Cosmic Gate’s MOSAIIK TOUR delivers
It’s Friday night, and all anyone in line outside of Exchange LA could talk about was their excitement about finally seeing Cosmic Gate.
Initially released in summer 2021, Cosmic Gate’s latest album, “MOSAIIK Chapter One,” was intentionally delayed in touring, likely to avoid uncertainty because of the coronavirus. Even now, as the latest variant takes another jab at the live performance world, many fans took all coronavirus precautions to see the masters of the trance genre live.
Known for their somewhat chaotic and somehow monotonous sound, trance music – Cosmic Gate’s speciality – has always faced a dichotomy of interest. Due to the duo’s unique sound, dance music fans typically love it or completely hate it, but those prone to trance music have the distinct ability to discern characteristic traits in the production of artists such as Cosmic Gate.
“You get a lot of trance artists that just kind of fold into themselves,” said Ulises Vargas, a music reporter for the electronic music publication EDM.com who attended the concert. “With Cosmic Gate, they just kind of know what’s up, so every new song, every new record, every new album is always fresh.”
And Vargas wasn’t wrong.
With a prolific discography that spans more than two decades, Cosmic Gate, consisting of Claus Terhoeven (better known by his pseudonym Nic Chagall) and Stefan Bossems (or simply ‘Bossi’ for short), have managed to acquiesce to contemporary sounds in their 23 years together. The duo made this transition in not only the trance music scene but also the dance music scene.
The pair became well known for constantly adding its own unique spin to its work. This malleability is a huge part of why many fans stuck around since the very beginning.
Some fans discovered Cosmic Gate through contemporary trance DJs of the early 2000s like Armin van Buuren and Tiësto. These DJs started to explore the idea of creating mixed compilations using CDs for its “A State of Trance” and “In Search of Sunrise” mix series.
Its compilations subsequently allowed DJs to showcase their talents to mix music, while simultaneously exposing their audience to the then-uncharted worlds of dance music where Cosmic Gate was still susceptible to anonymity. Through this, many artists and their future fans discovered each other, with Cosmic Gate’s “Exploration of Space” being the conduit of discovery by many of its fans.
But those days are fortunately in the past as electronic dance music has ascended into the mainstream, allowing for fans to discover new content every day. Now, fans can much more easily discover Cosmic Gate.
Last year during lockdown, many record labels turned to the streaming platform Twitch to facilitate live streams which allowed their artists to continue to perform remotely.
Yet, after a year of techno and house dominated online streaming performances with the likes of Dirtybird Records, Insomniac Events and Desert Hearts, dance music fans are excited to hear something new. Fans are looking into a whole new genre and turning to Cosmic Gate.
Friday night’s concert would turn anyone into a fan of Cosmic Gate. Taking full advantage of the phenomenal sound system at Exchange LA, the evening was truly a night to remember.
It was almost serendipitous that the first track of Cosmic Gate’s album “MOSAIIK Chapter One,” “Blame” featuring vocalist Diana Miro, would be playing at the very moment many audience members reached the top of the stairs.
The energy evoked from the dark rhythm of the duo’s attempt at combining techno’s underground aesthetic with trance’s accelerated speed brought a level of electricity to the dance floor reminiscent of a time before the coronavirus.
The MOSAIIK tour will run through mid-May with 20 additional stops across the United States and Canada.