The Ninja Nation Tour just left the mean streets of Denver but before they did, Xposer Magazine had the chance to chat with Tony Cook AKA Cookie Monsta about what helped to mold him into the musical genius you see today.
Bella: It has been close to 10 years since people have come to know you as ‘Cookie Monsta’, how do you feel your music has progressed over the years?
Tony: When I first started making music I would spend hours and hours constantly pumping out idea after idea and it was raw art whereas now I spend so much time making sure that the music I release is sounding at the best of my abilities. I make sure everything sits in the mix perfectly and some tracks have literally taken years to evolve and change to current trends.
Bella: Growing up in England, at what age did you start to play with music? What excites you most about being able to create such amazing sounds?
Tony: My brother had “Music 2000” on the PlayStation when I was around 9/10 years old, I was genuinely mesmerized by the game because you could move around samples or use midi for simple sounds. I would sneak into my brother’s room when he was out and I would play “Music 2000”, he was 7/8 years older than me so we were arch enemies, he’d find me in his room and beat the shit outta me but I’d never stop being so focused on that game. A few years pass and I try to find games that were similar to “Music 2000”, I think I had more music games than I did actual games! I would spend hours and hours making shitty loops and beats etc for years until I turned 18 and a friend told me his mate was going to college (your high school) for Music Technology! I found the course and instantly joined up, everyone was against me and my decision, which is understandable because I needed a job, I was poor as fuck but I didn’t give a shit. I then went for two years and my music evolved and it was absolutely amazing because I would try to create sounds that no one has ever heard before, I still have that thinking when I jump in the studio now. I have the power to create anything I desire and that’s fucking amazing!
Bella: Who were some of your biggest musical influences when you were younger and for what reasons?
Tony: I had a huge range of music available even though we didn’t have a computer or the internet until I was about 18 and even then I would hang my (blue screening) laptop out of the window to find Wi-Fi. I had Punk, Heavy Metal, Rock, Grime, Garage, Drum and Bass, Jungle, Hardcore, Dance, Hip Hop, Trance. A lot of it was rebellious music so I grasped onto the idea of music is life no matter what background you are from or how you made it. I remember hearing The Prodigy – FireStarter when I was maybe 8/9 and I was in awe, it wasn’t fast like DnB but it had similar drum patterns and it had a sub bass boom which helped! I could go on forever!
Bella: Being able to travel the world to do what you love, what has been your most memorable place to play?
Tony: I don’t really have one place because I’ve seen so many crazy shows. EDC Las Vegas is always a fun and full of madness though.
Bella: What can all of your adoring fans expect to hear from you these next few years?
Tony: Hopefully a stream of evolving music that I love making, it’s nice to have a silence break from the studio but there’s always this urge to jump back in and make something new!
Catch Cookie Monsta at his next event by clicking here to be redirected to his Facebook page!
Hope you enjoyed the read, I highly encourage you to make it out to one of his shows… words cannot explain just how epic his music is to see live!
If you missed the show be sure to check out our coverage HERE!
Till next time.
Ciao,
Bella
Photos by Teddy G / Xposer Photography
