Since launching their Legend imprint five years ago in 2017, French techno duo Cosmic Boys have built a solid catalogue of music, which includes impressive releases from the likes of Space 92 and Mark Reeve.
Having recently made a return to the label themselves for the release of their collaboration with T78, titled ‘Little Hero’, we welcomed the pair to our Label Mates series to chat about all things Legend.
We asked them about their reasons for first launching the imprint, what they look for when scouting for new music, and who else we can expect to see release with them in the near future. Get the full discussion with Cosmic Boys below.
You first launched Legend back in 2017, why did you want to have your own record label?
Hi, thank you for this interview. We already had our first label Scander for 10 years but it’s more focused on minimal. Five years ago we wanted to move into something more techno. It seemed better to start a new label for that, as the image of Scander was very strong in minimal. We didn’t want to mix everything, our techno has a special universe and we created this around our new label Legend, which we are very proud of.
Since then you have released music from Space 92, Torsten Kanzler, and Mark Reeve, alongside many others, what do you typically look for when signing new music?
We are looking for music that is in the Legend universe. Powerful peak time techno tracks that tell stories. We make a point of each artist’s own style, as we do with our own music. It’s important to us that when you hear each track on the label, you think this is a Legend release. Identity is a key point in music today. Legend and its universe has taken its place in techno and we will continue to work in this way.
Who else can we expect to see on Legend in the near future?
There was recently a release from Demon Noise with his 3-track ‘Losing Control’ EP. We had the opportunity to play them through the whole summer, and the feedback on the dancefloor was incredible.
A compilation is also taking shape for December with 5 tracks from seven talented artists. Matteo Vitanza, TimiR, Franco Smith, Novem Vivit, Martin Costas, Gabriel Gil, and Hector Cardenas. Other releases will be unveiled very soon and we can’t wait to let you discover them.
You recently released your own collaboration with T78, titled ‘Little Hero’, how would you describe the track in your own words?
‘Little Hero’ is a real combination of our two styles. It combines the melody and the pump that we put into our tracks, but also the aggressiveness and the hardness that T78 brought to these tracks completely matched. A real mix and we are very proud of it.
How did you find working with T78?
T78 is a really nice guy and working with him was pretty cool. Really easy and interesting. Having the ear of another very talented producer is always a pleasure for us in these collaborations. He first sent us a basic project and we added the melody as well as the vocal and some other samples. We sent him back the project and he added his ‘Only Bomb’ touch. And we quickly agreed on all the ideas we shared.
Do you have a favourite record label, besides your own of course?
There are many labels that we follow but if we had to mention one it’s NINETOZERO, the label of Enrico Sangiuliano. We find the work and the artistic approach very thoughtful.
What advice would you give to anyone that wants to launch their own imprint?
First of all, find your own musical and visual identity, it’s very important to let people recognise the label immediately. Then find a guideline for the music. To keep a specific style for the label and not to scatter several plans. If you already have that, the rest will follow.
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, is there anything else you would like to mention before we go?
Stay connected on Legend, some things very big will happen.
Cosmic Boys & T78 – Little Hero EP is out now on Legend.