#and of course i drew the scene with edward and thomas. because i love edward and thomas' dynamic

[edwards-exploit]

These were some of the thoughts Thomas had sometimes felt in his very worst and blackest moods. He’d always shoved them aside. And tonight of all nights, he didn’t want them spoken into being.  Nor had he ever expected they would be spoken into being by Edward. 

everyone go read @mean-scarlet-deceiver's Small World if you like Timelines That Went Wrong

[palecolorbouquetmag-blog]

Cosmo Pyke is a skater from South London who’s become known around the world for his unique singing, songwriting and guitar music. His unique sound made such a big noise it was heard by millions of people and many of them quickly became his fans. But in conversation you discover his passion for his music is as strong as his love for skateboarding and making art. Skating and playing the guitar gripped him from a young age and he picked up both naturally. But it wasn’t just his talent to string together well written songs and lines on his board that helped him to be the artist he is today. It’s also the excitement he gets from expressing his thoughts and ideas through them that stokes him out. Inspired to push for perfection with his pursuits and through taking his skills in a creative direction, he was further motivated to make art and his music career moved forward. Cosmo has been a No Comply Network member since the start and to see his meteoric rise as a musician has been immense. Four years since he released his impactful first EP and a week before the release of his latest offering, we had a chat about how he learned to skate and play guitar, shredding South Norwood, Peckham Rye and Bromley Skateparks, Ben Glasser and Max Critchlow, seeing US pros at demos, BRIT School, WITH Section, Slam City Skates, Southbank, street skating, making graff, recording his breakout EP ‘Just Cosmo’ with Fraser T Smith in the same studio as Stormzy, behind-the-scenes stories of all of his music videos, playing the last ever show at The Montague Arms with King Krule, filming ideal skate clips in Birmingham and Barcelona, playing live gigs, why his latest single Piper for Janet is one of his most meaningful to date, making tunes in Lockdown, the release timeline of his new tracks and his favourite skaters, spots, skate videos, art and photos and much more.

Glad to get a hold of you man, it’s been a while!

Yeah, it’s good because I’m releasing my first tune in a while in six days. It’s really good timing, we’re getting to chat now.

So when did you first see skating and think, I want to do that?

I used to skate when I was younger, maybe when I was about 7 years old.

That’s young, where did you get your first skateboard?

I got my first board from Brixton Cycles, which was next to Stockwell Skatepark at the time. I used to skate Peckham Skatepark. But not too much. I was always going to Stockwell and Kennington Bowl with my mate when I was really small. But then I stopped skating and started rollerblading…

Why on earth did you stop skateboarding to rollerblade?

It was my mate that I mentioned earlier. His older brother used to skate in my area and he was like a bit of a king in the graffiti scene. We always used his skates, everybody learned on his skates. We used to rollerblade at Whites Grounds, the skatepark in London Bridge, when Reuben De Haan’s cousin used to run it.

What year was this, 2005-2006?

Yeah.

So you started skating at age 7, stopped for a few years and started again. What motivated you to get back on board?

Yeah when I was 12, in year 7, Louie Dobbs, my boy he got me on it. We used to skate with Max Critchlow as well.

Yeah the day I started skating again I was at Bay 66 Skatepark, on the mini, on blades, with a party of people and at Bay you had to wear a helmet if you’re on blades but not if you’re on a board, it’s still like that. So at the time I was like fuck this!

I tried to drop in on the mini on a board and I was like look, I put my Vans on and went for the drop in on a skateboard and just did it! Dropped in first try on the mini and I was like fuck this! I’m skating from now on. I could always ride into the bank in Peckham but I’d actually never dropped in on a skateboard up to this point.

When was the first time you made your own music?

Well it was from about the age of about 9-10, maybe 11-10. I went to this thing called School of Rock at the Prendergast School in South London. It was called Felix’s School of Rock – run by this guy called Felix. You get put into a band, it was sick. In the holidays you’d do it for 4 days for a £100.

Like a kind of music boot camp for kids?

Yeah. Max Critchlow used to do it so it was really cool. It was sick. We weren’t allowed to bring skateboards and skate in the hall because they were scared we’d break our necks it was funny man.

How did it work?

You’d’ get put in a band with a Jack Black kind of figure and then on the fourth day there would be a battle of the bands type event and you’d do a gig on the stage. There would be like 90 bands, all just like loads of small kids playing  and the winner at the end wins chocolate, whoever screams the loudest wins basically!

Sounds hilarious man

From there, I was put on the stage, those were my first shows and gigs as a kid, just playing guitar, not even singing really, I did that School of Rock like nine times over the course of the next 5 years over the holidays and shit. Then I moved from Prendergast to Thomas Tallis School and then I started working there when I got to the age of like 18.

At the School of Rock?

Yeah, my first gig was there! Playing gigs, I was really scared before I got on stage as well. Because I cared a lot about what I was doing from such a young age. Cared about how I did.

Once you’d finished school and were looking to go to College, were you making music a lot or skating a lot?

I kind of wasn’t even doing anything religiously. Skate one day. Music the next day. Day after that do some graffiti. Never do one thing; I’ve always been juggling three things at a time. Going to school and school was just…school, you know?

For sure. What was it like studying at the Brit School?

It was really cool, I loved it, I was so happy really. I wasn’t at my rubbish school I was at previously. It had a uniform. This had no uniform and liberal teachers.

That’s dope

Yeah BRIT was crazy. It was like Uni as a 15 year old, no school bell, just like be on time.

So it made you be more independent

I didn’t go to Uni. I went to Sixth Form and then just finished school,  recorded my tape when I was in year 13, towards the end of my school, so it all patterned up well. When I finished school. I was touring all around London, South, West, East and North. In all the pubs.

I guess you made such a big impact; you were waiting to make something on that level or better

The way that I do Graff is the same way I do music. My friend even told me the other day. My songs are like the same way I do a piece or skate, just perfected and something I’ve been doing for a long time, so they are all really similar for me.So what stopped you from releasing those other songs?

I went up to Leeds and recorded with this guy, stayed with him there and recorded in his house. It just felt like the act of making music felt forced. I felt mad going up to Leeds sleeping in an Air BnB and focusing solely on just making music. Now I could do it a lot more but at the time I didn’t have the concentration.

Now I know a lot more but then I wasn’t ready. I made some good stuff and I really like it now and at the time I kinda like it as well but I kind of didn’t want to release it because it wasn’t the same process as the first record that I made with a big old studio with live musicians. This was just me on my own with no drummer, my mate, my drummer wasn’t there, it didn’t feel natural.

I tried to do some other stuff, that will come out in the future that I will re-record but I did stuff that I wasn’t 100% happy but this record I’m putting out now. This latest record, I recorded the way I’d done the first one with all live instruments.

Sounds like you needed some inspiration on this one. What music inspires you as an artist?

At the time I was coming up with loads of bands that played in the Montague Arms in New Cross and The Windmill in Brixton. There were loads of bands playing there at the time

Like who?

Horsey, my cousin’s band a cover band called The Bodies and King Krule.

You and King Krule played the last ever show at the Montague Arms in New Cross, what do you remember from that gig?

Yeah, there was a queue down the fucking road. The first person I saw in the queue was King Krule. I was like what the fuck!? why are people coming to see me. I never really had confidence in myself but you know! Yeah that was the first time I experienced people acting weird man, from those days at the Montague.

Yeah, when you get fame people treat you differently. But what was it like for you?

I learned my social skills from skating so I was always just completely…When you do my line of work, you meet a lot of fans. So it’s like when you meet someone and you’re a fan of their skating, it’s just about being nice to people and it was nice at the time and I miss playing.

The last gig I played was in Jakarta and I haven’t played since then. I’ve been dormant for 2 years. It’s such a long time but you know due to Lockdown it’s just extended that really.

Do you have a favourite artist?

Matthew Klarwein.  He did Miles Davis’ album cover artworks and then I really like Peter Green too; he’s a musician from Fleetwood Mac.

I also like John Piper, he’s the artist who’s art I’m basing this next record I’m about to release on. It’s called a Piper for Janet because my granny’s friend drew a John Piper style painting for her, he used a lot of watercolour and collage so the front cover of this record is based on him and he’s a British Painter. John Piper, he’s pretty cool

I like Edward Ruscha; he’s a photographer but he did a lot of stuff like taking photos of carparks and gas station in LA and Route 66 from specific perspectives back in the 60s and stuff like that.

Dope. Lastly when are all your new songs going to be released?

Next couple of months; they should all be out in January

Sounds good, look forward to it. Any last words Cosmo?

For anybody who’s out there reading this thanks for supporting me.

[justgotham]

With Gotham season 3 returning on Fox at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time tonight, there was no better time to preview the upcoming batch of episodes — especially when it comes to the Alfred – Bruce relationship. The Court of Owls has taken hold in the story, and with Ra’s al Ghul looming now in the shadows, Bruce’s slow journey towards Batman may be about to heat up.

Given that Alfred’s been through everything with Bruce so far, how will the story ahead change their relationship? We spoke with Sean Pertwee this morning about this, the course of the story to date, and the optimism surrounding a season 4 renewal.

CarterMatt – I want to start with this past episode, which I do really think is one of the best episodes of the show so far. When you get a script like that with so many big moments, what’s the reaction to it?

Sean Pertwee – For some of us in the company — we like to call ourselves a company — it was the pinnacle of some of our work so far. There’s been this sort of tremendous swell of support from the fan base, and people really understand and trust us now. That was a real benchmark section with the Jerome story. It was a culmination of not just performances, but the world. It was jelled and unified. Everyone was on the same page for the first time. You could see Gotham start to bubble and rise to the surface.

There’s been this huge descent [into darkness], and it will continue to get darker and weirder. I’ve said this before, but from the ashes the Batman rises. We have to get to the bottom, but within the archness and perverseness of the city now there is a sense of enjoyment with the lunacy in the city. Jerome, you can see, is a huge influence in that. He’s influencing [the progression] in people like Edward Nygma, who you will see tonight. The pendulum swings, and you’re going to see him become the Riddler after starting out as this child-like misfit. He gets to his lowest, and then he swings upward to where he starts to enjoy [what he does]. I think that’s applicable to the rest of Gotham. A lot of that stems from characters like Jerome.

What I love is the different ways in which the characters react to the story and the city, which is breathing on its own. It’s running out of control. It’s turning into the land of nightmares and dreams that people expect from us.

There were two scenes I really enjoyed from this past episode in particular — the one where you’re fighting off some of Jerome’s guys with Jim Gordon, and then you had that powerful one at the end where Bruce determines that he’s not going to kill. He’s forged that one part of his code.

That was one of my most favorite scenes. It was one of the most important moments, since they don’t have to butt heads … They’re acting almost as one. He allowed Bruce to get there on his own. He allows him to make the decision. It was a huge relief that he got there by himself, and that starts to segue them into the relationship that people know and love.

With that said, there is a huge [wrench] thrown in that you should experience any second now on the show. It goes to a place that I find extraordinary. Towards the last four episodes of the season, it goes to a place where we’re all extremely excited [to watch]. I can’t wait to see it. It pushes our relationship further, as did that scene [in 3×14]. I think that was a well-deserved scene over three years of this boy’s dark existence, working to become the man he will later be. It was one of the first rules carved in stone for Batman — ‘I will not kill.’ He makes that decision with Jerome, and Alfred’s there behind him to back him up.

It was a very powerful scene, and we’re really proud of it. It was beautifully written.

What’s the evolution of your own relationship with David [Mazouz]? I’m sure just as Alfred and Bruce are evolving, the same could be said for the two of you.

It is sort of bizarre how Gotham mimics life. I spend so much time with him — I spend as much time with him as I do my own son, because my son’s being educated in England.

Being able to work with someone of his caliber, but also as young as David is, it’s so interesting. Our relationship is so set in stone that we find ourselves around each other easily. I’m so fond of him and I love working with him, and the development seems to be completely natural. Seeing him get [to where he is] has been nothing but a joy to me as an actor myself. There’s such trust that I think people can see the relationship between the two is close, and I think that’s the most important thing. They’re dysfunctional, and they have this sort of dysfunctional relationship, but they find functionality through that in a way. It works — they’re on these different ends of the spectrum, but they find each other in the middle. The boy helps the man as much as the man helps the boy.

Going forward, and with Bruce becoming this man and with that relationship being accepted, things change. Bruce realizes that Alfred isn’t going anywhere and that he’s going to stand by him — he’d throw himself in front of a train to protect that boy. They can [work together in a stronger way]. There are still some bumps and turns at the end of the season, but there’s some stuff that is rather off the chain.

I know it’s already out there that Ra’s al Ghul is going to be appearing at some point this season. Can you speak to what his arrival means, especially in terms of the Bruce – Alfred relationship?

It’s a long journey getting there, since you have to go through the Court of Owls and we explore that territory. It then continues on with another character you will meet [soon]. It’s a ranking system that they go through, and the pinnacle there is Ra’s al Ghul. He’s the head of heads, who you will meet at the end of the day. The thing is that there are curveballs along the way.

In talking about emotionality, things go to an extremely dark and an extraordinarily place. Boy, can David Mazouz act. They put him through the wringer in the penultimate episode and the finale, which segue into each other. I watched this young man do 15 takes giving every possible emotion, living it and breathing it. When you’re two and three inches from someone’s face and you see everything that they’re putting themselves through, it’s terrifyingly good. He’s extraordinary. The fans will not be disappointed and they’ll be hungry for more … as are we. That’s the nature of our profession at the moment. We’re itching to get back into the driver’s seat for next season in terms of what’s coming up. We want to see the journey continue.

I know you’re still waiting to see a season 4 renewal just like we are; what’s the sentiment among the cast and crew. Is there optimism?

I was with Robin [Lord Taylor] and Drew [Powell] this weekend, and the feeling we all have is very strong that we’re continuing. We feel like we’ll be seeing each other in June when we’re supposed to be back. I know there are possibilities of strikes with the Writers Guild, but we are full steam ahead. We know where we are going, and we continue to talk with the showrunners about that.

We’re all extremely positive. We have this immense support from the Batman and DC universe. I think they understand our interpretation of the world. I think we’re working to influence the perception on some of these characters because that was the original intention of Bruno [Heller], Danny [Cannon], and John Stephens. We were meant to see these characters at a time we’d never seen them before, and how these people became who they became and why. We know how these characters end up, but we’re seeing how they get there — emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Now, people are really interested in the backstory of Alfred, which has never been explored, and his relationship with Thomas. That’s something that I would love to be able to look into — what the [nature of their] bond was.

I know that this is such an enormous cast, but moving forward now into the end of this season or season 4, are there people you are interested in continuing to work with?

All of them, really. It’s a large company, but you often find yourself drawn to someone. With Donal [Logue], for example — I just got done doing a lot of stuff with Donal. There’s this weird thing that doesn’t leap off the page at you, but the approach to the world of Gotham is not dissimilar. You find these magnetic attractions and repulsions with people you meet along the way.

I love working with Chris Chalk, and the bond between Alfred and Lucius. They trust each other. I would love to work with him more, and I love the development of watching Bruce Wayne starting to slowly become a man, which he is now. He’s maybe as tall as I am now, and he can throw a punch!

I’d love to work with Donal more, with Ben [McKenzie] more. That’s the great thing about the show — although the world may be slightly heightened, it’s also grounded into a sense of reality. Our characters do cross path, and there’s a reason and the danger is real. The caliber of acting is at such a high order that the sparks always fly. [Take] when you saw Penguin and Nygma butt up against each other, or when you see Lee meeting Jim for the first time; there’s a palpable sense of love in the air.

When you put any one of the characters up against another one, it’s exciting every time. So, to answer your question, I am looking forward to working with everyone.