Venting his frustrations with the kind of algorithmic invasions we all find ourselves subject to at the hands of tech-companies on a daily basis, frontman Ben Robinson put pen to page and the poetic lyrics at the heart of “FUK ZUK” poured out in one. As Ben recalls:

“One morning on holiday it dawned on me that we were all being terrorized by algorithms, purposefully polarized, enraged, saddened and driven to conflict… All for the benefit of the agenda’s of some tech operators. I think we’re all waking up to that. The track tries to articulate that frustration and in clear language and lay it out in plain sight what is going on. Having a young child has made me think differently about where to draw the line on what’s happening to our minds and very existence as humans. There’s an urgency and boldness to the message, a wake up call… It’s about the whole cast of tech monopolies and also the general mindset they operate in.”

Written following a trip to Jack White’s Third Man Records in London and heavily inspired by the fuzzed-up grooves of his ‘Fear of Dawn’ record, Robinson puts the triplegraph octave pedal he purchased that day to formidable use here. Throw in a synth-pedal set to “Lazer” mode, cacophonous drums and bass, some abstract sax courtesy of Anna Hetherington, and some unhinged guitar parts from Alex Beston, and the components were all in place for producer Jamie Lockhert to work his magic on the ground-quaking final mix of ‘FUK ZUK’ we hear now.

The track is accompanied by a stunning, subversive official video created in collaboration with Tom Redfurn of the Project Z Parkour group the band have shared Stockport’s Welkin Mill with. Directed and produced by Misha Warren, who is part of the Cosmic Glue collective, Ben adds.

“We wanted to highlight what incredible things humans can do when they put their time into it. The juxtaposition of Tom’s larger than life movements alongside me scrolling on a phone landed perfectly to accompany the message of FUK ZUK”

Following directly on from recent releases “Gig Buddies” and “Grind Into The Shrine”, “FUK ZUK” is the latest track to be lifted from their fast approaching second official studio album ‘Come Out Tonight’.

Celebrating 10 years as a recording project, Hello Cosmos have burst back into being with a flurry of new activity. Alongside new shows, sessions, and singles, the band are also readying the release of ‘Come Out Tonight’, a brand new album out 5 December 2025 (via Cosmic Glue).

Confirmed to feature over a long list of collaborators, the album takes influence from all corners of the globe with its studio recording sessions taking place in New York City, Los Angeles, Kampala, Leeds, Stockport and Manchester. Produced by Jamie Lockhart at Greenmount Studios in Leeds, who has produced all of their studio records to date, it arrives as Hello Cosmos’ first studio album proper in over 5 years, following their acclaimed debut ‘Dream Harder’ in 2020. Of the upcoming record, frontman Ben Robinson says:

“A lot of the upcoming record is about finding the strength to switch off digital screens and go out and live. It’s becoming more and more normalized to stay in, comatose by ultra processed food and algorithms firing shallow dopamine hits, keeping us all hooked on a short wavelength, gradually becoming dumber, hopeless and unhealthy… We all need to wake each other up, get off the cool aid of digital apps, social media and algorithmic scrolling.”

Reappearing with a new look line-up, Hello Cosmos currently feature leader and creative force Ben Robinson (co-founder of Kendal Calling & bluedot) and his brother Simon (drums), and strings/synth maestro Angela Chan (Placebo / Lanterns on the Lake), performing alongside bassist/percussionist Isaac Dobson (Dobbo) and guitarist Alex Beston of Vacant Weekend, sax/synth whizz Frankie Pigeon (Dilettante/BC Camplight), and harmonica player Oli Brown (of Herelduke, who also notably produced Hello Cosmos’ ‘Golden Dirt’ mixtape).

While it may seem like eons that the band have been away, behind the scenes Hello Cosmos have been fervently building their own studio, creative space & label: Cosmic Glue. With the fruits of their labors ripe and ready for revelation, new album ‘Come Out Tonight’ is just the beginning. With two new records and a blissed-out “comedown album” also due for release in the imminent future, an intrepid new chapter for Hello Cosmos is upon us. Hold tight.

SOURCE: Official Bio

LINKS:
https://www.hellocosmos.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hellocosmosuk
http://instagram.com/hellocosmosuk
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDJCV0hW-uH55JxhAuy8BJg
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3oHRPG7RKdo2dK6v9XhMBy