CosmoBrigade interview: ‘Isolation and Despair’
CosmoBrigade
CosmoBrigade is a Czech four-piece band formed in 2023. Things took off quickly for this Dark-Wave–inspired group, which soon began performing live and released their self-produced EP “Spacepit” the same year. This year, they return with their official debut album, “Hollow Obsessions”, released by Alice In…/Dark Dimensions. The album is a remarkably mature and cohesive work, with guitar and bass playing prominent roles, while the electronic elements add a complementary Cold-Wave atmosphere. The band has also proven themselves as an experienced live act and, in my opinion, stands out as one of the most promising names in the current Dark-Wave scene. I spoke with three members about their formation, rapid evolution, and debut album — which I highly recommend. (Picture credits by Andrés Botero – Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries).
Q: CosmoBrigade was formed in 2023, and things seem to have moved very quickly since then—especially after your self-released EP “Spacepit”. Numerous live shows followed, and now your debut album has been released on Alice In… How did the band come together, and how do you look back on so many events in such a short time?
Ondrej T: CosmoBrigade is, above all, a group of friends—bandmates second. Three of us—Filip H., Vojtech and I—have been friends since childhood, and in 2022 we were lucky to meet Colin, our bass player, who quickly became an essential and beloved part of the band.
Musically, we’ve come a long way since our early days around 2007. What began as a more guitar-heavy, Shoegaze-inspired sound has gradually evolved into something darker, more sinister, and electronic. Even in our earlier bands, like DIV I DED, we had solid runs, releasing several albums and laying the groundwork for what CosmoBrigade would become. So, in a way, we have always been in a band, keeping busy and I want CosmoBrigade to be consistent and successful beyond the initial streak to move it to the next level. Signing up with Alice In.. was a true honor and acknowledgement we’re headed in the right direction.
Colin C.: I discovered the core of the band via ad and tried my luck joining in. Guys welcomed me and soon we started to make our own songs and play live. The audience’s feedback was quite positive from the beginning and one thing led to another and our debut album is out now. For me that was a dream for a long time that came true as I’ve been making music only at home for years.
Filip: I joined CosmoBrigade in the fall 2022 and it was the main reason I moved to Prague, to make some noise with my childhood friends. We had some bands before in our hometown and the alchemy between us was incredible. Afterwards we were looking for a new bass player and the first guy who answered our ad was Colin Clay who came to a rehearsal, and we were amazed with his ideas and abilities. He totally fit in with us and that’s how CosmoBrigade started.
Q: You mentioned the Shoegaze inspired debut, but how did your style and influences take shape? Did you start out with a clear idea of what you wanted to create, or were there particular artists and elements that guided you in developing your sound?
Colin C.: For the beginning, I believe we always wanted to create something unique and of specific quality. We played some covers back then but now they’re mostly original songs. Somehow, we developed darker sound in the process, like all those great 80s Post-Punk and Goth bands. But we like to do a bit of genre blending here and there.
Ondrej T: I lived in London for many years, and the local Goth scene grew on me, even though I never really considered myself a Goth. Before that I grew up listening to the Ramones, Misfits, QOTSA, Editors, Joy Division, or The Cure. When I came back to mainland Europe in 2019, I realized that my biggest asset is my deep voice and a taste for hypnotic rhythms, while being capable of writing punchy melodies and lyrics that are the cornerstone of Dark-Wave/Goth music. But I don’t think there was ever a plan – when we write music, there is always this sense of distress, urgency, dystopian but danceable melodies and relentlessness. It’s something within us that just wants out.
Q: When listening to your music, I hear a fusion of different influences. Can you tell me more about that? What role does each member in CosmoBrigade play in the songwriting and composition process? And how did the “Spacepit” EP come to life?
Colin C.: I’m just a bass guy. And occasionally I like to get inspired and write a basis for a new song.
Ondrej T: We all work in IT, so naturally we keep a cloud drive full of ideas that we either decide to take further or not as a band. I write majority of the lyrics, but funny enough, sometimes it’s the band that writes the drum parts for me. Then there are times when I make a full song on my synth, and the guys just add guitars or some extra synth layers. The beauty here is that every member is treated equally and we don’t limit people to their instrument only. Also, our rehearsals are never dull, because there is an agenda and we tend to work on specific things we shared online before.
Filip: I think the main reason is that each of us is listening to different music, so we have different inspirations and each of us brings to the creative process his own element from his world. But we have some things in common, which are Post-Punk and maybe Dark-Wave.
So here is how the “Spacepit”-EP came to life track by track:
“Rapture”: An old idea from 2020, originally two men rehearsal jam, which me and Ondrej played and recorded on mobile phone. Still have a short demo version of it somewhere haha. In early 2023, we just upgraded “Rapture” to a full band version.
“Spacepit”: This is one of the first songs which Colin wrote for CosmoBrigade he just recorded bass and drum machine at his home studio and the rest of us invented our own parts at rehearsal, a few rehearsals and it was done. Song finished! And this is how we work, usually.
“Devil Over Prague”: Song written by Cigi (Vojta) in 2020 or maybe 21. I remember he had couple of versions, and we were just unsure how to finish the song, so with my arrival we decided to make some noise with two guitar melodies at the end of the arrangement. Colin just made this song even better with his bassline.
Q: What is “Hollow Obsessions” about? The album title and lyrics suggest deep, introspective themes—what kinds of ideas or emotions were you exploring when writing it?
Ondrej T: “Hollow Obsessions” is about the things that consume us, but don’t fulfill us. Things that were meant to unite us but drive us apart inside – be it toxic relationships (there were many in the last few years), society, and even AI and technology and the urban alienation it brings. The main emotion is probably isolation and despair. Everything on that album is rooted in real experiences that we lived through as friends, or moments from my own personal life. Some of those nearly tore our friendships apart. However, when we play the “Hollow Obsessions” set live it seems to have a positive effect in the end – there’s this energy, this shared catharsis that brings people in the crowd together.
Q: It seems you’ve been receiving overwhelmingly positive reactions so far. How does that affect you personally, and what do you think makes CosmoBrigade resonate so strongly with listeners? Do you think this success might influence your future work in any way?
Colin C.: It’s amazing how music and the emotions it carries can bring people together and bring joy to this troubled world. Although our music can sometimes sound somber, it seems that our listeners like what they hear (so far, haha). Personally, I’m greatly motivated when I see that the art we make gets more personal with the audience and we can inspire someone. So, I believe we can continue in this trend and create more beautiful dark songs for next releases.
Ondrej T: I think the album is so personal that it resonates with people, because of heartbreak and dedication to get things back under control, which is a theme we all experience at some point. On a more technical level, it has some powerful basslines that are easy to remember and those catchy loops that people yell back at us, haha. CosmoBrigade will always do their own thing, and we will want to use this initial success as something to build on soon, so that we can play as many shows as possible. That’s our main goal right now.
Q: You’ve already gained some live experience—how do you reflect on that essential part of being a band? And how would you describe CosmoBrigade as a live act?
Ondrej T: Indeed, we played some great gigs (with the legends such as She Past Away, Soviet Soviet, Ploho, House Of Harm or The City Gates). Shows are the thing that gives us the willpower to do more for the band, to push our set further in terms of stage presence and visuals, it’s essentially why we do music. We want to be understood.
Q: Finally, what’s next for you? What can we expect from CosmoBrigade in the coming months?
Ondrej T: Well, we’re currently booking more gigs and festivals for 2025 and 2026 that will take us around Central Europe (Czechia, Poland, Austria) but also all the way to Amsterdam, NL (Automatic Noise Festival in January 2026) and Naples, Italy. With all that hype around the album I thought it would be easier, but the competition in post-punk is intense and we must respect it. Would love to play in Germany and Italy more, as that’s the mecca for our music. Feel free to invite us, hahaha.
Colin C.: We can once again focus on writing new songs after the break, along getting ready for several gigs for 2026. Maybe there will be enough material to slowly cook the second album soon, but let’s see, no spoilers.
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