The Perpetual Artist

We catch Cosmo Jarvis on a bit of a bad day over in South England. He's been having a rough time trying to get some recording done for his forthcoming album. “I can't really record vocals in my house because the walls are so thin. I bumped into my neighbour on a bus the other day and he said he could hear me sometimes!” He chuckles. “So now I go up to my mother's house during the day; it's only a short walk, but it's all uphill, and I've injured my ankle recently so it was pretty difficult to get there. I take all my bits with me because it's all pretty portable, but as I'm sitting in the room I realise that I've forgotten my headphone jack converter, so I can't listen to the audio! And my mum is coming home soon and I can't record while she's here, so it's been a bit of a nightmare.”

Jarvis does however have his latest EP, They Don't Build Hearts, recorded, produced and for release the end of September. Reflecting on the title track, Jarvis explains, “It's just about love and how some people are really dependent on it, but then it also looks into how these emotional attachments can lead to a person's demise. The chorus also refers to how it was really different back in the '30s. I mean, I don't know for sure because I wasn't there, but from watching movies it seems like men and women spoke a lot differently to each other than they do today.” Following track, 9999, has more of an aggressive tone to it. “I hate it when you're in the supermarket and they round up the price to make it look prettier, so it becomes 9999. They must just assume everyone's really stupid. So the song's about that.”

With his previous songs Gay Pirates and Love This reaching great heights with Australian audiences, Jarvis admits he is keen to head back to Australia for another tour. “I do OK in London, but it's always difficult touring. It's usually just the guest list that makes it look like a great show; in general the turnout in Australia is better and the shows are more lively.”

With tours, record releases and various short films not enough to keep Jarvis busy, he reveals he's now trying to break into the acting industry, whilst also working on his second feature film as director and producer. “[The film I'm working on] is about these bands who are trying to be acoustic songwriters. They're really trendy, writing songs that have already been written, and they really care about the fashion and the hair and all that; then there's the other side, these metal bands who bust their arse, but their scene is a lot harder to break into. Ultimately, it's about learning what's important to you.”