Interview with Mike Cooper

1.       In your career spanning over 40 years now, if I am correct, you seem to sail through a vast archipelago of islands, some mythical, some imaginary, some quite steadily evolving, of different styles and approaches. Where does all this multitude and richness stem from? What were the origins of that? Or maybe there were couple of moments in your life that you have surpassed a good couple of equators and setting the courses towards new territories?

Mike - As Evan Parker says - 'My roots are in my record collection' -  and have always been a musical sponge. 

Always trying to figure out 'how do you do that.?" when I hear something new. I am always looking for music that includes Lap Steel Guitar as well, because thats my main instrument, apart from my voice, and there is a lot of Lap Steel guitar in a lot of cultures. So that attracts me to new music.

2.       One aspect of your work is being not-so-traditional musician with a very distinctive technique of both playing and composing? Can you elaborate on your current approach towards that?

Mike - Playing the guitar was a means to an end when I first started playing. Something for me to sing with. I was a vocalist first before becoming a guitarist. When I started to play free improvised music in there late seventies I looked for a way of approaching it as a sound source rather than a way to play melodies and harmony. For a while I listened to a lot of drummers like Paul Lytton and Paul Lovens for inspiration and began to investigate the percussive qualities for my instrument, I played (still play) a metal bodied National Resophonic guitar which has very interesting qualities built into. It is a drum really and I discovered ways to bring that out and elaborate upon it with amplification of different parts of it.

As I said above lap steel exists in many other cultures especially in Asia and that comes into play especially as a microtonal instrument in my music without me necesarily making any direct musical reference to any of them. Over the past few years (maybe 10) I have listened a lot to Ornette Coleman and his concept of Harmolodic music, and that combined with working with Lol Coxhill in The Recedents for 20 years has influenced my current lap steel playing a lot.

My composing is very intuitive these days, by that I mean it is very improvised. My solo concerts are completely improvised even when I sing. I have no pre-fixed, arranged ideas before I sing apart from the text. I am talking about my music over the past 20 years. I try to record as much live music as possible even in my own studio where I might construct pieces from live concerts. I overdub very little in the studio but I can overdub when I am playing live with a couple of live sampling machines I use in my set up. Also with this set up in the studio i can make complete pieces of music before committing it to tape (who uses tape?) 

3.       Another aspect of your work is art installation – an in-depth analysis and research that has a very specific outcome? What brings you to understanding of the mythos, elements of anthropology and ethnomusicology in a way you showcase it in your work?

Mike - I haven't done many installations, I don't know which ones you are referring to really? I make video films which are an important part of my solo concerts, but they are also a stand alone presentation with their own soundtracks. I have been working on a series called Island Gardens for some years. Video shot during my travels around various islands in the world. They are like observations of places I have been that often contain text of from people who have influenced me or have something relevant to say about the place I am filming. People like Greg Dening (an Australian historian) or Steve Feld ( an anthropological musician). 

4.       As subtle as it feels to me, in your work there a hint towards understanding human condition through the peripheries of geography and everything that comes along with the perspective of being on the outskirts of human history. Am I wrong with this assumption?

Mike - I am interested in the 'other history'. History not told by Europeans ( particularly northern Europeans) if that is what you mean. There are parellel histories in the world and most of us get taught only one of them. For instance how many people, even Americans, know the history of the Hawaiian people? There are other stories.

5.       How does your musical and cultural knowledge of Pacific interferes with the notion of experimentation in music?

Mike - The intersection of musics around the world is very interesting. The influence of the strangers music on a particular place has led to some of the most interesting music in the world in my view and I am always asking 'I wonder what would have happened if these people in a particular place had heard the music from this other place far away?' - thats often something i am trying to do - music from a place that doesn't exist yet maybe. Imaginary soundscapes from imaginary places. 

I did a book once titled Island Song. A book of illustrations with the words of a song I wrote, called Island Song, in an invented alphabet 

in the pictures. You can hear the song on my c.d. Island Song.

6.       The navigational value of your music is also quite therapeutic in a way that it enables the listener to drift away from The Known towards some new trajectories. Looking at your work and creative process, do you reckon you can have that kind of effect or not really?

Mike - drifting away rather than running away hopefully :-)

7.       Plans for the future?

Mike - Always. i have some new records coming out soon and I am always working on some visual things. I am using digital tools on my iPhone a lot these days to make collage and music. I am working on some musical miniatures on my iPhone. I love the portability that enables me to work on trains and planes if i want to. There is a digital download on my bandcamp site that was made solely on aeroplanes using my phone and a Zoom portable recorder called Sky Songs ( mikecooper.bandcamp.com)

Have new albums coming on Room40, Discrepant and Confront labels very soon.

Cooparia