Mike Cooper (UK) 050313
hellosQuare presents MIKE COOPER (UK)
with Shoeb Ahmad and Reuben Ingall
Live Super 8 projections by Louise Curham
Smiths Bookshop
Tuesday 5 March, 8pm
$5
“The icon of post-everything music” - Lawrence English (::Room40::)
For the past 40 years Mike Cooper has traced a path completely his own as an international musical explorer, performing and recording, solo and in a number of inspired groupings and a variety of genres. With his roots lying in acoustic country blues he has, arguably, stretched the possibilities of the guitar even more than his better known contemporaries Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, John Renbourne, etc. by pursuing it into the more avant-garde musical areas also occupied by contemporary guitar innovators such as Elliott Sharp, Keith Rowe, Fred Frith and Marc Ribot. with an eclectic mix of the many styles he has practiced over the years. Ranging freely through traditional country blues, folk, original songs, free improvisation, pop songs, exotica, electronic music, electro-acoustic music, and ‘sonic gestural’ playing utilising open tunings and extended techniques.
He is also a soundscape artist; film and video maker and composes and performs live music for classic and contemporary silent films.
His favored instruments – his voice, a vintage 1930’s National tri-cone resophonic guitar and a handmade carbon fibre copy of the same guitar (a gift from the late Allen Timmins) both played acoustically and/or ‘treated’ through a series of digital sampling and looping devices.
He is also a music journalist, writing features for magazines, particularly on Pacific music and musicians, a collector of Hawaiian shirts, runs his own Hipshot record imprint and appears on more records than he can remember.
Mike will be joined on the night by Shoeb Ahmad (samplers/pedals) and Reuben Ingall (electric guitar/laptop), while Louise Curham bringing light with her super 8 projections to the warm surrounds of Smiths Bookshop.
