There’s World Beyond ‘Social Sites’ For Cosmo Pyke

With a name like Cosmo Pyke, it’s no surprise that this 18-year-old South London native has got people talking about him.

Out hanging with his friends, Cosmo may seem like your typical teenager with an interest in skateboarding, spray paint art and music but there’s something of an old soul in there. The decision to start making music came pretty early back in 2006 and his commitment to his art has shown up since with a handful of material online. One of his releases on YouTube back from 2015, ‘All On Me’ is a heartfelt track, talking on tough relationships and taking responsibility – giving us the first glimpses of that old soul I mentioned earlier.

Sonically, his sound blends the laid back attitude of Jake Bugg with the flow of fellow London native Esser. However, these comparisons aren’t linear descriptions as Cosmo looks to craft his own lane within the scene, describing his sound as “individual”.

For me, Cosmo first popped up on the radar when he supported UK artist Ratboy at his headline show in Brixton back in May. The experience gave Cosmo the much-needed exposure he deserved, propelling him further into the public eye. Another boost to this came in the form of his appearance in Frank Ocean’s ‘Nike’ video, amassing over 200,000 views to date. While the finished video was visually stunning, the experience may not have been as glamourous as expected; “[It was] fucking long I had to wait around for twelve until and forced to smoke like 4 cigarettes in a row…but the day after was the party and that was fun”.

As well as his aforementioned cameo, Cosmo’s been modelling for the likes of Topman and Dazed & Confused as well as being signed to a modelling contract. But the music is what matters most and he returned to it recently with his new release ‘Social Sites’.

With his genre-hopping sound, Cosmo combines jazz, blues and elements of hip hop, making it a super unique experience on the ears. The track itself is fluid, drifting one way and another, with dreamy guitars and Pyke’s distinctive south-east London accent giving it a definite authenticity. It is a damning critique of the social media age in which we’re all living, with Pyke approaching the subject in a characteristically tongue-in-cheek manner.

With so much accomplished in such a short space of time, anyone would forgive Cosmo for letting it get to him but as with his music, he remains grounded. When I asked how he would describe himself and what he hopes to achieve through music, he answers “a kid” and “a life” respectively. While short, these answers tell us all we need to know about Cosmo for now, he’s a regular kid with big ambitions and looks to music as a way to achieve his goals. So what does the future hold for Cosmo Pyke? “The world and beyond”.

With an upcoming EP ‘Curser’s Lament’, created alongside Grammy-winning producer Fraser T. Smith and due out in early 2017, the sky, and beyond, really is the limit.