Last we heard from Scottish composer Erland Cooper, he was burying the only copy of his new album, Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence, in the ground, to be exhumed and released in 2024 (more on that in this short video).
Fortunately, he also has some new music that we can access now. Created in collaboration with photographer and filmmaker Alex Kozobolis and Scottish songwriter and artist Kathryn Joseph, Never Pass Into Nothingness is a short film and six-track EP that is set against the bicentenary of John Keats. Both the film and the EP will arrive on October 15. Cooper says:
“In this 20-minute short film by Alex, a score for piano, cello and tape-loop presents itself. It unfurls with each step and is about exploring the small details below your feet.”
The project’s impetus came from Scottish filmmaker Margaret Tait, whose practice also impacted on Cooper’s approach to the score, as he explains:
“Tait would often seek a kind of magic in her every day surroundings and ambient music can hold a mood and create a sort of landscape in itself. As singles seem to get shorter, I think there is a joy to be found in letting yourself slow down to the pace of the music.”
Today he shares “But Still Will Keep a Bower Quiet For Us”, which is a perfect example of what he describes above. While the song is less than two minutes in length, the detail of the string arrangement and recording is such that there are untold amounts of minute details to be picked out on return visits. Sit back and immerse yourself in it, and enjoy all the glimmering susurrations and generous beauty it beholds in its depths.
Listen to “But Still Will Keep a Bower Quiet For Us” below or on your preferred streamer.
Erland Cooper, Alex Kozobolis and Kathryn Joseph’s Never Pass Into Nothingness comes out on October 15 through Mercury KX.
He’s playing these live dates:
12 Oct – Bristol, St George’s**
13 Oct – Birmingham, St Paul’s Church**
14 Oct – Manchester, Hallé St Peter’s**
16 Oct – Brighton, St George’s Church**
17 Oct – Canterbury, Gulbenkian Theatre**
**with Hinako Omori
You can find Erland Cooper on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
