Cog Nomen

"Indietronic Psychedelic, like indie rock, electronic elements, and kind of psychedelic; and poppy. Not full-on pop, just poppy. Kind of Pink Floydish, and with some songs without words that are just about transporting you"
- Miami New Times

"Indietronic Psychedelic, like indie rock, electronic elements, and kind of psychedelic; and poppy. Not full-on pop, just poppy. Kind of Pink Floydish, and with some songs without words that are just about transporting you"
- Miami New Times

"You'll figure it out once you see them live. " - Miami New Times

Their names are rooted in myth and legend, as well as how we're named. Their sound is founded in the breaking of ground and the opening of vistas far and wide. They are Buffalo Brown and Brave Ulysses, who operate as Cognomen, undoubtedly one of the most sonically adventurous outfits in town and out... - NBC Miami-NiteTalk

Got a chance to catch Miami band Cog Nomen at last week's Electric City Fest and I was blown away. They were the first band playing at 3 PM, so there was not too many people there yet, but they played their heart out which is sometimes hard to do in those situations. If you have a chance to check them out I would highly recommend it! They have a great electronic psychedelic pop sound with great guitar work by Buffalo Brown that reminds me of bands like the Flaming Lips. The vocoder vocals add another dimension that reminds me of bands like Trans Am. So I'd say they're probably a cross between those two bands. Perfect to smoke a spliff to and let your mind soar.

Check out a few soundclouds for "As I'm Playing on the Drums", "Starlight" and "Thus Spoke the Insect" from their latest album 'The End of Knowing As We Know It'. Hear more on their soundcloud. Keep rocking it fellows, you made a fan out of me. - Off The Radar

Some people prefer to welcome a new year of life without much commotion. But in the case of Buffalo Brown, a staple in the local music scene for over a decade, candles and a sheet cake just won't do for his fast-approaching birthday.

Brown, together with bandmate Ulysses Perez, are known as Cog Nomen, an ambient robot-voiced electro-pop duo featuring Brown on guitar and Perez on drums.

The pair has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the release of an upcoming EP titled Twins Stars. Because Brown’s birthday lands on the 9th, the two decided to combine the campaign with a birthday party.

“We were looking at having the kickoff party in August, and I liked the idea of sharing my life’s work with different friends and family throughout town as well as the art scene. So it was a bit of a coincidence, because I immediately realized early August equals my birthday, so happy birthday to me. Let's make this a party,” says Brown.

Cog Nomen's new releases, according to Brown, have a sci-fi undertone and explore the link between man and machine — how society relies so heavily on technology.

“There’s a recurring theme of connectedness with ourselves and with others and the place that technology has in this," Brown says. "There’s a section in a Marshall McLuhan book, Understanding Media, that deals with narcissists or narcosis. McLuhan points out that all technology is an extension of our persons, of ourselves, and so any kind of obsession with any technology is basically a form of self-obsession. We’re born thinking of ourselves, so there’s no escape from that. But the question is at what point are we choosing our experience and our perception, and at what point is the technology deciding."

In addition to funding the release of the mostly completed EP, the campaign will also assist in funding the production of a music video for the duo’s forthcoming single “Fear of Missing Out.” The local team behind the critically acclaimed short-film Papa Machete, Third Horizon, will be the masterminds behind the music video. Brown says producer Jason Fitzroy Jeffers approached the duo after hearing the song performed live and expressed interest in making a video.

“I am not attached to any particular visual representation of this particular art," Brown says. "In other words, there is a thread that could be considered a story that I hold in my head when performing these songs, recording, or for that matter writing these songs, and they do trigger visuals in my head, but I’m always curious how other people hear and see our art.

“When I read the draft for the treatment for the ‘Fear of Missing Out’ video, part of me was pleasantly relieved because the sci-fi or future technology undertone is just that; it’s an undertone throughout these songs. The treatment so far for the video is in total harmony with that vibe and undertone without distracting you from the visual storytelling.”

With a new year of life approaching in the midst of all the celebrations, what Brown hopes for is to be able to put out more interesting and original content, stating that sometimes what is interesting isn’t always original and what is original isn’t always interesting.

“It’s fresh and interesting for us, and we hope that that is the case for other people,” says Brown.

Cog Nomen Launch Party with DJ Woozles and Deviant. 7 p.m. at Made at the Citadel, 8325 NE Second Ave., Miami. Admission is free and the event will be live-streamed by Jolt Radio. - Miami New Times

Last time we checked on Cog Nomen, guitarist Buffalo Brown and drummer Ulysses Perez were campaigning to help raise funds for the release of their upcoming EP, Twin Stars. The Kickstarter campaign was also aiming to fund the production for the band's music video for “Fear of Missing Out," a project that was going to be a collaboration with the Third Horizon team behind the critically acclaimed short-film Papa Machete.

Well, flash forward ten months and now the ambient robot-voiced electro-pop duo is just about ready to debut its new music video. We sat down with Brown to discuss their campaign efforts and how production has progressed since.

New Times: It has been some time since you kicked off the fundraising campaign for the video. How have things gone? Did you meet all of your goals? Did you come across any challenges?
Brown: We met our Kickstarter/fundraiser goal just about 12 hours before the 30-day campaign deadline. It was a real nail biter and then over the final few hours, a handful of people decided to help us some more and then it was over. For those 30 days, the campaign became my full-time job — sending e-mails, social media, etc. — and somehow I maintained the rest of my career and life. My music partner, Ulysses, made sure that we create a sonic world that was consistent with our vision for the new release, something akin to rock from the astral.

How was the creative process while working on the video? Is it everything you had hoped for?
The creative process for the "Fear Of Missing Out" video was really in the hands of director Robert Sawyer. He, along with producer Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, made sure the production value was on par with the award-winning pieces they have been involved with. Truthfully, they have surpassed my expectations in every way possible. I mean, I am a film enthusiast and I geek out on cinematography and directors. I have also been on film and music video sets. I'm easy to work with but not easily impressed and every detail from cast and crew to creative vision has me blown away. I am blessed and honored to be associated with this production. Without a spoiler alert, I can tell you that the music video slightly deals with the human condition, the unknown, and the fear of missing out. Also, it's an all-female cast including local performance artist Ana Mendez.
Talk a bit about the debut show and what attendees can expect.
Friday night we will be performing all of the new EP, some older songs, and even a special cover of David Bowie's "Up The Hill Backwards." I'm stoked that electro-duo denabi will also be performing. I'm a fan of Phaxas and Nabedi Osorio's work as individual musicians and love the sound they are both making together. Of course, we will also be premiering the music video live at Libertine that night, and we will have the new vinyl EP available, too.

Finally, it's been a long journey to get to this moment. How are you feeling about everything as the day approaches? What do you think about when you look back at your progress?
This is our third release, and I'm grateful that Ulysses and I have met up in this aesthetic of music with its own distinct sound... Most pop music is written in what’s called even time, like 4/4, so the beat is simple to follow or dance to. Now for us, writing a song in odd time, like "Fear Of Missing Out," is second nature as we are both prog rock fans, but looking up from my instrument to a front row of mostly women dancing to a song in 5/4 — not even time — has been like a revelation to me, an encouragement that originality in music can make for a more personal impact. It’s the difference between a mass-produced product made for mass consumption and something unique and handcrafted. That we were able to finance most of the music video on fan-based support moves me, and now I'm overjoyed to celebrate the results on Friday night.

Cog Nomen Debut Party with denabi. 11 p.m. Friday, May 20, at Libertine, 34 NE 11th St., Downtown Miami; 305-363-2120; libertinemiami.com. Admission is $10. - Miami New Times

This year has been an eventful one for Cog Nomen. The local duo released its latest EP, Twin Stars, in May, and alongside the EP came the debut of a music video for the single "Fear of Missing Out," which saw the robot-voiced, electro-pop twosome join forces with the Third Horizon team behind the revered short film Papa Machete.

Both of these creations were made possible by a successful 30-day Kickstarter campaign last summer. Now Cog Nomen's efforts to promote the releases have come full circle, and the duo is once again embracing collaboration on a local level. This time, guitarist Buffalo Brown and drummer Ulysses Perez have opened their doors to friends in the South Florida music scene with an invitation to remix the pair's single "Fear of Missing Out."

"I asked a few of my friends in the Miami music scene if they would be willing to take our song and do whatever they were inspired to do with the track," Brown explains. "Both DJ Woozles and Tony Smurphio of Afrobeta were the first ones to promptly send us their remixes. We gave them carte blanche and had nothing to do with the process after sending out the song stems."

The track, sung by Perez, uses a voice synthesizer called a vocoder — not to be confused with Auto-Tune. Brown says the noise it produces is what he imagines an extraterrestrial or sentient machine would sound like if it were to make an album. He suggests it might sound familiar to fans of Tupac's "California Love."

"Still, I'm not certain that most people are prepared to be crooned to by a robotic voice, so collaborating with other people such as Afrobeta, who are already creating electronic-based melodic pop, seems like a good induction vehicle for this weird song we wrote," Brown says.

Afrobeta's Smurphio says he approached the remix with the intention of making it more of a danceable tune.

"The original is in 5/4 time signature, which is really cool but not so easy to dance to. I did a little reversing of the guitars, reharmonized the chord structure, changed the time signature to 4/4, and altered the main melodies to fit the new chords. I kept the original tempo," he says.

"The Afrobeta remix is brilliant because they decided to take one of my guitar chords and use that to set the tone for a groovy dance piece, using our vocal hooks as icing over a sensual, trancey arrangement," Brown says. "I love it, and it definitely sounds equally ready for a road trip or dance floor. What DJ Woozles did is more of a reimagining than a remix. He took this odd creation of ours and made it weirder. In both cases, we could not have come up with the angles they arrived at, and that is the beauty of collaboration."

All of this work will culminate in a celebration of the remixes this Friday at Miami art gallery the Bridge. Afrobeta and Woozles will be in attendance to perform their remixes. Other familiar faces, such as Otto von Schirach and DJ Le Spam, will also be in the house.
"I hope attendees appreciate what Cog Nomen does live," Smurphio says. "Performing electronic music without computers or CD players is hard. Somehow, they make it work."

Cog Nomen with Afrobeta, Otto von Schirach, Oly, DJ Woozles, and DJ Le Spam. Friday, August 12, at the Bridge, 4220 NW Seventh Ave., Miami; 305-632-5776; facebook.com/TheBridgeMiami. Admission costs $10. - Miami New Times