" I THINK I’M making music right now that doesn’t necessarily have a home, " says local producer Cozmopolis, a/k/a Michael O’Connell, whose upcoming album City Creeper (Tone Casualties) is a culmination of work he’s done recently in Sweden, Thailand, and Boston. As the title suggests, O’Connell and his music have jumped continents a few times, and while he’s gained admirers everywhere he’s been, Cozmopolis hasn’t always been able to give a clear definition of his style.

What O’Connell has been able to do is make an art form out of relaxing. While most people do things like go record shopping or simply chill out in their spare time, after work, or on lazy weekend afternoons, O’Connell has made living loosely his life’s work. His body of music includes a solid array of relaxed yet seductive hip-hop and downtempo tracks that are heavy with atmospheric beats and intelligent samples. But it is his hip-hop edge that sets him apart from other downtempo artists. He may be relaxed, but he’s certainly not asleep. And while his music may not be easy to classify, it’s surprisingly easy on the ears. " I think my new album is cinematic in nature in many ways, " says O’Connell. " The samples I used are from old ’50s and ’60s background-mood records. It’s a combination of those sounds with a lot of classic breaks and drum sounds that I reconstructed. I would call myself a collage artist, simply because what I do to make my music is take bits and pieces from vinyl, and make those bits and pieces into something that has nothing to do with the original. I try to stay away from using loops from records, so that what I make is not based around the original. "

O’Connell, who started playing bass at age 12, caught the electronic vibe in 1997, when he went into friend and fellow producer Frank Heiss’s (a/k/a Tube) studio. Soon after, he quickly bought gear of his own and, after making tracks for a year, went to Germany where Heiss introduced him to the LiquidSky Cologne mastermind, Dr. Walker. Soon after, in early 1999, Dr. Walker put out O’Connell’s first 12-inch, Cozmopolis, on the Cologne-based record label Hotel-Lotte. O’Connell’s obsession with production grew, and he not only began playing in Germany on a regular basis, but his relaxed, carefully constructed tracks began appearing on various labels in both the US and Germany. He’s recorded tracks for EMI, EMI/Harvest, Hotel-Lotte/Syncom Productions, Pumahpunkz, Liquid Sky (NYC), and Tone Casualties. In addition, Cozmopolis has performed throughout the US and Europe, sharing the stage with various acts from Mr. Lif to Air Liquide. He also held a residency with friends and collaborators Frank Heiss and Michael Gilday at Café De Michel, in Roxbury, in 2001.

O’Connell’s music may not have a clear genre, but the Boston native is determined to give it an audience. On October 2, he begins his monthly residency at the Enormous Room in Cambridge, where he hopes to bring Boston the sort of quality live-downtempo night that it currently lacks. He hopes to keep the night as " live " as possible. While recent trends in technology have blurred definitions of " live " electronic music, O’Connell is adamant that what he does will be completely live and spontaneous. " I haven’t seen anyone doing the kind of live-downtempo nights that I was accustomed to playing at, and attending, in Europe, " explains O’Connell. " Essentially, the vibe I am talking about creating is one where people can be exposed to the music they’re used to hearing DJed, but instead it will be generated and mixed live. This is something that Boston doesn’t really have now. "

O’Connell also hopes to include guest performers from outside of the Boston area as part of the night to expose local clubgoers to new artists, music, and record labels. " I’ve had the opportunity to perform with producers and DJs from all over Europe and America, and have always wanted to expose my home audience to the people I’ve met and performed with, " he says. " In the future, this will include London-based DJ Lee Dalby from Qube Records, Lomo from the Swedish label Pumah Punkz, and DJ Link of Molly Parker Records in Germany. "

In addition to his new album and residency, O’Connell also just finished a 12-inch, which he will release himself in October. In November, he hits the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain for a weekly residency. Regardless of how his music is classified, it’s certain that people like what they hear. " Some people call it downtempo. Some people call it hip-hop, " says O’Connell. " But the response from hip-hop fans is that it’s not hardcore enough to be considered hip-hop. And then, downtempo fans say it has too hard of an edge. I don’t know what to say about it, except that it’s the music I make, and people like it when they hear it. "

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KULAFOTO.COM

Issue Date: September 24 - October 8, 2002