Cosmo Pyke

You might recognise him from Frank Ocean’s “Nikes” video, but Cosmo Pyke (yes, that’s his real name) is a creative polymath. Besides being a model, Pyke is a skater, spray paint artist, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist – but it’s music that he’s dedicating most of his energy to right now. His loose, hazy pop songs reflect his own laidback approach to life. Growing up in the same bedroom in Peckham that he sleeps in today, his music takes inspiration from the simpler pleasures of life in south-east London. “It’s a wavey life!” he told Dazed. “Going to the pubs, cycling about, always bumping into people that you know, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. It’s seriously quiet as well, so you can basically get away with anything you want to do.”

Raised on a diet of Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, and The Beatles, Pyke’s songs combine classical songwriting with a dash of reggae, hip hop, and indie. His Just Cosmo EP deals with a range of topics (some darker than others – two of its songs are about his run-ins with police), but it’s always his playful personality that shines through. In the future, he told us, “I’ll be working on writing more songs, involving more loved ones, creating art that people don’t need but might want.”

Selim Bulut