The first year of Lost Lands was an overwhelming success. Held in Southeast Ohio, thousands of attendees spent the weekend walking amongst the dinosaurs fueled by bass. Plenty of performing artists had standout sets. One of those was none other than the Circus Dubstep king Cookie Monsta. Many were ranting and raving post Lost Lands that he was the best set of the weekend. Cookie was a perfect match for the biggest dubstep festival ever thrown in the states.
Otherwise known as Tony Cook, Cookie Monsta is originally from Nottingham, UK. He started his career as a kid creating music off his brother’s PlayStation.
In college, he pursued a degree in music technology. This is where he found Rusko’s signature sound and instantly became hooked. Feeding off that inspiration from Rusko, he began making his own music in the Dubstep realm. His first release titled ‘Ginger Pubes/Blurgh! was an instant success. He’s now known world-wide and a key player on Flux Pavilion’s Circus Records.
Coming off a 2017 tour with Excision, he was one of the first to know the idea behind Lost Lands. We got to sit down backstage before his set for a quick chat:
What do you think of Lost Lands so far? Could you ever see yourself throwing a festival like this?
“It’s amazing I was actually in the tour bus when they first started talking about the idea of throwing this festival and now here are. It’s crazy how much effort and planning had gone into it in such a short amount of time. I couldn’t see myself throwing a festival like this though. I don’t think I have the mental capacity to deal with all of the things that go into putting on a festival.”
Has there ever been a point in your career when you realized how big you had become?
“Decadence 2011. It’s a warehouse filled with just thousands of people which gave it a completely different vibe than most other festival at the time. Halfway through my set I looked up at the sea of people and said to myself like ‘What the fuck am I doing here. This is insane!”
Tell me about the relationship between you and Funtcase? You both seems to have a type of energy that really works with a crowd.
“It’s great because we have a really similar mindset when it comes to music among other things. Before I really knew him there was a video of him playing and he had so much energy. The video completely blew up and people started booking him left and right. It’s a great feeling to be able to have that kind of experience with a crowd.”
What do you like to do when you aren’t touring?
“It’s hard to think about but I’d say cars. I love to take them apart, work on them and just zone out. I love making music but it’s refreshing to just do things a normal person does.”
What are your thoughts on the current state of Dubstep?
“It’s interesting because Dubstep blew up not too long ago and I really wasn’t a fan of it. It completely flooded the scenes and people hated it. It was everywhere all the time. Now that some of the other genres have started to make a comeback it’s at a calming point. I think it’s in the right place right now.”
Is there a favorite venue or festival you like to play at most?
“Honestly, it’s probably EDC. The first time I played there I didn’t like it. I was so high up and couldn’t see or hear the crowd’s reactions. There was a disconnect between the audience and I. There’s just so much energy at that place. Not to mention the production is just massive.”
Can you give us a sneak peak to any upcoming projects of albums?
“All I’ve been doing is releasing singles. I don’t think i’ll ever make an album again. Before it used to be something people took care of and appreciated. Now you can download a whole album to your phone and after 3 tracks you’re bored. I like singles because your audience can focus on each track individually.”
