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Cork has some of the strongest heavy metal and Dark Metal bands around the country at the moment, and one of the reasons why is because of Cosmonaut.

The collective, founded by Limerick-born Cormac Daly in 2017, has been bringing heavy metal bands from across the country into specially organized shows in Cork.

We sat down with Cormac ahead of Cosmonaut's first birthday bash to discuss the origins of the collective, the highlights of his first year and how Daniel Day-Lewis is an unlikely inspiration.

Was music an important part of your childhood growing up?

Yes, massive. I loved chart music and Oasis when I was a young child, but as I got a bit older my dad became a huge influence on me musically. I remember being handed Led Zeppelin II and Sgt Pepper at about age 10 and being told “Here. This is real music.” He was not wrong!

When did you first learn to love music?

I always loved it, but became obsessed with it as a teen - particularly Radiohead. I would spend hours sitting on my bed pouring over the album liner notes and artwork, almost like I was trying to decipher some hidden meaning. In my twenties, I played guitar constantly - up to 8 hours a day. I became interested in blues and jazz, and decided I wanted to be the best guitarist in the world. Still not got there yet!

At what point did you see music as a career opportunity and begin to point in that direction?

I was living in Cork and running acoustic gigs every other weekend. I was thinking about some of my favourite bands in the UK and how I might go about bringing them over - mostly because I thought it would be cool to see them here! I Suddenly realised that this was something that people did for a living and about a year later I quit my day job to do it full-time. That was last April.

What is Cosmonaut, tell me about its origin?

I started Cosmonaut for a couple of reasons. I was already booking shows and wanted some kind of a brand to go with it, and I also wanted to start doing more math-y and heavier music and wanted an identity to go with that. Prior to that, I had put on a lot of acoustic and singer-songwriter shows, and worked for a few festivals and other organisations, but I wanted to start something that was more reflective of my personality and my interests.

I wanted to start something that was more reflective of my personality and my interests.

Who is a part of Cosmonaut with you?

That’s a hard question to answer. I’d say there is a core group of people who I rely on for everything when it comes to my own shows, but then I am always looking to collaborate and assist other people in their own productions. It’s one of the things that I love about this industry. You are constantly meeting and working with new people, and every night is different.

It’s a huge team effort just to get things over the finish line, and the joy is in getting into a flow with your team on that night, and enjoying a great production when it all comes together.

What events have you run?

In the past year I have run gigs with everyone from Ilenkus and Ten Past Seven to The Hardy Bucks and Lisa Hannigan. I’ve been hired to work on dozens of others.

What’s been the highlight of your first year?

Probably the Lisa Hannigan gig. It was a gig we ran for Sofar Sounds and Amnesty international.  Like I said, I started off running small acoustic shows and open mics and almost exactly 2 years later I was putting on Lisa Hannigan in this beautiful old chapel at the Nano Nagle centre. It was a real “pinch yourself” moment!

What events have you got coming up over the next few months?

The next big one is the birthday party on March 3rd. It’s in the Poor Relation pub and it is going to be nuts. Rest have come out of hiding for it and I have a lot of the best upcoming bands in Cork right now in the line-up, as well as We Come In Pieces from Limerick. I’m really excited about it. People seem to be going nuts about the lineup.

Where do you and Cosmonaut hope to be in the next 5 years?

It’s all about the artist really.  I want to keep doing shows for acts that I personally think are amazing. I saw an interview with Daniel Day Lewis where he said he never took a job just because it would be good for his career.

I want to do the same this year, and try to find a way to keep growing. I’m not going to do gigs just because I think it’s a smart business move. I’m going to do shows that inspire me, and only get behind acts and other projects that I really believe in. If I’m still around in 5 years then I’ll know I made the right decision.

Cosmonaut's first birthday party takes place in The Poor Relations, Cork, on the 3rd of March. The show begins at 6pm and admission is €7.