So June has been a month of waiting, waiting to hear about the Album in a month competition that we entered in May, waiting to release some video material (which we here at Cosmic Bos love doing). We will drop the video for Isle of Avalon as soon as the results are in, it will be in our podcast feed and I will no doubt blog about it too.
Anyway, in the meantime, here are 3 musical poems I made on TikTok, using poems from my notepad, and the cool cowboy voice effect.
DUSTY SHELVES
So that's a pan of Brooklands park right next to where I live, and the music is a little instrumental piece called Wordless Wisdom by Cosmic Bos.
FRAGMENTS OF A FRACTURE
Part 1
Part 2
A bit of guitar I recorded down the beach and then put the poem over.
And finally, my personal favourite, HOW TO TIE A SHOES
I have also just launched our new TikTok series called Filter Songs. Check back soon for more of that.
All on our TikTok of course, please go follow us there if you are a user.
So May was quite an intense month for Cosmic Bos, we took on the Lights and Lines Make an Album in a month challenge, meaning we had to put our 'Making of an Album' on hold, to make an album, hmm...
I kept a diary to go along with the month, and this will see the light of day soon, possibly in podcast form, possibly as a special download with the album, not sure exactly yet. Until then though, I thought it only appropriate to bring you up to speed with the competition.
So the playlist of artists that made it to the finish line is available on Soundcloud, I have embedded it here for your listening convenience.
The whole competition was arranged by Lights and Lines, a musical collective record label that have been doing their thing for not even a year and have released lots of material from a handful of specifically selected bands and artists, run by Mike 5, who we know as part of the New Music Saturday Duo (along with Dr. Bones).
We can't really talk much about our entry at the moment, once the results are out we will be more forthcoming with information, but until then, there is not much we can say.
Our entry in the Singles playlist is 'Isle of Avalon', and it is about the history of Glastonbury Tor and the surrounding area, known as the isle of Avalon (hence the title), and our album entry is '2 A.M, it's Mission Time'.
It is currently parading in front of the judges as well as the other 27 submissions. It was an absolute blast to be part of this competition and we can't wait to share our speedily constructed album with you, we are pretty proud of it and think you will hopefully all enjoy it too.
Update, sorry we have been so quiet on the blog front this month, after releasing our last Making of an Album episode we have embarked on a little Side Quest, to make an album in a month for the LightsandLines record label challenge.
We have been busy, putting all our spare time into the making of this album in a month, with just over a week left until submission date, we have the last bits of mixing and mastering to do.
I (Andy) have been keeping a diary to go along with the making of this album in a month, and it will see the light of day in the future, probably when the album gets released, or it might form the backbone of a podcast that Nick and I will do for June. So June, was originally going to be the 4th part of our Making of an Album series, but we do not have time to put that together in that sense, so we have put it on the back burner for a while while we deal with this new May album.
Expect a single track from this album we are making to surface on the 1st June, we haven't decided which track we are putting forward for that yet, so stay tuned for that.
Okay, back to work, got an album to finish.
Also, Bandcamp is a thing, and you can get our latest things on there right now!
You can still listen to all our old episodes, please leave us comments and give us ratings on podcasting apps, it helps a bunch.
And what do ya know, it's a playlist of our improv squared videos on youTube! lovely
As promised, here is the video for 'The More You Learn, The Less You Know'.
From our podcast feed
To accompany our most recent podcast episode 'Making of an Album Episode 3: Alternative Writing Techniques' we decided to throw together a song using our new improv squared method of song construction.
The song we put together was this one, 'The More You Learn, The Less You Know'.
Nick and Andy improvised a 3 minute dirty track, then they layered over the top of it with another improv. Then the track was bounced and Andy went away and wrote some lyrics to go with it (see below for full lyrics). The boys then recorded the vocals, Nick mixed and mastered the track, and Tada! full song made in a couple of sessions.
The video was done in a similar fashion, we had recorded ourselves making the song, so all we did was just overlay it all over itself, pretty weird but quite effective we thought.
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And comment, tell us what you thought
As promised earlier, here are the full lyrics
THE MORE YOU LEARN, THE LESS YOU KNOW by Andy Jackson
From the pedestal, always poised to fall Dust off, trust cost cuts take it all Down the drain, round the bend in a fuddle Bruised and beaten and in need of a cuddle Spell checking out the witch, stitch in time On the line served straight up with a lime Hit the cooks books for a fresher look Let the knowledge marinade into every nook
Life sets the test, we have a go The more you learn, the less you know Since we exist, let’s try to grow The more you learn, the less you know It’s ups and downs, a wild show The more you learn, the less you know The more you learn, the less you know
Nurse the purse string theory nothings happening Waste resources reinforces this recycling No certainty on survival guaranteed Malnutrition breeds servants to the corporate greed
Life is the test, let’s have a go The more you learn, the less you know No one knows best, it’s afterglow The more you learn, the less you know Through ups and downs we live the show The more you learn, the less you know The more you learn, the less you know
Stacking A grades while the memory fades Got stats but the facts always misbehave Plot points got this map in a muddle So confused now I’m in need of a cuddle
We passed the test, we’re good to go The more you learn, the less you know Place the bets, go with the flow The more you learn, the less you know Get Joel and Mike, call Tom and Crow The more you riff , the less you groan Fight or flight, or toe to toe The more you learn, the less you know The more you learn, the less you know The more you learn, the less you know
...
Here is the YouTube version for ya.
Coming up next we have a special side quest we have accepted for the month of May, and I (Andy) am going to keep a bit of a blog diary going with it. Check in soon for an update on that front.
Cosmic Bos march onwards with the third episode in the Making of an Album series, this time discussing alternative music creating/writing techniques.
Welcome to Episode 3 of our Making of an Album series
For this episode, Nick and Andy (Cosmic Bos) take you through a selection of alternative writing techniques, discussing The Beatles contribution to the world of songwriting, in particular their later more experimental work, to the general explosion of alternative techniques of music creation that came about in the 1960's.
After that, Cosmic Bos turn their attention to their own writing techniques, breaking down the improvisation process, following the trajectory of 'Rainbow Appearing', a song improvised last year in the 3rd full improvisation session (Summadelica), through to it's development for live performance and preparing the song to be an album contender.
After improvisation comes improv-revisation, the basis of the first two seasons of Cosmic Bos Improv Music Podcast, where the music was improvised and then revised in the edit. The boys discuss this and play an example song 'Hold Me in Slow Motion'.
After Improv-revisation comes Improv Squared, Cosmic Bos's current alternative writing technique, essentially a mash up of improvisation and improv-revisation. Nick and Andy talk you through this with an example song 'Badder Decisions' from their Improv Squared album - Petit Champignon de Lumiere
To conclude the episode, Nick and Andy put together a brand new improv squared song called 'The More You Learn, The Less You Know', a video for which will be available in the another blog.
The Instrumental version of 'The More You Learn, The Less You Know' will be available on bandcamp for you to come up with you own vocals to if you so please.
If you wish to participate in future Improv Squared shenanigans please email us at cosmicbos@gmail.com
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Peace and Infinite Love
Cosmic Bos
P.S - Here is the YouTube link to the episode, should you not like the above direct podcast link.
We had the privilege of doing The Premium Blend Radio Show on the 14th of April 2022, it was an absolute blast, we got to play 5 of our songs and talk at length about ourselves, while host Stuart Clack-Lewis expertly drove the show along with a bit of help from the lovely Pebbled.
Nick and I (Andy) are often more at home making music, well, at home, but it was great to take our sound out to the people. We will get out on the live music scene more in the near future, there really is nothing like it for musicians.
Stuart and Pebbles running the show
Nick and I (Andy) waffled on about ourselves and our music making process, and we played 5 live acoustic renditions of tracks from our back catalogue and two from our most recent album.
Stuart Clack-Lewis does a sterling job bringing fresh new indie music to the ears of the masses, and he has an eclectic list of awesome musical live guests lined up, and he podcasts the whole thing so you can listen when you want. What a great free musical deal it is, endorsed by Cosmic Bos for sure.
We also did an interview for Marc Schuster which was a lot of fun too, find that here
'Sir, France is 'cross the Sea, See' came out as a single at the same time as 'Vaccine', but it took us a little while to put the video together, but we got it done, and proudly present to you right here.
Cosmic Bos presents 'Sir, France is 'cross the Sea, See'
Music by Nick and Andy Jackson
Lyrics by Andy Jackson and Google Translate
So we had this song, where it is half in French and half in English, and it's pretty silly, but also educational in some sense, and as fans of the Euro experiment (please don't Boo!) and in particular the melting pot of ideas and life approaches that it welcomed, we wanted to make a video that honoured the fine culture and history of France, and more accurately, the unfair way that British people judge the French.
We approached a good friend, Dean, and asked him to translate the lyrics into sign language, which he did amazingly. So now what we have is a Eurotrash inspired music video with a 'find the baby' game, a language lesson and a sign language lesson, all rolled up into one musical joint.
How many Theo's could you find?
Answers on a postcard to Paris please
Thanks for all the support, please share our podcast with everyone you ever meet, it helps it really does. Do it for Theo, more people need to see this wonderful French baby stereotype we have forced to dance in our silly video.
YouTube playlist of all the wonderful Improv Squared Music Video's we've made this year.
