Introducing: Cosmic Ninja | Bristol’s Political Party Bringers

Contemporary punk and electronica have always been frequent bedfellows. Bristol’s Cosmic Ninja once again prove their compatibility.

Born from the hotbed of fervent creativity that is the South West scene, Cosmic Ninja exist is a vessel of volatile energy, one that channels the energy from both genres into their own characteristic sound. However, whilst many current acts specialising in hybridising the two genres are doing so in unfamiliar and unexplored ways, the Bristol foursome instead return to the days when the sound was new, adolescent, exiting – above all else – energising. It’s their new EP Dissident Transmission that showcases this. Siphoning acts such as Enter Shikari, Pendulum, Hadouken!, Bring Me The Horizon and other bands that soundtracked the 2010 revolution, the record is a conduit that’s political, openly-queer and optimised for carnage.

With the record out now independently, we got in touch with the band to dissect their sound, their approach, the current political environment and how the unison of punk and electronics is the perfect catalyst for change and chaos.

For those new to Cosmic Ninja, how would you briefly describe yourself? 

“The aim of our band has always been to mash up rock and electronic styles into an energetic audio experience that will have you head banging hard whilst throwing shapes in your rave gear.
We want to cross boundaries, harnessing the power of a rock or metal band and splice that with the textures, emotions and trance like qualities of punk and electronic sounds. We want to write powerful songs that people can engage with and express with us through our energetic live performances. We aim to be a down-to-earth genre-bending band who champion social issues, encourage political awareness, and share our struggles and experiences around mental well being.”

Musically, what are your primary inspirations?

“We love bands who try to do something different musically and that try to have more meaningful subject matter. It’s always a difficult one though because we listen to a lot of different styles of music and everything we hear inspires us.”

Jonny (Angelini, Guitars, Vocals): “Musically I would have to highlight Pendulum as one of my biggest inspirations. They broke a lot of ground in terms of what can be achieved with a rock/dnb/dance crossover. I was always a rock kid growing up but Bristol has a massive drum n bass scene which I loved. Those guys really helped me to see the potential in merging the two worlds, and such a powerful live sound also. Thinking more old school Rage Against the Machine are band favourites, probably no surprise there! We love big riffs, rocking out and the political message embedded in their lyrics and who they are as a band. Their music is as relevant as ever and I think their sound is still fresh and has stood the test of time well. More recently we are really digging Nova Twins. Very innovative in what they are doing, I think Georgia South is one of the most creative musicians of the last decade and her bass playing really needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated! Would love to know how she pulls off some of those sounds.”

Tamsin (Cullum, Vocals): “I grew up with System of a Down, I just love the way they take you on a journey and aren’t afraid to mix things up genre wise. Their dynamics and song structures are something I definitely try and take influence from. Enter Shikari in particular are a massive influence on us, those guys really are incredible. Musically they are so free and diverse, they have covered so much ground sonically and are truly one of the best live bands from the UK right now. They also use their platform to promote important issues which is great to see as so many bands don’t bother. I love Bring Me The Horizon too who are also pushing the envelope in terms of mixing electronic sounds and rock music. It is nuts to think how much their sound has developed over the years.”

Rob (De Wandelear, Bass, Vocals): “It varies with time but, at the time of writing materials for Dissident Transmission, I would say Nine Inch Nails, Pendulum, Enter Shikari, Prodigy, Bring Me The Horizon…to name a few.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uXt9dtuFnw

You’ve just released your new EP Dissident Transmission, how are you collectively feeling about the release?

“A mixture of excitement, pride, relief, hope, apprehension, completion, … It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of work and we care deeply about what we do.This is definitely our best work so far and we are really proud of what we have put together.

“We’re really starting to refine our sound and what Cosmic Ninja is all about so we’re super excited we’ve finally found our groove as a band and are enjoying ourselves.”

The EP is very politically-vocal, could you elaborate on the main subjects of the record?

“These tracks all share a theme of calling out the corrupt and dishonest behaviour of the government, largely backed by a complicit media. I guess they are a siren to try to wake people up, or provide some common ground in order to bring us together.”

“The political landscape in the UK has been a disgrace for some time and this really riles us up and provides a lot of lyrical inspiration. We are tired of the corruption, the lies, the lobbying, the conflict of interest, the second jobs, the normalisation of extreme views, the disregard for the environment. How can these people have zero integrity and so shamelessly serve themselves? And why aren’t enough other people giving a fuck about it?! Political apathy is a massive hurdle that we need to overcome before we can make any changes to the system, and we want to try to grab people’s attention. We just want to live in a country that we can be proud of, that looks after each other, and the tracks on the new EP are very much reflective of our frustration, anxiety and rage that we all have inside!”

Despite the political nature of the record, the album has an explosive party like vibe, what was your approach to implementing this whilst still keeping the focus on politics?

“Ultimately we make and perform music because it is what we love and to have a good time.Having fun and sharing positive experiences is really important for us and this naturally seeps through into our sound. While our lyrics can seem quite depressing the message is really to show we share the frustrations, anger and worries and that this energy can be a good thing that brings people together and unites them to make a positive change.”

There’s a real and profound sense of energy to this record, what was the recording and process like? Was there a similar sense of energy in the studio?

“Energetic is probably the most popular description of Cosmic Ninja, but capturing this on record hasn’t been easy.”

“We do a lot of writing remotely using laptops and sharing projects online so that we can all go into files and work on them as and when. Our processes are really collaborative and easy, we try to write and record whenever inspiration hits.”

“We are definitely a band fully embracing the technology that is out there to make songwriting and producing easier and more accessible, we ain’t traditionalists!”

“When we feel we’ve got the final tracks down we always get in the live room together. We always love recording and like to rock out in the studio as much as possible and make sure we have time for a bit of fun too of course! We know this is the best way to really reflect the energy we produce when we play live.”

“We often trial the new tracks live first before we go into recording, to really get the feel for them so we can reproduce that in the studio as far as we can. Plus we had some extra magic dust on this EP with the great Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow, Babymetal)  who produced and mixed for most of the track. His experience working with bands we really respect made us feel confident that he got our sound.”

Finally, what do you want people to take away from the record?

“We really always want to have created music that is inventive in its approach and that tries something new. We love all types of rock music but there isn’t always much evolution, so we try our hardest to put a new spin on things and hopefully people come away after listening to it feeling they have heard something fresh.”

“This EP was really made for anyone frustrated with the political status quo in the UK or in their own country. We hope people relate to the music and the energy and that it can unite them with others feeling the same frustrations. We want people to come together to tackle the issues facing us politically and socially and I hope this message comes across in our songs.”

Dissident Transmission is out now independently. Purchase the record here.