№ 151 - Cosmo

Her house and electronic sound isn't built around big drops or instant gratification; instead, she creates immersive journeys where hypnotic grooves, emotional storytelling and subtle transitions take centre stage. It's an approach that has naturally found its place within the world of the electronic music collective and record label Giegling.

Long before moving to Europe, Cosmo spent years shaping her craft in Seoul's intimate club scene. As a teenager, she discovered electronic music through fashion show soundtracks, unknowingly falling in love with DJ mixes before she even knew what DJing was. Those early influences, combined with years behind the decks in Korea, continue to define her introspective yet driving style today. In 2024, she released her debut EP on Taipei-based label Jin, further expanding her distinctive musical footprint beyond the dancefloor. More recently, she collaborated with Spanish producer Eduardo de la Calle on the track "Han," featured on Giegling's ambitious six-LP compilation “Ende Gut Alles Gut” (2026), and contributed a remix of Sam Goku's "Yulun," released via the label Paryìa in early 2026.

Since relocating to Berlin, she's found the freedom to fully trust her own artistic voice while becoming part of a community that values music as a deeply personal experience. For the EDWIN Music Channel, Cosmo prepared a mix that steps away from the dancefloor, exploring the ambient, experimental and downtempo records that soundtrack her everyday listening. In our accompanying conversation, Cosmo reflects on her journey from Seoul to Berlin, finding an artistic home with Giegling, why storytelling matters more than peak-time flashes, and the quiet power of staying true to her own sound.

Q. What first pulled you toward DJing, and do you remember the moment you realised it could become more than just a passion?

A. I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember. When I was around 12 years old, I discovered electronic music through fashion shows. At that age, I didn’t really know how to dig for music, so I would spend hours watching runway shows and searching for the soundtracks. I didn’t even know the names of the genres back then, so I just called it “fashion show music”. Looking back, that had a huge influence on me. Fashion show soundtracks weren’t just individual tracks - they were carefully constructed mixes made from multiple records. Because of that, I naturally experienced electronic music through DJ mixes rather than individual songs, and I think that was what first made me curious about DJing.

Since I didn’t own any equipment and had no idea how to DJ properly, I started making mixes on my laptop and uploading them to SoundCloud as a hobby. Eventually, I wanted to play in actual venues, so I started learning on CDJs and made my debut at a small house club in Seoul called Pistil.
Making a living solely as a DJ in Korea was extremely difficult, so I always kept a day job and treated DJing as something I did alongside my career. But if I’m honest, ever since that first gig, DJing has always been at the centre of how I see myself. Even when I was working other jobs, it was always the thing I cared about most creatively.

Q. How has your Korean background influenced your sound, even in subtle ways listeners may not immediately notice?

A. Before moving to Berlin, I spent around seven years playing as a local DJ in Seoul, so I think the city has had a huge influence on my sound. One thing people often notice in my sets is that they can feel quite introspective, while still having a sense of drive. I think both qualities come directly from my experience growing up as a DJ in Seoul. I spent countless nights playing to nearly empty rooms in Seoul. The underground electronic scene is much smaller there, and many venues were intimate spaces with only a handful of people on the dance floor. Because of that, I learned to play for myself rather than for immediate crowd validation. It pushed me towards a more introspective approach to DJing, focusing on atmosphere, storytelling, and personal immersion rather than obvious moments of reaction.

At the same time, when only a few people did walk into the club, you had to find a way to keep them there. That taught me the importance of momentum and movement. Even in my deeper or more hypnotic selections, I'm usually looking for a certain sense of forward motion that keeps people engaged. Those years in Seoul taught me how to trust my own instincts while still respecting the dancefloor. I'm very grateful that I grew up as a DJ in that environment, because it continues to shape the way I play today.

Q. Did moving to Berlin change the way you think about nightlife, freedom, or artistic expression?

A. Absolutely. One of the biggest changes has been feeling that people are genuinely interested in me and my sound for what it is, rather than for how well it fits into a particular trend or expectation. Since moving to Berlin, I've met so many people who not only enjoy electronic music, but who also understand DJing as an art form in itself. What has been especially meaningful to me is how deeply people engage with music here. After a set, it's not unusual for someone to come up to me and describe in great detail what they felt, imagined, or experienced while listening. They remind me that music can create very personal and emotional experiences, even between complete strangers. They've also given me the confidence to trust my own instincts more. I can focus on developing my own voice here, and I've spent more time refining my sound and understanding what makes my approach unique, both as a DJ and as a producer.

Q. Did moving to Berlin change the way you think about nightlife, freedom, or artistic expression?

A. Absolutely. One of the biggest changes has been feeling that people are genuinely interested in me and my sound for what it is, rather than for how well it fits into a particular trend or expectation. Since moving to Berlin, I've met so many people who not only enjoy electronic music, but who also understand DJing as an art form in itself. What has been especially meaningful to me is how deeply people engage with music here. After a set, it's not unusual for someone to come up to me and describe in great detail what they felt, imagined, or experienced while listening. They remind me that music can create very personal and emotional experiences, even between complete strangers. They've also given me the confidence to trust my own instincts more. I can focus on developing my own voice here, and I've spent more time refining my sound and understanding what makes my approach unique, both as a DJ and as a producer.

Q. What kind of atmosphere are you trying to create when people step onto the dance floor during your set?

A. I hope my sets evoke many different feelings rather than a single atmosphere. What interests me most is taking people through different emotional states and allowing contrasting feelings to coexist within the same journey. Narrative is probably the most important element in my sets. I'm always paying attention to how one record changes the meaning of the next, and how a sequence of tracks can create tension, release, surprise, nostalgia, curiosity, or even moments that feel dreamlike and difficult to explain. I hope people leave with the feeling that they experienced something complete. That's also why I tend to feel most comfortable playing extended sets. The longer the set, the more space there is to build those narratives and create the kind of immersive moments I'm always searching for.

Q. You are linked to the label and party serial Giegling. What initially drew you to their world and why did it feel like the right artistic home for you? What have you learned artistically from being around the Giegling community?

A. I first connected with Giegling in 2023 when Konstantin, DJ Dustin, and Leafar Legov came to Seoul for a tour, and I was invited to play the opening set. They really enjoyed my set, which meant a lot to me. After that, I shared some of the demos I had been working on for an EP, and a few months later they booked me for Waking Life, which became my first opportunity to play in Europe. After my set, I spent the festival meeting people, discovering new artists, and experiencing a different relationship between music, community, and nightlife. It was during that festival that I realised I wanted to move to Europe.

In that sense, Giegling has been a very important turning point in my musical journey. As soon as I started playing alongside them, everything clicked. It felt like I had found people who approached music in a similar way. What I've learned most from being around Giegling is to trust subtlety. Not every moment needs to be loud or obvious. Sometimes the most memorable moments happen in the spaces between things.

Q. What advice would you give to young Asian artists hoping to break into European electronic music spaces?

A. I never expected people in Europe to connect with my music as quickly as they did. That experience taught me that anything genuinely truthful to yourself can translate across cultures. Developing your own taste takes time, but that journey is valuable in itself. The more honest you are about your influences, interests, and instincts, the more likely your work is to resonate with people regardless of where they come from.

Q. What is the story behind your EDWIN MUSIC CHANNEL mix?

A. I've always wanted to release a mix that reflected the listening side of my musical taste rather than the dancefloor side. Earlier this year, I played an ambient set at a Giegling event in Berlin, and afterwards several people asked if I could upload a mix in a similar spirit. I revisited some of the tracks, ideas, and moods I explored that day and used them as a starting point for creating something new. It reflects a side of my musical taste that doesn't always appear in my dancefloor sets. I spend a lot of time listening to ambient, experimental, and downtempo music in my daily life, and I've always wanted to share that side of myself more openly. Edwin felt like the perfect place to do that. :)

Tracklist

Sentena w/ J Deady - Intro Reversed [Brain Pulse Tapes]
Roméo Poirier - Thalassocratie [Sferic]
Elori Saxl & Henry Solomon - Symmetries [True Panther Sounds]
MATstudio (Jonny Nash & Suzanne Kraft) - Crushing Indifference [Melody As Truth]
Full Bloom - Zwischenwelt [Ilian Tape]
Sebastiano Carghini - Angles [Total Stasis]
Hakaret - Taint (Djrum Remix) [Melodica]
Jon Hassell - Picnic [Ndeya]
SnP 500 - Dus [Doo]
Madteo - Parlour Tricks Terrific (Psy-Mix) [M.A.D.T.E.O. Records]
Full Moon Scientist - Lunar Base Dub [Isle Of Jura]
Trinity Carbon - Ghost Army Redemption [ESP Institute]
Fai Ling - Ikaros Svett [Fasaan Recordings]
Ryo Kawasaki - You Are The Sunlight [Openskye]
Steve Kuhn - Trance [ECM]
Håkon Kornstad - Damascus [Jazzland Recordings]
John Martyn - Go Down Easy [Island Records]
Boards of Canada - Happy Cycling [Warp Records]
Gonubie - Cuvier's [Métron Records]
(Untitled Field Recording)
Emile Mosseri & Sam Gendel - Get Home Safe [Self-Released]