Cumulus Frisbee: An interview with Jack Cotolo about art in all shapes and sizes

Thumbnail and graphic above use artwork by Jack Cotolo

Many creatives rely on the complex paradox of great art. How can one focus the audience on specific aspects of a piece, while nurturing the collective experience where each component collides and interacts?  

 As Cumulus Frisbee puts it:  “All of it ties together. And when it does, you don’t even think about it.”

Cumulus Frisbee, the alter ego of Jack Cotolo, a musician and visual artist from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, exhibits the importance of a well-rounded artist. Whether through illustration, music, or any kind of art he can get his hands on, Cotolo consistently creates a cohesive and individual style in various modes. 

His music, for instance, is explosive and filled with unorthodox sounds. Cotolo’s debut album, “Hyperion”, features songs with a striking blend of highly energetic and layered sounds to calming jazzy chord progressions. The eccentric sensation from his work is also attributed to subtle atmospheric elements embellished throughout these tracks, especially laser sounds.  

Regarding his style, Cotolo explains, “What kind of music do you make? Um, all of it?”

Beginning as a guitarist, around six years ago he began producing music on Ableton Live, inspired by artists who pushed the boundaries of electronic music and bridged the gap between visual and audio art. 

“The biggest inspiration when I started getting into music production on Ableton was literally anyone on ‘Brainfeeder’. That to me was the archetype of the coolest stuff you can do with electronic music. The thing about artists like Flying Lotus was his music was great, but he also had that bend of incorporating visuals, film, animation and other artforms into his music where it was presented as a whole cohesive product as opposed to just a song or a graphic or something. All of it tied together so perfectly.”  

Cotolo’s abstract and colorful aesthetics as a visual artist are a fitting counterpart to his lively songs. He expressed that this “bend” of producing multiple mediums as one artist is a natural occurrence for him and is something that more creatives may follow as time goes on.   

“I do think this will become more of a common place for artists for a couple reasons. Part of that is because we have access to so many different software programs. Even the way we learn those programs has changed. You can just go on Youtube and learn. The barriers are much lower. Additionally, there is so much to sift through with the presence of social media. There are so many things where there are opportunities, but you need to stick out in a different way. Just because people keep posting shit! There is so much to see. You just can’t just post a soundcloud link. You’re seeing 16 thousand tweets...what is going to make you click on that? Even the algorithms affect these things. This is something that a lot of artists don’t want to acknowledge. But if you really want to make a career, why fight it? It is what it is. You have to work with the way things are now.” 

Both the accessibility to software and the presence of social media make it almost impossible to be unaware of the importance of creating high quality content that is unique. That is definitely easier said than done. For Cotolo, his visual art and music is at an exceptional level which he describes as partially due to his willingness to accept a broadened focus as an artist. 

“It’s not strictly an American thing, but I’m saying this from a viewpoint as an American. We do a thing where we kind of put in people’s heads that you have to find a niche. This one thing that you’ll become a ‘master’ at. In a way it’s good because you can focus on an art form and be able to analyze all the subtleties of a certain craft. But when working together, you can become too focused on your own intentions. Whereas, if you have more experience, or a broadened focus, opposed to this tunnel vision, you can empathize with your team’s problems.” 

Cotolo also expressed the importance of having a broadened focus as an artist as a way to keep up creative momentum. 

“How much time do we spend being stuck or burnt out on a project? When you could just switch to a different medium. Stay open to trying out different creative outlets and round you out. It also lets you relax from the project you are super focused on… I definitely don’t want to sound preachy with any of this. Because at the end of the day, I’m figuring it out just as much as everyone else.”  

Creative freedom is paramount for Cotolo. Notably, he consciously mentioned the seriousness of appropriation that can and does occur in the artistic sphere. 

“I think everyone should be able to make whatever genre they please, but just don’t gentrify things. That really upsets me. I’ve seen my BIPOC friends get pushed out of the industry just because of the influx of white people. We can’t keep white washing everything in this country!” 

As far as what’s next for Cumulus Frisbee and Cotolo, collaboration and animation are in the works. 

“At some point, there will be a second album. I am working on a project with a couple friends who are vocalists. I want to kind of sit back and be more of a producer and less of a bloop bop crazy noise guy. Also, if I can get the hardware for it, I’d love to do a more in depth full animated music video. I need a computer that won’t melt!” 

Whether you’re anticipating new art from Cotolo or just getting into it, hopefully you can admire all aspects of his truly complex puzzle.  

As he notes, “They are all pieces of a puzzle and when you put them together you just see the one image. You don’t see the lines between the pieces.”

If you’re wondering where Cotolo got the inspiration for his name, just ask Twilight Zone: https://youtu.be/xLtY98fj_eY 

Stream Cumulus Frisbee:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/673QByL1fEcoAMYdHc452d?si=c4hcLO3WTuuwBwFXEmQwxw  https://soundcloud.com/cumulusfrisbee/tracks 

Support Jack Cotolo’s art: https://www.instagram.com/jackcotoloart/