Kosmodrome is the experimental group comprised of Peter Telck and Gustin Sweatt in the year of 2003. The duo was born out of the frustration of the music scene being pock marked with bands that they thought were into music for all of the wrong reasons or simply lacked the content they were looking for. They had been trying to decide on a new musical avenue to take that would be soothing and powerful in it's experimental nature. The main reason for this is that almost every band in their hometown of Austin sounds like someone else or can be used in a point of reference game that can be almost incredibly ridiculous and inane. The goal was to separate themselves from their peers as much as possible. The point was to be accessible in it's absurdity and rigidly structured in it's profound chaos. With the absence of most experimental bands in Austin, Peter and Gustin struck out to make the music that they had wanted to hear.
The name itself is Russian for "Space Port". It was decided upon one day during a record buying excursion into San Antonio. Names had been kicked around and a few were pretty good, but it was nothing that was defining. On the way back to Austin, Peter had been talking about a book that contained various texts on the subject of space exploration and the space program of the Soviet Union. He mentioned the name "Kosmodrome" in passing and Gustin caught him for a second saying, "that's it" and the matter was settled.
Kosmodrome itself pulls it's influence from various sources. The main one being a shared obsession between the two members for Russian history and imagery. Fluxist, Dadaist, and Situationist Art movements are also a huge influence to the group. The music itself is quite frankly very hard to describe into one sound. It is rooted deeply in the sounds of Throbbing Gristle, early Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, Wendy Carlos Williams, Tangerine Dream, Wolf Eyes, Black Dice, Mike Oldfield, Thighpaulsandra, Coil, and various unknown noise artists. With noise being a key element in Kosmodrome, it also has it's structure for a soft melody, creating a beautiful ambience.
Peter and Gustin have during their time together recorded two EPs and one full length record. Currently the band is working on a new record that is wide in scope and epic in ideal. They have become an active member on the roster of independent label 7 Point Records. Club 710 and End Of An Ear Records are but two examples of the venues that Kosmodrome has performed at. They have several shows lined up for the beginning of 2006 with several more releases planned.
