live performance, called “Krong Begins” (which you can find on YouTube) in our backyard with all 6 of our roommates. I just wanted to make it fun by adding a few little graphics, but as with every project I do, I ended up becoming completely obsessed. I eventually spent two straight months learning how to edit and making the video and I realized I really loved doing it.
I think what makes this band special is that we all have very distinct strengths, so when we join forces it makes something really unique. For example, Mike is very technical-minded, which makes him a wizard with synths and drums. He also makes a lot of our graphics. Stephen is heavily influenced by classic soul music and I think he brings his Atlanta groove into everything we do. He is also a copy writer which has been integral to crafting the vocabulary around Krong. My thing is that I am very visual when I write songs. I often feel like I’m scoring a movie that only exists in my mind. So, being able to actually express that through video has been so cathartic.
And finally, when people listen to Krong, what do you hope they’ll feel?
I hope they will find some form of purposeful escape. But also, I hope that they will understand the ultimate message which is that there is almost nothing certain in the multiverse, however, the only sure thing is love.