A Q&A interview with Cosmo Sheldrake

Cosmo Sheldrake is a musician, producer, composer, and live improviser. His song Come Along, released in 2017, became a viral hit and has now inspired an equally whimsical and intriguing picture book, illustrated by Argentinian illustrator Liniers, inspired by classic nonsense verse, and published by Magic Cat. Cosmo answered our questions about the book.

Can you tell us how the idea for the song Come Along came about – was there a particular moment or incident that sparked it?

The song came about as a result of a few twists and turns. I had starting making an attempt at a ridiculously intense introduction to something. It started by recording a vacuum cleaner.  But I abandoned it for a little while and then rediscovered it one day and began working on the rest of the song. The idea for the lyrics came from something my dad once said in response to me saying something about killing time. He told me that time was not too be killed as it was the most valuable thing we had. This idea came floating back while I was also thinking a lot about nonsense. I had been rereading Edward Lear and a brilliant book called The Raven and the Writing Desk about Lewis Carroll, so these characters were wafting about in my mind.

How did the idea for a picture book based on song come about?

I was working on a project with Liniers which was scuppered by the pandemic, but in the meantime his daughter had grown fond of my song Come Along. Every year he gives his daughters an illustrated version of their favourite song and I suppose I was lucky enough that my song happened to be the favourite at the time. So I got an email one day with the full illustrated version of the song. A couple of years later we decided to turn it into a book.

How did you feel when you first saw a Liniers’ illustrations?

I loved them, they immediately resonated with me. He has a lovely very handmade aesthetic and an incredibly and slightly anarchic approach.

What are the children’s books that most influenced your childhood?

One of my favourite stories was a book called Sanji and the Baker by Robin Tzannes and Korky Paul. It is a beautiful tale of hubris, the nature of greed and the limits of private property.

What would you like young readers to take from the picture book version of your song?

A love of play, nonsense and an appreciation of time.

Did you regard children or parents as an important element of your audience before publication of Come Along, might you or have you written other work with them in mind? 

I have always been struck by how my music seems to resonate with children, so it did seem natural to explore making things specifically for them. I love the spirit of complete play and endless imagination that children have, but I also love the long a rich philosophical tradition of nonsense that can explore profound things in potentially silly ways.

Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake and Liniers is published by Magic Cat, 978-1917366298, £12.99 hbk.