Founded by pianist, composer, and producer Johnny Bosbyshell (formerly of Eminence Ensemble and Spirit Bear), Space Cartel began as a jazz-fusion project formed with longtime collaborators in Colorado: guitarist Ted Kleist, saxophonist Joe Lilly, and drummer Matt McElwain. After years of dormancy while members toured nationally with other acts, the project resurfaced following Bosbyshell’s move to London to study at Abbey Road Institute. The idea to revive the project culminated in the group’s first large-scale session at Abbey Road’s Angel 1 studio in 2025 alongside orchestral musicians. Space Cartel’s current work reflects a blend of jazz fusion, electronic elements, improvisation, and cinematic orchestration. Check out the exclusive Interview below:
- Can you introduce yourself and the story behind Space Cartel for readers who are just discovering the project?
My name is Johnny Bosbyshell. I am the band leader, keyboardist, composer, and producer for the band Space Cartel. Space Cartel started as a five-piece band in Denver, CO. A few of us were playing in different bands together and decided to branch off and create Space Cartel. We are all long time friends and have collaborated on many different projects together. We now act as a 13-15 piece jazz fusion ensemble. At its essence Space Cartel is a jazz fusion band supported by traditional orchestral instruments and horns.
- Space Cartel started years ago and then went quiet. What brought it back to life in this new form?
After our first couple of shows in Denver I got an offer for a national tour with a progressive rock band Eminence Ensemble and ended up playing with them for five years. Prior to that, Space Cartel had done some recordings whilst I was studying music production at the University of Colorado Denver. Our audio engineer was testing some of the mixes on the system at the venue he worked at and the locksmith who was working at the time happened to hear them. Out of nowhere the locksmith sent me a message after I had been with Eminence Ensemble for nearly three years asking if he could get the recordings so I thought to myself, “this music must have some value, I’m going to bring it back in a big way,” and then I started composing a string and horn section to accompany the band.
- How did your time in London and at Abbey Road Institute shape the direction of the project?
My time in London was amazing. I am planning to move back soon! Prior to moving to London I was playing nearly 130 gigs a year so I didn’t have time to work on Space Cartel. Stepping out of the extremely busy gigging schedule finally gave me the time, space, and resources I needed to start curating demos and building the project back. I gained a ton of useful knowledge and it really helped to build my confidence. Also being immersed in the UK music scene was something I found to be extremely inspiring. - “Something Often” has a personal backstory – can you share how that piano riff evolved into a full composition?
That piano riff is a little bit tricky and I was practicing it quite a bit. The house I was living in at the time my room was directly next to the main living room where my room mate hung out quite a bit. One day he finally burst into my room and said, “Why do you play that so often?!” Our songs don’t have any words so I just decided to call it, “Something Often.” As far as the evolution of the song, a lot of it was largely based on many of my experiences in the UK. I originally wrote the whole piece as more of an electronic sound with big synth parts and arpeggiators which I then translated into strings,then Joe Lilly our saxophone player assisted with the horn arrangement.
- What did recording live at Conway Sound bring out in the performance that a traditional studio approach wouldn’t?
We used a combination of traditional methods and live performance for the recording. Most of us perform live quite often and I find the chemistry and the connection you can make with the musicians around you can be brought out so much more. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was, “the best musicians make the musicians around them better,” and I think there’s such a greater chance of that occurring when we are all together in the same room.
- This project brings together musicians from different cities and backgrounds—what makes this group chemistry work?
We have a core group of musicians starting to form particularly with the addition of London violinists, Jenny Clare and Eliza Burkitt. What is most important to me as a band leader is finding the right people, not necessarily the best player. All of our musicians are quite elite but to me it’s much more important to create a positive environment and a positive vibe. If you are having fun and are with people you enjoy being around you certainly have a much better chance at making something beautiful. - You’re debuting this expanded lineup live soon at ZOLA in Spokane, WA. How are you translating such a layered sound to the stage?
One of our guitarists actually owns the venue. To be honest I hope we all fit up there. We typically work with Stephen “Eski” Edwards who is the front of house engineer for the band Thievery Corporation so he is used to working with more large scale productions. He actually did the mixing for “Something Often,” and the other song we are releasing soon from that session.
- Space Cartel emphasizes Compassion, Innovation, and Musicality—how do those values show up in your work?
I have always based my entire music career off of a quote by Ralph Emerson, “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” So on the compassion side of things I’m really just trying to share my music and try to make the world a better place by spreading creativity and positivity. Innovation comes largely from having been immersed in the UK electronic scene and coming from the Colorado jam band scene and creating harmoniously contrasting arrangements. Musicality, I think kind of speaks for itself in that we are trying to display a high level of musicianship.
- When you look back at the journey of Space Cartel so far, what feels most meaningful to you?
Most certainly the most meaningful thing to me is that 15 other people believe in me and want to be a part of the project. It always felt like it was so out of reach but now it’s actually happening. I feel so fortunate to be able to make music with my best friends and to be making so many new friends to make music with along the way.