Cozmic Cat on the Virtual Sessions presented by The DJ Sessions 7/22/25

In a new episode of The DJ Sessions Virtual Sessions, host Darran chats with Toronto DJ and producer Cosmic Cat about music, business, and creative freedom.

 

Fresh from her remix release “Expression” on HeSheThey Records, Cosmic Cat discusses balancing her DJ roots with bold production experiments. For her, music is self-expression first—audience connection second.

 

She reflects on favorite tracks like “Make Love” and “The Fixer,” which show both her emotional and commercial side. She stays inspired by digging through Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and festival sets, avoiding burnout by always hunting for fresh sounds.

 

As an artist entrepreneur, she runs her brand like a business—investing in professional development, hiring freelancers, and staying contract-savvy. She encourages new DJs to stay curious, build skills, and embrace variety.

 

Cosmic Cat dreams of tools that break industry gatekeeping: a “DJ Tinder” connecting artists and venues, and an open-source platform for global track collaboration.

 

Recent highlights include playing Toronto’s Electric Island festival and landing a headliner mix on BBC Radio 1 Dance. When not behind decks or in the studio, she reconnects with nature to recharge.

 

Her advice: invest in yourself, stay open, and shape your own opportunities.

• Host: Darran (Seattle-based host of The DJ Sessions Virtual Sessions)

• Guest: Cosmic Cat — a Toronto-based DJ and producer. This is a follow-up interview; her last appearance was in Sept 2022.

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🎵 New Music & Label

• Cosmic Cat just released a remix of “Expression” by Babyweight on HeSheThey Records (UK label known for inclusivity & global events).

• The remix is more techno/tech-house than her usual style. It’s done well with spins on BBC Radio and good traction globally.

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🎧 Career Journey

• She began as a DJ, like most in her circle, then moved into production — typical for DJs wanting to play their own music.

• She explains how DJing informs production: DJs learn what works on dance floors and carry that instinct into their original music.

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✨ Favorite Tracks

• She cites “Make Love” (sentimental favorite, deeply personal and beautiful) and “The Fixer” (older track revived in 2021, licensed for ads, got major streams) as favorites. She values the emotional and commercial success but says her art is primarily for self-expression.

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🧩 Creative Process & Motivation

• Cosmic Cat makes music to express herself first — not to “chase hits.” But her DJ side always considers what might connect with crowds.

• She talks about burnout: playing stale sets can make a DJ feel robotic. She stays fresh by constantly digging for new music, listening to other sets, and taking creative breaks.

• Inspiration often comes from unexpected sources — even a graffiti book can spark a new idea.

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🤝 Collaboration vs Solo Work

• She mostly works solo — likens herself to an individual athlete rather than a team player.

• She enjoys remixes because they offer structure (original stems + deadlines) but let her reinterpret songs in her style.

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🔍 Finding Inspiration

• She doesn’t listen to podcasts much — instead, she hunts for music on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, YouTube, Instagram clips, and festival sets.

• She loves wide-ranging styles, from underground electronica to mainstream house to local DJ tricks.

• She spends significant time researching music so her DJ sets feel fresh and unique — not just “Beatport Top 10.”

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💼 Business & Branding

• A big focus is on building her brand as an artist entrepreneur:

  • Investing in professional development (courses, incubators, production academies)

  • Managing her own business admin, bios, networking, and email lists

  • Hiring freelancers for non-creative tasks (like researching festivals)

• She shares how understanding contracts saved her from bad deals.

• She values labels that actively promote artists, not just distribute. She wants collaboration, not just a logo on her music.

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🗣️ Advice for DJs & Producers

• New artists shouldn’t wait for opportunities. She often creates her own events (like “Cosmic Love” parties) if bookings aren’t coming.

• She emphasizes the importance of being open-minded musically. Young DJs can get stuck in narrow genre boxes too early.

• She stresses that a DJ’s impact is about how you play, not what you play — the story you tell and the vibe you share.

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🗂️ Ideas for the Industry

• She’d love a platform like “DJ Tinder” — a site where DJs and venues/festivals can find each other, bypassing gatekeepers.

• Another idea: a collaborative online hub for producers to upload unfinished tracks and build on each other’s work, open-source style.

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🌍 Notable Gigs

• Past 6 Months:

  • Opened for Sosa & Mochak at Electric Island in Toronto — a major highlight when she extended her set for a bigger crowd due to a delayed headliner.

  • Headlined a BBC Radio 1 Dance mix for HeSheThey — a milestone for any Canadian DJ.

• Coming Up:

  • Croatia for an opening beach bar set at Defected Croatia.

  • Austria gig, Nova Scotia’s Electric Pines festival (camping festival with Bad Boy Bill).

  • Secret major brand gig in Toronto in October (under wraps).

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🏞️ Balance & Personal Recharge

• She stays grounded by reconnecting with nature — lakes, beaches, motorcycles, animals.

• She sees music as universal cosmic energy — words aren’t needed when you have sound.

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🌟 Big Themes

• Invest in yourself.

• Stay curious & open.

• Don’t rely solely on third parties — build your own brand & community.

• Business knowledge protects your art.

• Music is self-expression — success is a bonus.

• Real connections — whether with crowds or the cosmos — fuel the journey.

[Darran]
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the DJ Sessions Presents the Virtual Sessions. I’m your host Darren and right now I’m sitting in the virtual studios in Seattle, Washington and coming in from Toronto, Canada we have none other than Cosmic Cat on the show today. How you doing Cosmic Cat?

What’s good everybody, thanks so much for having me. Absolutely, it’s been a little while since we had you on the show. I was looking through our notes our show’s past episodes September 20th, 2022.

I bet you there’s been a lot that’s been happening in Cosmic Cat world and I have seen your updated bio. You have been doing so much stuff and it’s such a great honor to catch back up with you again. We got a lot to get into, a lot to talk about, so let’s dive right into it.

You know, your new release just came out on July 11th on HeSheThey Records. Tell us all about that, what’s all about that track?

[Cozmic Cat]
Well, HeSheThey is a really cool label coming out of the UK. They do events all over the planet, so it’s like an events brand, a lifestyle brand. They’re political, they’re fierce, they’re very inclusive and they support a lot of interesting artists, so it’s a huge honor to be on that label.

And the release is an artist based in Washington DC and her name is Babyweight and the song is Expression. It’s a kind of politically charged anthem of self-expression and being free to be who you are. It came out in June and then I got tapped to do the remix which came out on the 11th.

It’s been doing great, it’s got some BBC spins, it’s been doing the rounds and I’m just really proud of it because it’s kind of very techy and hard. It’s a little bit out of my wheelhouse. It was a good experiment and a good experience.

[Darran]
Your bio is pretty long, you’ve got a lot of history, a lot of stuff going on. It’s all good, that’s good stuff. Did you start out as a DJ and then moved into production?

[Cozmic Cat]
I think 90% of people that I know come from the DJ world and we get to the point where we’re like, hey, we’re playing all these other people’s records and we kind of know what a good record sounds like and then you get this idea of what you would like to create musically and then you kind of start on that journey. I know there’s definitely a couple of producers who got big and then they had to learn how to DJ real quick to go on tour but most of my world is hobby or pro DJs that just want to start in the production world.

[Darran]
It’s funny you mentioned that because I just did an interview with York last week and he was saying, I was a producer, back scene, I did not want to be, I was not a DJ, I was not in the forefront of that and he produced under a lot of aliases too. This is back in vinyl days so he’d get a credit on albums but they wouldn’t know it was York because he didn’t want to be hit up by everyone in the industry knowing that he was a producer. So he’d get his credit on albums under all these ghosts, ghost names, I don’t know, aliases, aliases.

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah, aliases, yeah.

[Darran]
But then he ended up learning how to DJ and getting in that. If you had to pick one of your productions as your most favorite one, which one would that be and is there a thought behind why it would be your favorite?

[Cozmic Cat]
It would be, oh it’s really hard because sentimentally there’s this track called Make Love which I just, every time I hear it I’m just like wow, I’m just overwhelmed that I made that. It makes me, it gets me emotional because to me it’s a beautiful song and I’m very proud of it. But then there’s another track called The Fixer which I am very proud of.

I made it like years and years ago, kind of shelved it, it was just like kind of a song that I just never finished. And then I decided to finish it in 2021 and it got signed by HeSheThey again and it did like really well, like almost a half a million streams and played everywhere, got licensed for ads and in an app and in a Valentine whiskey ad and in different campaigns and and it really, it really did well and so it made me kind of, in an ego sense, it’s my favorite because you know people were like whoa this track’s doing so well and for me music isn’t a competition like honestly, truly. We’re not athletes, we’re just expressing ourselves and you can say my shit sucks or you can say my shit’s amazing and like it’s all good, I don’t care. It’s like my shit, it’s self-expression.

But there is a side that when people are like really excited about it and they come together and it does well, that you get on board with that excitement and it feels good.

[Darran]
You know it’s always awesome on the show, now I don’t send my questions out, no guess, no what, I’m going to ask them when they come on. It’s so awesome. I love it when it’s almost, if they already are prefacing to a question I’m going to ask down the line, here it must be psychic because the next question is what you just said right there was I was going to ask you, do you make music with the intention of making a popular record or do you make it solely to satisfy yourself and success is kind of a nice side effect?

[Cozmic Cat]
Oh it’s 100 percent, it’s 100 percent my just creating and I have to say like as a professional DJ, I always have that ear for like, it’s not just about me, right? When you’re a DJ and you do it for a living, you’re connecting and having a conversation with the crowd, right? So it’s not pandering at all, I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about you are meeting them where they are and you are talking to them at the level that they can understand, right?

So there’s crowds you can go deep and hard and crowds you gotta ease back and drop some vocals, you get what I’m saying? So with production, I’m always like 100 percent just throw it out there, it’s my art, it’s what’s coming out of me and then sometimes I’ll get some ear candy in there that I’m like, oh that sounds like, you know, I think people would like that, you know? And I’ll find myself saying like, I think other people would like that even though it’s really just about me.

It doesn’t pay my bills, no one’s telling me to make it a certain way so I can do whatever the hell I want.

[Darran]
You know and that’s something that was interesting, we were talking a little bit pre-show about branding yourself, branding your image, making yourself, I don’t want to say making yourself marketable but having that freedom to do what you want to do but controlling your brand, you know, having your own website, having your own distribution platform, not letting, not resting on third-party companies to promote yourself with all the other things that are going on.

I sometimes tell this to people that they say, well you’re not big because you don’t have any videos up on YouTube or you’re not getting YouTube done, I use YouTube as my platform. I put videos up but I don’t believe in a platform I’m going to send somebody to it and then it’s going to pop up nine other artists or nine other videos that have nothing to do with me and take them away from me, you know? And it’s like, why not have a one-stop shop?

I can’t put a store in Facebook or a store in Instagram. I can post that I have stuff in my store but I can’t make a store there, you know? And those are supposed to be social tools to help populate people to get back to your branding and to everything, you know?

So anyways, I just really, I’m very impressed with your level of knowledge, even talking about the email list, you know? It was awesome. It’s just tools in the shed to help and reach and, you know, your followers are going to appreciate when you put stuff out and that ear candy that comes back, you know, is absolutely helpful and beneficial.

Do you sometimes get fed up with making and playing music and how do you deal with that?

[Cozmic Cat]
I think that’s a really valid question. Sometimes it happens in two ways. Like once, one way with DJing, I just get burnt out.

I don’t care what I’m playing. I don’t care who’s in front of me and I don’t even, did I play that song already? I don’t care.

I don’t know. Like, I’m so bored with all this shit. It all sounds the same, right?

So you really have to make an effort to combat that. I make an effort to listen to a million DJ sets, wherever, on SoundCloud, on track lists, on whatever, and get inspired by what they’re playing and what they’re doing and throw in like more music that really excites me. And so that’s how I keep fresh, keep finding new music, right?

Because if you trot around your same playlist, you get so burnt out. It’s unbelievable how you can just shut down from the experience and just be like, I am a robot Spotify playlist. And then the other one is with production, sometimes you just have no ideas.

You just don’t have any inspiration and you just don’t, it’s not exciting to sit there and go through kicks and snares and figure out how to make a song. So again, you got to balance, take a break, travel, go to the park, touch some grass, talk to friends, do something completely unrelated to production. And sometimes I’ll be reading a graffiti book or something and I’ll see this dope throw up and I’ll be like, oh my God, I’m so inspired.

And then I’ll go into the studio and do something because the inspiration came from something completely not music related. So you have to really expand and not get too narrow because that makes it a burnout zone.

[Darran]
And do you feel, do you ever feel, do you solely produce your own tracks or do you work and collaborate with others to produce tracks? Obviously we know the answer to that, but do you find that that helps to keep the fire going or keep the kindling burning to make sure when something hits, it’s like, I know somebody and this is going to work perfect with that. And because I saw, like you said, you saw graffiti and it’s like, oh yeah, I want to hit them up right now.

And I got this great idea. Is that one of the ways that can help rekindle that, not slap, what’s it, that stagnation?

[Cozmic Cat]
Like I think people are a great source of inspiration and energy and I love people and that’s why I’m a DJ because I like to have that feedback with people and feel that energy in real life. And so, yeah, that’s, that’s a great way to do it. For me, I am a solo cat.

Like even in high school, I was doing track and field and things that weren’t team sports, karate. Like I’m just, I like to do it myself. So I was like, I think I do like that, that I can control the product from beginning to the end and be like, that’s my product.

It is exciting to collaborate. And what I like a lot is remixes because they have a kind of a construct, like you’re given the original track and you can do whatever you want, but there’s the original track. And also the label or the artist probably has a deadline in mind.

So then you have this deadline and you have someone accountable for the art, like they’re waiting for it. They want to hear it. You want them to be impressed kind of, you know, like, so you kind of work with them always in the back of your mind.

And to me, that’s a great inspiration because I’ll be like, Oh, what, who are, who is this artist? You know, find out all about them. What are the sounds they use?

Why, how can I take their sounds and tell a story? That’s a cosmic story, but still relates to the song. So I don’t just want to make another track, you know, that wouldn’t be the, the brief of an, a remix is to use elements from the original.

[Darran]
And it kind of spun two questions. I want to go back to when you said from inspiration, you got and listen to other sets, listen to other tracks, listen to the music, listen to stuff. What top three podcasts or radio shows would you say are your kind of go-to for that?

If they’re, I know this always gets me in, I always feel like I’m going to get in trouble when somebody asks me what my favorite episode of the DJ sessions is, or what my favorite exclusive mixes. I’m like, Oh, I don’t want to burn any bridges, but there was this one time, you know? So I mean, but you know, I always like to know where artists are getting their, their musical inspiration for who do they look to say, damn, they’re always dropping bangers.

I’m always releasing. Let’s, let’s send this up and say, you know, instead of just podcasting in the streams or shows, podcast streams, labels, do you like, let’s just wrap that up. All right.

[Cozmic Cat]
Well, first of all, we can get this out of the way right away. Cause I do not listen to podcasts. So in terms of streams, I would say I’m really not really enamored with the streaming industry.

So I’m more like I’ll go in a rabbit hole on band camp. I’ll go in a rabbit hole on, on SoundCloud and I will go in a rabbit hole on YouTube. And also this is going to sound really weird, but Instagram, when I’m scrolling, I’ll see like, Oh, there was like, you know, a set from Sonar or a set from this snowbombing festival.

And I’ll watch a clip, but then I’ll be like, ah, there was some dope artists on this clip. So then I’ll go to the YouTube and, or I’ll go to the track list, 1001 track list and I’ll, and I’ll find all the artists that were performing there and I’ll watch like the whole show, you know, and I’ll just be like watching festivals and concerts, um, virtually and going through different artists that I will be like following. And it’s really, really varied from, from, you know, follow more and kind of people like FKA twigs and like kind of left field people.

And then like James hype and DJ snake and super mainstream EDM people. And right down to the local people, like I’ll just check out like, um, even scratch bastard and like, what are they, what are they cutting up? And what, what is the routines looking like?

Like I will literally get inspiration from everything. Just, um, I’m like a wide open book and it could be even like, uh, pop country, not so much country, but pop is the country right now. But like a lot of pop, I’ll be like, Oh, you know, do a leap is new song.

And there’s influences of this. And then there’s remixes from the blessed Madonna or like J to G like, what are they doing? Or, you know, like just defected Croatia streams or like, um, beat port live streams, just all of it.

I’m just constantly consuming music from different, um, not so much totally different genres, mostly, um, electronica and house, but very open. And so I can’t say there’s a top three. Cause I do this, this is a full-time job to have my sets filled with interesting bangers and my own productions and all that.

Like, it’s not like I just wake up and take the beat port top 10 and go to my gig. We don’t do that.

[Darran]
You know, it’s, it’s funny you make mentioned that because, you know, obviously the barrier entry for DJ has gotten almost no, I mean, back when it was vinyl, you know, how do you have your techniques? You had to have your vinyl. There was only so many pressings of that vinyl around the world.

Have you had that in your ammo, your box, you know, whether you slip 20 bucks to the dude at the record store to say, Hey, hold your Thursday releases for me. So I can have first round pick, you know, and put those in your crate, you know, there you go. But nowadays the barrier entry, I wouldn’t barrier entry is zero.

And then we spoke a little bit about this, about, you know, starting as a DJ, but then moving into production. And, you know, as I talked with hundreds and hundreds of interviews, it’s crucial for that DJ to not just be a DJ anymore, but actually produce, or at least have an understanding in the ear of producing to know what the sound is like when they’re performing as well and performing other tracks. They can read and say, Oh yeah.

And then see how that works out. Or if they are producing, maybe use the audience as a test bed to, to see how their tracks performing out in public or what it maybe sounds like in 150 person room club there. I mean, for that, you know, that, that space, or if they’re trying to be big name, I’m in front of 50,000 people, you know, and, and all that fun stuff.

You know, it’s kind of really key, but something you mentioned, I just remembered, I got to get back on my 1,001 track list submissions. Thank you for bringing that up. Really awesome partnership.

I think that’s one of the best, one of the most coolest sites out there. Basic as basic it can get, no fluff and dander, but really a great resource and tool for people to find stuff. You know, what would be, what would you say would be one of the best decisions you’ve made in favor of your artist’s career?

Obviously starting as a DJ, moving into production, but then, you know, obviously you’re establishing this brand as Cosmic Cat as well. And there’s a lot of businesses, a lot of stuff people don’t see that you and I do in the back end. It’s not just, I put a flash drive in and here I go, or I sit behind the computer with my Ableton and a song pops out in five minutes and yay, I’m ready to go.

You know, what’s been the best business decision in your career? Maybe curbing bad habits or management? What would you say that would be?

[Cozmic Cat]
I think the biggest thing that was a game changer was investing in myself as a business. Visual, it’s a mindset shift of seeing yourself as an artist entrepreneur. And I actually started doing a lot of professional development.

And I know there’s like people that are just lined up, waiting to take your money and like, Oh, I’ll make you famous. And I’ll teach you these things and but I’m not talking about that. There’s some legit courses out there or programs or cohorts, you can go through and learn about grants, about marketing, about bios, about agents, about sync and royalties, about production.

And I did those and I paid for those. And they were like, you know, vetted from friends and people that I respected that did them, you know, whether it’s the tool room production or whether it’s Canadian Music Incubator, like, these are things that I do. And I constantly do that keeps me in the world of being an artist entrepreneur, and not just an artist that becomes like chasing a big label to make them famous or praying for like some booking agent to come down from the stars and like put them in front of Tomorrowland audiences.

You know, like, it’s very, it’s a business. And I’m very lucky to have that kind of almost equal passion for the business and the art. Because, you know, like you were saying, everyone can be a DJ, someone could take, you know, the other the other day, I was saying this, because I lost my USB at a club, and I looked high and low, and it’s gone.

But you know, whatever, I have backups. But I was just someone said to me, like, Oh, someone has all your tracks now. And I was thinking, like, it doesn’t matter what you play, I could take someone’s USB and play all their tracks, and it would be 100% completely different set.

It’s not what you play. It’s how you play it, the story you’re telling, what people believe about you, when you’re up there having that conversation, what energy you’re giving out, what you stand for what mission you’re on as a DJ, like how you’re pulling people into like come to your next gig, because they like something about you. What what did they like about you?

You know, your tracks, everyone has my tracks, except for maybe the ones that I made, and even then, they could play them to play them. The biggest change was me, you know, registering myself as a business, taking professional development extremely seriously. And, you know, instilling all those habits that, you know, you learn at those kind of places, like two hours production and practicing your DJ stuff.

And like, you know, networking with like, authenticity behind it, and you know, getting your branding and your bio sorted and being consistent and punctual and sending your invoices and you know, sending out your pitches and talking to your fans and posting on Instagram, all that shit. You know, yeah, I want to tell you, this is what needs to be done. And then you can be like, Oh, I can do that.

I’ll just write the list and do it.

[Darran]
You know, I can relate to that 100% because when I started in this business 25 years ago, I mean, I was in it before that, but really had to get professional about it. My whole reason of going to college was to learn how to run my own company. You know, and I wanted to run a company and understand.

So I fast tracked for a business degree, you know, four year business degree in business admin, a lot of fun stuff. And, you know, it’s so much like I was even telling my friend today, who’s starting their own business. It’s like, you know, I got a huge repertoire of, I got a bunch of tools in my toolbox that most people don’t know that I get the opportunity to research and have.

And, you know, she’s getting ready to start an online program. I’m like, Hey, you know what I can do? Do you know, I can transcribe your episodes, I can have them closed caption, and I can distribute them and make them pay-per-view for you.

[Cozmic Cat]
Like things like that.

[Darran]
And it’s like- So important. Most people don’t know that. Most people would just go, I’m just going to throw my video to YouTube and let it sit there and be for free.

And like YouTube make millions of dollars off commercial ads off my brand and never know how to password protect it basically, or put it up for an on-demand video and earn revenue from that. And it’s like, I’d rather tell somebody how to do it. And they have 50 people pay two bucks a month and put it on YouTube and have, you know, a thousand people watch it for free.

And they’re not getting anything out of that.

[Cozmic Cat]
It’s so true. And I think like what people forget, like sometimes people think, Oh shit, I have to run out and do all these courses and learn all these things. It’s like, no, you don’t.

This is just teaching you like what the world is out there, all the snippets so that you don’t get, eaten by the sharks. And also that you can have some knowledge when you’re in a room with people that really know what they’re doing. And like, one of the things I love doing is hiring freelancers.

Like I don’t like some of the admin. So I hired recently somebody to go and do a spreadsheet of all the festivals and places that related to my sound that I could then pitch. I didn’t want to go and spend days looking for these places.

So I paid someone to do it. I paid someone to set this up or I paid someone to go find that, you know, like, I’m not talking about paying someone to make your music. I’m talking about, and I know big cats do that.

They really do. They pay people to pick their DJ sets and make their tracks. But I’m not talking about that.

I’m just talking about, you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. You just have to surround yourself with people who know a bit more and maybe break them off a piece because that’s the future. It’s not about getting to the point where you know everything.

It’s about hiring freelancers that can help you for a bit, get on the bus, and then they get off the bus. And you’re always driving the bus.

[Darran]
I could not agree with that statement more because when I look at it, all the hats that I wear, and then I added, I did this about a month and a half ago. I went, how many people do I really have that I reach out to for different projects? And it was like, I have a web developer.

I have a website speed optimizer. I have a graphic designer. I have a coder for my Roku, Fire, and Amazon TV, Apple TV apps.

I have an app manager. All these different positions that, you’re right, it piecemeals out. And I might not need that speed person, but once every three months to go, hey, take it to the car and tune up my car.

And I pay him 50 bucks and it’s like, boom, my speed’s getting A plus ratings. Or I have a code problem and I don’t code. I can be dangerous with this.

A graphic designer, I’m not a graphic designer. And I don’t use AI for that crap. I understand why people could.

I mean, I’m going to probably take my own logo and say, hey, here’s my logo and AI. Let’s see if we can do that. I’m not trying to put anyone out of work, but if I need something originally created, I’m going to go to Fiverr and say, hey, 50 bucks, what can you generate for me?

And they’re probably using AI and send it back to me anyways.

[Cozmic Cat]
I mean, I don’t know, but regardless- I get it, but- Talking about AI, I don’t think AI is going to take people’s jobs. It’s people who know how to use AI better than you will take your job.

[Darran]
Yeah. There you go. Well, I mean, even I had a virtual assistant, two virtual assistants.

I had interns. I had a person over in England that would do my PR and outreach. When I put it all down, I had like 15 people.

And people, they’ll never see that. What’s going on when you’re developing a brand and all the backend stuff. So it’s very, I think that’s a great…

First of all, start with the first process, like you said, and start educating yourself. The tools and resources are out there. I mean, I’ve always said- Yeah, they are.

[Cozmic Cat]
We’re blessed because like recently I had an experience where a label approached me and they really wanted to sign and they were cool and they’re actually through friends of mine. So I thought, okay, they’re legit. This is going to be really easy, really cool.

And they liked the song and I’d want to get the song signed and it was very exciting. But then I got the contract and I did send it to a mentor person of mine who used to work at Sony. And also because I’ve worked with so many different labels, big and small, I have some experience with reading contracts.

And I just was like, oh, we got to run, not walk away from this contract. It is the worst contract of life. And I think maybe they just download it from the internet and they just went super heavy, you’re going to do this and we’re going to take that.

And I was like, oh honey, no, that’s not happening with any song. I’d rather just let it sit on my hard drive than get this predatory thing in motion, like no. And there was some surprise on the other end.

They were like, oh, all the other artists signed it. I’m like, well, I’m not all the other artists. And I didn’t want to take the time to revise it with them or anything.

It’s just like, nah, you get to the point where you’re like, this is why I educate myself so that I cannot get caught up in traps that would, just because my ego wants to sign this record, I wouldn’t get caught up in a very, very unfair and like artist last kind of contract, you know?

[Darran]
Yeah. Funny you bring up contract because my friend has known me for 30 plus years in this business. I’m the guy he calls when it says, when it comes to contracts, we call Darren.

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah.

[Darran]
That’s what I, I love doing that. I mean, I love going, okay, let’s look at this. Okay.

I mean, I have seven contracts alone when I bring an artist, a resident DJ on my show. It’s like, you got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven things in writing. So we’re both clear on what we know what’s going on.

I’m not asking for your first born. I’m not asking you to draw blood. It’s just like, hey, this is the basic stuff that is boilerplate in any media business.

I’m going to have a non-disclosure. Don’t tell people my secrets. I’m going to have a personal release.

So you can’t come back and say, I never gave you permission to use me. You know, I have a service agreement that have payouts of how it all works, you know, in some industries that can be considered overly, a person who doesn’t know that can be very daunting. Cause they’re like, Oh my God, I’m getting hit with legal paperwork for the first time.

[Cozmic Cat]
Or they don’t read anything and they just sign everything. They just want to do the thing.

[Darran]
They just want to, they just see stars in their eyes and they think, and unfortunately for a lot of up and coming DJs, if I knew DJs in our local market and they came to a local promoter and said, okay, great. You want to sign me? You want me to play?

And they’re like, okay, we’ll give you a hundred bucks for the show. Great. But if they came to them with a piece of paper and said, okay, here’s my contract.

I need to sign. And I need your company and maybe your UBI number and all that. And they’re like, Oh, screw you.

We’ll just go get some other hungry kid to play here. And maybe we’ll pay them. Maybe we won’t.

I tell that person with a piece of paper, run, do not walk and don’t ever work.

[Cozmic Cat]
It’s important. It’s important to take yourself very seriously and you are where it all starts and where it all ends. Like it’s your business.

And I used to be like, I’m an artist, you know, business people are cheesy. Marketing is cheesy and lame and corny. And now I embrace the fact that I get to control my own brands and that I get to connect authentically with people on like, you know, my preferred platform, which is Instagram.

And I get to, you know, or talk to them on my newsletter or like, I get to do this stuff. And actually, I actually really enjoy it.

[Darran]
Yeah, absolutely. You mentioned record labels earlier in talking about doing stuff. What’s the most important thing that record labels should be doing for their artists and on the collective whole out there?

Are they doing a good job with that?

[Cozmic Cat]
Well, I can’t speak for the collective whole, but for me, the only thing the record label is doing is kind of like expanding your brand. It’s a mutual kind of agreement where they’re looking at you like you’re a cool artist and you’re going to make them like, you know, have better music on their roster and like have a bigger profile because you’re like, you’re cool and up and coming and all these things. And you’re looking at them like they’re going to show you to their audience, which is hopefully larger than yours, and they’re going to handle the business and they’re going to shop it to all these different places that they have access to and that you don’t.

So it’s got to be symbiotic, right? So I think the most important thing is that they are hustlers and marketers, because really, you can sign up to DistroKid and put your stuff on Beatport and put your stuff on Spotify. That’s a no brainer.

You can also pay a couple hundred bucks to put on in-flight and get into the DJ’s mailboxes. What it really is, is a relationship between a brand that you hopefully love and that they hopefully love you. And it’s kind of this like, kind of a collab, you know what I mean?

Like where it’s like-minded people doing, you know, like an Adidas collab where you’re like, oh yeah, like Stella McCartney and Adidas, like I get it. And it brings both brands to different audiences, you know? So I think you have to look at what is the label doing.

It’s not just, I want to get it on this label and they’re going to make me famous. It’s like, what are they, you know, where are the artists they signed in a year? Like what are they doing actively?

How much do they promote each release? Like what do they do to promote? What’s their online voice like?

You know, what do they stand for as a label? Like, are they just crunching out the commercial sound and everyone’s just like, if you can imitate that sound, you get on that label and you’re next in line? Or do they have something a bit deeper that reflects your ethos or the way that you feel about music?

Like I think people just get it twisted. They chase big labels or they just think like any label is good because they’re going to get it out. Like I can do a lot more than a lot of these tiny labels can do.

Just as a human being with my Instagram followers and my mailing list and the DJs that I know and the gigs that I have. So I want someone that’s like, you know, really interesting and like something I can sink my teeth in just like, yeah, like I co-sign these guys. They’re doing a really cool thing.

Their roster is cool and they’re also pushing their artists and believe in their artists and they like different sounds and I like what they like and they like me. So I think it’s got to be more mutual.

[Darran]
Yeah. You can kind of see that. I do a lot of outreach, obviously inviting, sending a lot of invites out for people to be guests on the series.

And when I come across, you know, I’ll come across one artist, but then I’ll find out who they’re represented by and their artist management roster, and then look at all the other artists and say, Hey, we’d love to have yours, but you can kind of see a theme to that roster. You see a theme to that, you know, and, you know, one of the things I was talking a little bit before pre-show, we’re really excited to launch, be launching here is our music section on the site. Cause I’ve always tried to be with the DJs such as a platform.

It’s not one specific genre, one specific crew, one specific sound. It’s the entire genre of DJ music. And we’re expanding into even hip hop because turntablism has such a culture there, obviously, but, you know, you know, having people, it’s not going to be like, I don’t mind putting, like, I’ll put happy hardcore up next to a house track.

And we’re not trying to…

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah, I think that’s cool. Like, I like that. It just has to be a theme.

Like, why are you doing that? Are you, is it because you’re championing the art form or because you’re bringing up and comers or because you’re, you know, like, is it from a certain era? Like, do you know what I mean?

Like, it has to make sense to me.

[Darran]
Yeah. I’m a huge foodie. So my idea of the all you can eat buffet kind of goes into a lot of stuff that I do.

And cause people be like, I mean, I could have just pigeonholed the site and said, oh, we’re the DJ sessions. We feature mixes from DJs and that’s it. And really tweaked on that site and had to be a five page site.

But you go to our site, it’s a whole slew of things. It’s a brand, you know, it’s like, come check out what we got. And it’s included, everybody can be included, as you know.

And you know, it’s not like, oh, we only do house music. We only do trance music. We only do techno music.

We only do drum and bass. Let’s get it all. Let’s go to the buffet.

And if somebody’s there, my thing that would be cool is if somebody came to site and maybe they were pure house ad and they’re like, you know, I never thought about let me listen to some of this drum and bass. Whoa, I’m only into drum and bass now.

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah, like 1001 track lists. Like you can go there and you can see like YouTube sets, or like, you know, genres and most rated and what or venues or countries or artists, and you really can go down the rabbit hole, many different kinds of music. And it’s really it’s quite refreshing, because you’ll, you’ll hear like hip hop, and you’ll hear trap, and then you’ll hear drum and bass, and then you’ll hear happy, like or UK, everything.

[Darran]
It’s such a great resource for a site, I think a great tool. If artists are looking for sounds or following what’s going on, or knowing what’s being out there, what’s you know, what the audience is listening to, as well as is awesome. You know, speaking about websites, and going into a little bit of the technology behind all this stuff that runs, technology does move very fast in DJ producer land.

And if you can think of something that’s not on the market today, but in your vision, that could be something really awesome for the future of the industry. What do you think that product or that software or that object or something like that would be if you had say, Cosmic cats, like I’m at the drawing board, and I’m going to create this, and this needs to be there? Is there something that you’ve been like, Oh, I wish this was there?

[Cozmic Cat]
It’s not, I think there’s two things, like one thing for the DJ with venues, I wish it was a bit more like understand why it’s not, it’s a bit gatekeeps, but I wish it was a bit more transparent, like how to reach certain people who are looking for artists. And so I wish there was kind of like in a place online or somewhere in the universe where you could submit stuff to different places that you would want to play and that are actively looking, you know, like kind of a meetup dating site for DJs, and venues and festivals and DJs. And I think it’s very gatekeep.

DJ Tinder. Exactly. Where it’s like, it’s gatekeeps right now, right?

Because I guess they don’t want to be inundated.

[Darran]
Yeah, yeah.

[Cozmic Cat]
But if they’re looking and there’s criteria, and you can upload like label radar, right? So label radar is just like, submit your tracks, and we’ll form it out to all these labels and you pay us a fee and blah, blah, blah. I don’t know about the fee structure, how that would work.

But it would just be nice to like, not have this like, impossible barrier sometimes between you and the place where you want to like, maybe get booked. It would be cool if they were just like, look, we’re not looking right now. Or we don’t like your sound or you’re not big enough, but to never know because you can never reach them kind of sucks.

And I think the other thing that would be cool is that there was a place where you could upload a track that’s not finished, and other people could like work on the track. And it would all have to be, you know, copywritten and all this thing, right? But and it’s not AI, it was real human beings.

But I think it’d be really cool, like a collaborative, maybe there is such thing, but a collaborative meeting place, again, a Tinder for producers, where you kind of upload what you have, and then people can add to it. Or they can say, I’m just going to add some drum tweaks, or they can say, I’m going to drop vocals on this section. And then it could just be this, this wild thing that gets like open source code almost, where it just keeps growing into something like presumably better and better and better.

But like, who knows who contributed? And who knows at the end, it’s just like you were part of this huge project. And it’s really cool.

And then somehow everybody gets paid.

[Darran]
That’s an awesome concept. Because you know, with with stems being able to be do that, you know, you easily put something up there. But I wonder if you can make it like a Google in the cloud doc, like you said, but you can like that, like once and once changes are made, you could say, Okay, we’re gonna maybe even a voting system that locks the changes in a certain day, like, Oh, you guys are three days to lock in.

And once it’s locked, that’s in there. And it can be loaded on to be locked.

[Cozmic Cat]
But yeah, because the thing is, I do that with people, right? So if I’m like, Oh, you know, I’ll have like, a few producers that I’d be like, Oh, I’m really stuck on this thing. And they’d be like, Sure, like, send me the thing.

And I’ll work on it. And here’s my ideas. And I can say yay or nay.

But to have it on a global scale, and you could be producing with someone in like, Iceland or India, or like, you know, I think it’d be pretty cool, like, to have worked on a track with vocals from this person that you never heard of. And so those are my two entries into like, fantasy concepts. That’s dope.

[Darran]
You did mention with the nightclub, the venue submission type thing, or even a promoter submission type thing.

[Cozmic Cat]
I’m like, you know, but again, they’d be inundated with so many applications, because everyone thinks it’s really important, because I hear like a lot of club owners saying like, I would love to book more like women or more trans people or more people of color, but I just don’t know where to find them. And it’s like, you know, stop, is it really hard to reach? Are you just only like looking at what’s in front of you, which is usually the white guy, right?

So I’m like, okay, maybe I know there’s a lot of databases, but then you still have to go to the database and listen to everything. And I just wish there was a way where people could be like, you know what, it’s YouTube, like a video, because I like video, right? And you can see like, my main selling point is my energy when I perform.

So if they could see somebody performing and be like, I want this person in my club, I like their sound, I like their vibe, I like what they bring, boom, they would be less likely to be like, I just don’t know anybody cool. You know what I mean? Because that’s what I hear so much.

You know, they basically they’re saying, I don’t have time to do all the extra work it takes to dig deeper, to find up and coming artists or find someone that’s different than the 10 people we already have on the roster that we’ve been using for the last 10 years, you know?

[Darran]
Sorry, I’m kind of writing your idea down.

[Cozmic Cat]
You like that, right?

[Darran]
No, it’s a basic, I just thought about it, you know, with everyone that comes on on the show. Right now we’re upgrading our site. And I’m actually now we’re this episode will be transcribed.

So we’ll have a whole dictation of everything we’ve said to I will, I’m now making show notes with titles and short summaries and bullets. Everywhere here first, you heard it first. So it’s gonna be online, you know, I’ll give you credit where credit’s due off.

And then I have a I saw my show, it has a show notes tab, it has an about the episode, you know, the artist tab with your bio and everything on it, then it has the transcription tab. And then I’m closed captioning shows, you’ll see where all this is going. I could have another tab built.

And in my request form, when I request somebody to come play on the show, I can say, put your booking information here and fill out this other form, copy paste that into the site. So now it’s a new booking tab. If you like this artist on the show, here you go.

And then I could tap it into your direct email. So I’m not trying to be a booking agent, I don’t want to be an agent. But I could tap it into your email.

So when somebody fills out that form, it goes boop, and sends it right over to you. So you got a booking request off the DJ sessions.

[Cozmic Cat]
I would love that. I think that’s brilliant. Because I think a lot of people if they’re watching the DJ sessions, they’re like, yo, that DJ looks cool, you know, and like they’re doing things like, but then you know, and I have to go find them on their website, you know, blah, blah, blah.

But if they’re already on the site, it’s like you can never have your brand in too many places. You know what I mean? Like, some people say like, oh, you know, be mysterious and all this shit.

I’m like, I’m 0% mysterious. I’m up in your face. I am like, I’m like, look at my shit.

I’m on a mission. I’m spreading the joy like jump on board. So I think it’s a great idea.

[Darran]
Yeah, because like I said, when you look at we’re coupling with the Yeah, Dan, I’m see new stuff always happens. But no, I totally give you credit on that. Maybe if we could.

I’m not about making a dollar dime off everything. But if there’s a way to make a dime or penny off it, I’ll make sure you get a cut.

[Cozmic Cat]
Hey, man, if it if it elevates the collective. Yeah, no experience with DJs getting booked and the right DJs in the right place. I think it’s really cool because it’s skewed right now.

We all know that there’s like a triangle and we just kind of, you know, it’s kind of like when we live, we just go to this five block radius. We just shop the same place, we just do the same thing. And the bookers are the same.

They book the same people, they book what they see being booked. You know, the big people are the people that are constantly getting the same things. And it’s just like, it takes a bit of effort to like, go meet new people, go listen to new artists, go take a chance on an opening set for someone that you don’t know.

You know what I mean? And I’m very privileged because I’ve played a lot of cool clubs and people have seen me like close and open and headline and they’ve seen and they’ve heard and like, so I get I get a lot of bookings. But I remember before people gave me a chance.

I felt like, how am I going to get a chance? How am I going to get in here? Like, there’s always the same headliners is always the same openers.

You know, like, how do I get in?

[Darran]
You know, I literally just put a post on meta out there the other day, just as an experiment, because I’m going to create a spreadsheet for my local market just as an experiment to say, here’s our venues that we have. I’m not trying to, at this point, I don’t want to say I don’t care. I’m not trying to ruffle feathers.

I’m not trying to be a bad guy. I’m not trying to point out the obvious. I’m not trying to call anyone out.

But it’s like, look, this is used as a data point to show, as a DJ here, why aren’t you getting any bookings? Well, you can’t, there’s not enough slots to, you know, if you get an opening slot, you’re playing this, because there’s not enough opportunity, because you got to create yourself to elevate yourself. You can’t just be, hey, I got a DJ kit at home, I play in my bedroom.

And now I want to play a club.

[Cozmic Cat]
And this is the entitlement that we’re faced with today.

[Darran]
Yeah.

[Cozmic Cat]
You know, like, for me, I have, if there’s not enough bookings, I will throw a cosmic love party. And I will hire a couple DJs, one opening and one closing, and I will headline my own party. And you know what, sometimes I go 500 bucks in the hole.

Sometimes I make 500 bucks, sometimes I make more than 500 bucks. Sometimes I break even, doesn’t matter. At least I’ve got something to yell and scream about online.

And I’ve got things happening in my career. And I’m meeting new fans. And I’m like, like meeting, you know, it’s like all going up, up, up, up.

You can’t wait, you can’t wait to get signed. You can’t wait to get a gig.

[Darran]
And I have DJs that say, look, I played the circuit in the local club scene. I’ve been knocking on the doors. I’ve been going to their shows.

I’ve been showing them. I’ve handed them mixes. I know they didn’t listen to it.

I get no feedback. And then after two years of doing all that, they’re burnt out and going, I can’t get anywhere. And they’re not, they’re not like flying to say they’re in Seattle, flying to San Francisco, or flying to LA, or going to New York.

They’re trying to do this in their local hometown, and they’re just not getting booked. Oh, and they finally do. They’re getting that opening slot at 10 o’clock when doors open.

[Cozmic Cat]
That’s what you get. That’s what people get. So, you know, there’s no, I always say there’s no, it’s kind of like an acting.

There’s no small roles, only small actors. There’s no shitty slot time. There’s only like a shitty DJ or not.

Right. Cause I’ve opened where they’re still bleaching the floor and the lights are on and they’re, they’re unpacking the sound gear. They’re crawling over you.

And like, nobody’s fucking there. I’ve been there. I’m still there.

And then I’ve been at like, where it’s absolutely peak time. And they’re like, you’re like a fucking celebrity. And like, you know, no one cares about the openers.

It’s just about you. So I’ve been there too. So you can’t get to Zed without doing ABC.

[Darran]
True, true, true, true. Absolutely. And speaking about gigs and some of the past gigs you’ve been on and, and, and let’s get into the past gigs and what you’ve been up to, say the last six months, what’s it been like in the life for Cosmic Cat?

And then we’ll go look for next six months are going to be.

[Cozmic Cat]
Well, I’d say the biggest thing that was on my calendar was the opening, opening set, the opening weekend for Electric Island. And I got to play before Sosa and Mochak at Electric Island down at Fort York in Toronto. And it was really big.

It was really big because I’m about halfway through my set, they came up to me and it was like early, like four to 530. And so most people don’t really get in there until six, you know what I mean? And local opener, no big deal.

But it was still extremely exciting. But then they said, Oh, you know, Sosa’s flight is delayed. Can you keep playing?

And I was like, Oh, hell yeah. So I got to play into that sweet spot where everybody came from the other stages. And there was like 5000 people and I really got to throw it down.

And that was like a big deal for me. Because usually the local opener plays for their 50 friends and then goes home or you know, watches the rest. But this was like a moment.

It was like, it was a moment. That was really exciting. Electric Island is just one of the best festivals in Canada, if not the best for house music.

So I was honoured to be back because I was there in 2022. And this was coming back in 2025 was like, big, was really exciting. Is actually held on an island, you’ll have to give her but then it outgrew the Toronto Island.

So then it moved to Ontario place. And then that’s under construction. So then it moved to under the Gardiner Expressway, which is like a big highway, and it’s underneath it.

And it’s it was in a cool area. And now they’ve moved it again for so it will probably keep moving because it keeps growing. So it’s outgrowing its spaces.

[Darran]
Awesome. And so looking at some upcoming gigs that you have, you know, what are you what are you excited? What’s on your radar right now that says, I can’t believe I’m doing this this year.

[Cozmic Cat]
Be really honest, there’s a gig coming up that I cannot talk about. And I just wish I could.

[Darran]
But it’s Oh, yeah.

[Cozmic Cat]
But it was a huge brand. And they’re coming to Toronto. And and I was actually asked for by name.

So I’m really honored. And that’s in October, but it’s not announced. But I will keep you updated.

I’ll shoot you a message when that comes. Yeah, but I for I just forgot for past gigs, something really life changing was that I got to do a headliner mix on the BBC this year. And a radio one dance with he she they label.

So I got to submit like an hour long mix. And actually, it was a 30 minute headline mix in within a two hour show. And that got broadcast on the BBC radio one dance, which is really big for any Canadian artists, any artists really.

But for Canadian artists, not even British, to get on the BBC radio one. It was a big deal as a headliner. So that was exciting with he she they records.

And so coming down the pipe. Well, on next Thursday, I’m spinning in Croatia, which is always exciting and tease. No, there’s the defected Croatia music festival.

And there’s kind of like an opening beach bar set. And I’m doing that. It’s not affiliated with the festival, but a lot of people come out and it’s really fun.

And after that is Austria, Vienna, there’s like open air kind of patio vibe. And then at the end of the month, I’ll be playing in Nova Scotia. There’s a cool electronic music festival called electric pines.

And it’s a camping festival. But I’ve always been really fascinated and interested in this in this festival and now I get to go play. And they have bad boy Bill as a headliner.

And like, oh, there’s just like so many big names and and fun people on that. I am really exciting, excited about it. It’s really exciting.

[Darran]
I’m a huge fan of the more of the camping festivals than I am the all inclusive, you’re stuck inside festivals, because you really get a sense of you’re in the whole thing. Everyone’s in the whole thing. It’s like I’m glamping over here and everyone just has a badge to get in.

And then they’re stuck in or can’t get out. Unless you have VIP, you can go in out back to your parking spot, which is usually a two hour walk. Anyways, you know, I’m not getting any big festivals.

I went to EDC. And if we didn’t have VIP to EDC, we were locked into that event all day. But with VIP and where we got to park, you know, we come right in and out of the VIP access not have to go through the whole snake line.

Get in, you know, or I mean, obviously, I’m not trying to toot my own horn, I get a lot of media clearance to events. And we’re usually there early to set up and we got our press badges are all access badges on, which is nice. But yeah, just going to those all inclusive campaigns.

I went to the eclipse festival in 17. I know that so like eight years ago, I just saw Facebook pop up with my friends that I met during that year. Like that was eight years ago.

Wow. But that was my first kind of experience of being out of I’ve never been to Burning Man. But I said, this is a lot like Burning Man.

And a lot of burner culture was there as well, which is awesome. And it was just nice because you could go out see a set, come back to your RV, your tent, your campground. And we I didn’t have the RV.

I was in a tent. I didn’t get a glam. But we had an RV that we rode there in.

But that being said is like, you know, having that freedom to come and go and you’re not. I’m not trying to knock the corporates because I don’t want to knock any sponsors out of my ranks. But you know, paying if you’re buying a bottle of water, and it’s 10 bucks for a bottle of water, eight bucks for a bottle of water, you know?

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah, the whole commercial music festival thing is pretty out of control. But I was at Miami Love Burn in, I think, two years ago. Yeah, I played like a lot of stages there.

It was really fun. But it was it was pretty rugged. Like, whoa, there was no glamping.

And that was the regional burn for Miami, Florida. But and that was I’ve never been to Burning Man. But that was the closest I’ve been to a Burning Man.

And it was like, yeah, we I think everyone was just one with the people. You know, like there was no VIP. And it was pretty, pretty rugged as a camping festival.

[Darran]
They know how to live in the desert for a week.

[Cozmic Cat]
So they got like, so brutal. Like, I’m actually not a huge camper. But at in Halifax, this festival coming up, they’ve set up like a kind of a VIP tenting situation for the artists.

So you don’t you don’t have to bring everything you can just go and like you have your sleeping bag and your match air mattress and all the things. So I’m excited about that. Every year I go to defected Croatia in Tisno.

And I feel like it’s almost like professional development. I get to see the artists playing what are they playing now we got some boat cruises. It’s beautiful location.

It’s lovely friendly people. So I did that one last year the year before I did defected Malta. And they were just really it’s good to see like on a on a global scale, or maybe on a European scale, or even defected maybe on a British scale.

But like what is happening? Like, you know, what are they playing and what it what it looks like to be on a big stage like, you know, at these festivals, you know, you have to see it so you can visualize it for yourself, you know?

[Darran]
You know, I think going to that, when you say going out there and visualize and seeing other cultures, other music, even from an audience standpoint of standing in the audience. But I think one of the biggest benefits that I’ve seen of going out there as being this side of the industry is going to the place I mean, Winter Music Conference in 2009 was one of the first things that kind of kicked off my brain when our show used to be called ITVNW was a broadcast television show for ITV Northwest. And when I’m in Miami at the time, I would say where my tagline was always where we feature the best from the Pacific Northwest.

I realized really quickly in Miami, I had I couldn’t say Northwest if I’m in Miami, we’re not featuring business. So I changed NW to it stood for network. So the ITV network.

And after that, I kind of opened my mind. So I was meeting so many people from around the world at Winter Music Conference, and then set the way clock forward to 2023 2022. I went to ADE and just the networking opportunity that people from around the world there, I still want to make it out the sonar.

I know there’s a number of these events and festivals to I want to need to I love going to and just the things along like sitting in a room and Carl Cox is 30 feet away from you and you’re in a room with 200 people. And he’s talking about how he’s developing himself over again, here’s the new thing you’re going to see from me moving forward and nobody in the world has seen that because it’s not broadcast live anywhere. You know, it’s just this insight so how beneficial that can be and the networking opportunities as well.

I think it’s huge.

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah, like I think I was at ADE in 2023. Like I got the Pete Tong DJ Academy Future Talent Award in 2023. And I think I went to ADE and Brighton Music Conference.

And at Brighton Music Conference, I actually was like this close away from Carl Cox doing his set in the I 360. Actually, I’m front row in that video that was viral, like millions of people viewed it on Beatport, because Beatport live streamed it. And, and there and people were messaging me for like months and months and months.

Is that you in the front row? It’s like, that’s me in the front row, like full on up close. And I got to talk to and meet so many people at those conferences, both in Amsterdam, and in Brighton.

And it just, it’s a game changer, because you really can then start a relationship with these people. And you can hit them up on socials and be like, I met you at a in Amsterdam. And like, maybe we can collaborate or like, here’s my track or like, I’m going to come to your gig when I go to like, you know, wherever, you know, or they’re like, what’s popping in Toronto, you know?

[Darran]
It’s the investment of one’s time, like you said, going back and reading those books, reading the manuals, learning, you know, doing the back end research. And that is part of, if you saved up all year long, I’d say, not only is Amsterdam a beautiful city to go to, I’m not trying to be partial to it. But just even if it’d go regionally, if something’s happened, if I’m in Seattle, something’s happened in San Francisco or LA, you know, go there, find out what these are, South by Southwest, you know, if you’re going…

[Cozmic Cat]
Oh yeah, South by Southwest, like those things are so important. I do have to say, like, coming up, I have, I almost forgot, but I am going to Ibiza again for like the fourth time I’m doing this. No, it’s actually the third time I’m doing this thing called Orbit DJ retreat.

It’s a DJ and production retreat. So you go there for a week, everything’s included. And you are at this villa in Ibiza.

And you get your tracks, deconstructed and feedback and mixing, mastering techniques and elevated DJ skills, workshops. And then at the end of it, you get all this mentorship. They redo your bio, they do a photo shoot.

And at the end of it, you will play in Ibiza. And it’s just the people that I’ve met there coming from all over the world to make themselves a better kind of artist, entrepreneur. It’s been invaluable.

Like now I went to Fiji and played on this crazy floating bar in the middle of the Pacific ocean because of that. Like I played like with BreakBot and played like just all over, basically all over the world. I’ve met different people that I met at these retreats.

And again, it’s professional development. You invest in it and you come back inspired, having met people that are like-minded, pushing their career forward, excited. And it’s just amazing.

So yeah, investing in yourself. You don’t have to go to a crazy expensive retreat in Ibiza. Like this is what I’m doing, but not everybody can do that.

And I couldn’t do that maybe five years ago, but something regional, local, something online, something.

[Darran]
Yeah, absolutely. I couldn’t agree with you more. That energy, that feeling you come back with, with connecting with people in real time, especially after Pandi went down, seeing people in 2022, shaking hands, like they were so happy to see people because they weren’t on Zooms anymore.

I was really trying to see you halfway around the world or here, here, here. And the discussions that would happen were just so cool. And there was a lot of energy of people getting back to normal.

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah, it’s definitely the energy that keeps you going. And I think music is just energy to me. Music is energy and emotion, and it needs to be fed from many different sources.

And definitely other people is a huge source.

[Darran]
And if there’s something you could say or like to say to new and up-and-coming producers, DJ slash producers, to watch out for when it comes to making their career successful, what’s the one piece of advice that comes to your mind to say, look out for this? Or I would suggest doing this. What do you think would be the most crucial thing that piece of advice you could give to them?

[Cozmic Cat]
I know everybody just always says be authentic, be authentic, be authentic. But I think it’s about, I would say, watch out for becoming too narrow. I mean, I used to be so narrow.

I thought I had to listen to just the coolest underground music and everything else and I had to look a certain way and do a certain thing. And it was almost like high school, like a clique, like you can only do that. And you can’t, if you don’t have the right backpack, like you’re stuck and you’re out of the group.

I feel like I want to say to the young people up and coming, just enjoy the process and be open to everything. Like who cares if you like hip hop, screamo and drum and bass? Like who cares?

You’re supposed to be just like crashing through it all and feeling it all and doing it all right now. And I feel like people get too caught up in their image on socials and what they’re doing and what they’re looking like and what they’re listening to. I think it’s very freeing to do everything.

Like I get you have to have, your brand has to have a story and all this shit, but there’s a lot of stuff that you need to get, you need to receive before you can start putting out this message. So don’t start putting out the message until you’ve received all the influences and that’s how you figure out who you are and then you go forward. Now these young kids are just like trying to tell everybody that they’re on this mission to do what, okay maybe, but like what’s behind it?

Tell me a story. And you have to build the story. It doesn’t just happen.

So be open, get all the influences and then maybe focus on cutting back and saying, okay I’m not playing Psycho Billy in my set, I’m just gonna play a house set. But today I’ve been spinning for so many years and say with DJing, there’ll be times when I’ll just look at the crowd and be like, they need something different. I’ll just drop some crazy thing and they’ll be like, what?

And the whole place will light up and they’ll be like, that’s a brilliant fucking DJ. Because they just told you what you’re gonna have and you loved it. And you don’t just have to play German techno all night long.

It’s just like, lighten up guys, have fun. We’re playing other people’s records, have fun. It’s a fun name.

[Darran]
You said German techno, right? It was funny when I was in Germany last year for Ray of the Planet that- Is there any other kind except Detroit techno? Yeah, well one, but then I was like, yeah, you’re gonna see there’s 300 nightclubs in Berlin, 298 of them are gonna play techno music on any given night.

And luckily, where I was at, I was like a block down. I was staying at the Enhau Hotel there, beautiful little boutique hotel, awesome place. And the theme there is amazing.

But about a block and a half away was a club that was actually had a house night. And I was like, yes. And didn’t know who the DJs were, but it was really a cool little club, the way it was laid out.

Really awesome. And got to hear house music in Berlin. Yeah, it was awesome.

[Cozmic Cat]
I think it’s interesting. You think everyone will be so free and everybody’s open and the internet, AI and freedom. And then sometimes the younger generation is so rigid.

They’re just like, I’m only gonna listen to this kind of Afrobeat and that’s it. And I get you’re searching for an identity and all that, but yeah, I just wish that people could just be a bit more free.

[Darran]
Well, you speak of identity. I got into electronic music. I mean, dance clubs, nightclubs, like that electronic music in 1992.

And this is, I was going to nightclubs, but they were playing top 40 music. I mean, there was this top 40 hip hop or top 40 pop music was what the nightclubs were playing when I was a 15, 16 years old. I got exposed to rave culture at 18 years old.

And in the music store that I worked in, there was a very limited electronic music section. And I remember like Kyoki had a disc, a mixed compilation in there. I think Tiesta might’ve, maybe Tiesta was around.

I don’t think Tiesta was around at that time, but it was like a lot of mixed compilations with tracks on them, on CDs, but a very finite selection, maybe like 30, 40. And this is at Warehouse Records, one of the biggest retail chain stores in the world. And even Tower Records had a very limited electronic music section.

[Cozmic Cat]
It was usually like Headcandy or like Buddha Bar, that kind of stuff.

[Darran]
Yeah. Yeah. It wasn’t anything.

It was like, you know.

[Cozmic Cat]
A kind of curated selection of like random.

[Darran]
Unless you went to the record store and bought vinyl and brought the vinyl back home, you weren’t getting that on CDs and press than the mainstream record stores. It’s true. And so, you know, the only way we would get experience in this music would be when you say brand your identity would be to go out to these underground parties, the raves or the clubs, because electronic music was not a big thing in the 90s in Washington.

[Cozmic Cat]
No, it kind of peaked in Toronto in 95. There was a huge rave scene in Toronto. I wasn’t here for it, but I mean, I know that it was pretty legendary.

There was a lot of big, big, massive raves that were completely location. You know, nobody knew the location. You bust in and they had like Deep Dish and like, I don’t know, which I don’t even know, like huge, huge people playing.

It was a whole scene.

[Darran]
Yeah, but then that was, you couldn’t really get that music on the local radio station either. And the internet was non-existent. I mean, it was there, but not in the way it is now.

And so, you know, we looked forward to going out to those events because it’d be something new and we dress up for it like candy kids and like, well, look at a like New York style party monster show. But anyways, I’m going to wrap it up a little bit here. After all this music and business and all that other stuff, I know we talked about earlier a little bit in the show that, you know, getting out and taking a break and then putting your feet in the grass and talking with people in real world experience, not real world experiences, other world experiences.

What do you prefer doing the most when you’re taking a break from all this music industry business stuff?

[Cozmic Cat]
Oh, when I’m taking a break, you know, I just love to be near water. I just loved like ideally would be walk on a beach or like going down to lake. We have a lot of lakes in Ontario, so there’s always lakes.

But, you know, just it’s nature going with nature. You know, I do like riding motorcycles. I like I like animals.

So I don’t know. I just like to commune with like we’re on this planet for how many years. We don’t know.

But, you know, it’s it’s not just us. It’s also the animals, the birds, the trees, the water, the moon, the stars. I like connecting with that because that’s seriously real.

And it’s also seriously cosmic. So yeah, you got it. It’s not just on the digital realm.

It’s not all in like bleeps and bloops in the computer or in a nightclub with like machines. It’s real connections with real people, real energies, real frequencies. Yeah, fresh air.

I’m outside right now. It’s summer.

[Darran]
Yeah. It was very interesting. You said very cosmic.

I get the play there. But I’ve always wanted to go out to the middle of the desert when there’s no city lights, no city light pollution and really see those images. You see the photographs of like the Milky Way Galaxy.

[Cozmic Cat]
Oh, like a dark sky reserve.

[Darran]
Yeah.

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah. Wherever is like for you and your part of the planet, whatever is natural, like some it’s deserts, some it’s oceans, some it’s like mountains, some it’s jungles. For me in Ontario, it’s a lot like upstate New York here.

It’s a lot of lakes and forests and ravines. So there’s a lot of green. We don’t have deserts, but you know.

[Darran]
Yeah. I would say using desert as like middle of nowhere.

[Cozmic Cat]
100%. The stars, like seeing that. We’ll see that way up north and you’ll see it like where there’s away from all the cities.

And you’re just like, I can’t believe there’s so many stars and actually supposed to look like that all the time.

[Darran]
Yeah, exactly. That’s like you said, connecting with that cosmic energy. Is this like, I think this is huge.

And to me, it gives me hope. You know, that it’s like, there’s no way we’re alone. I’m not going to get any philosophical debates, but there’s no way.

[Cozmic Cat]
It’s perspective where you’re like, God, all my little worries and stresses and anxieties, look at this shit. This shit’s going on millions of years after. I’m just a little blip.

And what am I going to do in my time on the timeline?

[Darran]
And I do truly believe that music is universal. It’s like a universal language that even from a humanity standpoint, especially with electronic music, you’re not necessarily always being fed with lyrics or imagery. If you’re listening to an electronic music song, that person cannot speak a word of English.

That person cannot speak a word of Japanese or a word of whatever the language is. It’s zero, but we’re still listening to that same electronic music song. We know what the drop is.

We know where the enthusiasm, we know where the excitement is, and it’s responding at that level. And it’s like, whoa, we’re all having a communal experience.

[Cozmic Cat]
It’s a great feeling. It’s like you don’t need words when you have music.

[Darran]
Exactly.

[Cozmic Cat]
You know? Music is definitely magic. Saved my life, saved a million people’s lives.

Feeling there’s nobody or nothing, and then you hear this song or you feel this music and you’re like, okay, I can get through this. Or sharing a song with a friend, or now making a song and sharing that with people. There is no feeling.

Even when I was singing at Electric Island, that was the biggest crowd I’ve ever had, and I felt so high and energized. But there’s nothing like creating your own song and getting that and realizing that you made that and that you’re going to potentially share that with people in a club or in people’s earbuds. It’s even better than that feeling of being in front of all those people, because that will be there when you’re dead.

That will be there when that gig is forgotten. Those songs will be still there. It’s a legacy.

[Darran]
That’s kind of funny you bring that up. It’s one of the reasons why taking this into my own hands and not putting it on YouTube or something that could go away, but having it on my own platform, and it’s like people come back years later and be like, where does that exist? You have to go to our website to watch that.

Smart. It’s not there. It’s not there.

It’s not there.

[Cozmic Cat]
Yeah, we all saw TikTok go down. I mean, it came back, but it went down.

[Darran]
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you got to look at music rights and have that all evolves and where that can go. I got all my propers, all my contracts, all my stuff’s legit.

[Cozmic Cat]
All right, well, if you’re looking for me to sync, we can talk.

[Darran]
Yeah, right? So a couple last questions here, though. If somebody were to write a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

[Cozmic Cat]
She’s Cosmic.

[Darran]
She’s Cosmic. All right. She’s Cosmic.

[Cozmic Cat]
That’s it.

[Darran]
Dope. I’m sold. I’m going to be the first one to read it.

First one to buy it. First one to digitally download it. First one to get Amazon Books.

[Cozmic Cat]
Truly, truly cosmic.

[Darran]
Cosmic. Awesome. All right, well, is there anything else you want to let our DJ Sessions fans know before we let you get going?

[Cozmic Cat]
Uh, no, uh, I don’t know. Just your support and your, you know, your likes and shares and plays. It does change DJs trajectory of their career is more important than, you know, so, you know, follow me on all the platforms, check out my website, join my mailing list.

But also, you know, thank you to the DJ Sessions for reaching out and making this time and this platform. I’m very grateful. And it’s been an absolute pleasure talking to you, and I just, I really respect what you’re doing and how hard you’re working.

Thank you for having me.

[Darran]
Yeah, we’ll be following. We like to follow up with all our artists. I know I took that like eight and a half month hiatus and was like, I’m off the planet after I went to rave the planet.

I’m off the planet. I’m out of the reservation right now. But I’m back.

We’re back in full effect, new toys, new stuff coming out of DJ Sessions. And that is your website, djcosmic.com down there at the bottom. Thank you again for coming back on the show.

We’re going to stay in touch with you. Like I said, always got something going on over here. And I know you got tons of stuff coming up.

So it’s always getting them for you in front of our fans is always a pleasure. And thanks for coming on the show today.

[Cozmic Cat]
All right. Bless up. Bless up.

Big ups from Toronto.

[Darran]
Thank you. On that note, don’t forget to go to our website, the djsessions.com. Check us out there.

We have so much going on over there. We got over 700 news stories a month, live interviews happening, exclusive mixes. We’re launching a new music section.

You can download our app. We have virtual reality nightclubs, big stuff happening in there. We’re really excited for that.

But all of that information and more, our store where you can donate, get some cool flag gear. We’re going to be updating that soon as well. Get some more products to you so you can rep the DJ Sessions.

But all of that and more at the djsessions.com. Take a picture of it. The QR code right there, website there.

And yeah, that’s our show for the DJ Sessions Presents the Virtual Sessions. I’m your host Darren. That’s Cosmic Cat coming in from Toronto, Canada.

I’m in the virtual studios in Seattle, Washington. And remember, on the DJ Sessions, the music never stops.