After a three year hiatus, producer and DJ Cosmic Coast returned with the release of his EP, “I Can See The Fire In Your Eyes” on February 19th, 2021. Prior to this release, the Nashville resident’s most recent was his single, “Trails,” from 2018. Returning with a musical hybrid of dance, funk, psychedelic, nu-disco, house, and a little rock, the EP is sure to appeal to an expansive and diverse audience. I was grateful for the opportunity to talk with Jonathan Edwards (Cosmic Coast) before the release, along with getting an early listen of his EP.
Taking inspiration from acts like Daft Punk, Chromeo, FKJ, and The Polish Ambassador, Edwards says the most important thing for him is to simply have fun making the music.
He briefly mentions his experience making music in college, saying, “...Someone called me Knoxville’s ‘Resident Professor of Futuristic Funk’ and described my sound as ‘the kind of music that you might picture Marty McFly bumping out the back of his Delorean’ and I loved that description.”
The versatility of Edward’s EP could have you traveling dimensions, dancing under a disco ball, or taking a night drive through the city. There is no single way to experience it, and that’s one of the reasons why I love it. With seventeen years of experience under his belt, Jonathan has a diverse musical background, ranging from funk, to rock, to dance, and everything in between. These influences are apparent throughout the EP, focusing on the funky, groovy feeling. For example, in the title track, “I Can See The Fire In Your Eyes,” Edwards layers a funky guitar riff with chopped vocal samples, a grooving bass line, and wavy synth pads. Together this creates a neo-disco, other-worldly soundscape. These ideas are present in the rest of the EP, with each track introducing a unique motif. In “Centric,” we hear strings paired with a lower, dirty bass line, and the beat turns into a relaxed and driving feel. He plays with keys more in this track, and the influence seems more like mo-town funk rather than a nu-disco sound that we heard in “I Can See The Fire In Your Eyes” and some of the others.
Overall, this EP is an impressive comeback, definitely putting Cosmic Coast back on the map after three long years. Edwards noted that when his music became work, he lost the excitement and passion for it that made him a musician in the first place. Now that the spark is reignited, I’m excited to see what comes next. Check out his EP, “I Can See The Fire In Your Eyes” on Soundcloud and be sure to follow Jonathan on Instagram to stay up to date.
