MIKE COOPER
- GUITAR /LAP STEEL GUITAR/ ELECTRONICS/ VOCALS
For the past 40 years Mike Cooper has been an international musical explorer, performing and recording, solo and in a number of inspired groupings and a variety of genres. Initially a folk-blues guitarist and singer songwriter his work has diversified to include improvised and electronic music, live music for silent films, radio art and sound installations. He is also a music journalist, writing features for magazines, particularly on Pacific music and musicians, a visual artist, film and video maker, collector of Hawaiian shirts and appears on more than 60 records to date.
"Cooper was forging connections between folk and experimental musics long before America got New or Wierd.." (The Wire)
---THE RECEDENTS - MIKE COOPER / LOL COXHILL / ROGER TURNER - The Recedents must be one of the longest established improvising units in the UK, having been formed in 1982 as one of the earliest electro-acoustic groups, and having worked together at (sometimes infrequent) intervals ever since.
The unique soprano sax sound of Lol Coxhill is at the heat of the group, while guitarist Mike Cooper plays both acoustically and with electronic interventions. The trio is completed by Roger Turner, one of the most sensitive and responsive percussionists currently active on either side of the Atlantic.
"EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN" - is a live film and music collaboration between Australian film maker LOUISE CURHAM and MIKE COOPER - >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
LOUISE CURHAM is an innovator of Super 8 film making whose work investigates the event of cinema. She paints, manipulates and degrades film in such a way as to enable her to interact live with musicians. One of the most innovative and exciting contemporary Australasian film artists.
"CURHAM'S work is virtually unique among contemporary abstract filmmaking due to its foregrounding of the fragility of the medium: the delicate poetry of her celluloid effacements has a discretion that is rare among artists exploring this variety of terminal cinema." Jim Knox, The 2nd OtherFilm Festival, Senses of Cinema, No. 6 2006 >>>>>>>
LOUISE CURHAM is at the forefront of Australian moving image art. As well known for curating innovative expanded cinema events in non-traditional exhibition spaces as for provocative Actionist performances, Curham is highly regarded in the experimental film world for her work using "obsolete media." Her hand-worked Super 8 films reinvent the home movie medium of years gone by. - http://www.realtimearts.net/article/issue66/7776
http://photonicsmedia.net/periodical/cat/moving/
http://www.tvk-bb.tv/art-channel/artistfile/2007/07/louise_curham.html
http://www.teachingandlearningcinema.org/louise/
My duet with another Australian friend - keyboard player CHRIS ABRAHAMS - usually more associated with playing the piano with THE NECKS - here he plays DX7 while I play my acoustic National Resophonic guitar processed through my bits and pieces - this was played and recorded live and is on ROOM40 RECORDS.
A TRYSTERO SYSTEM gig with VJ GRAYSON COOKE in Wellington/New Zealand in february 2009. TRYSTERO SYSTEM has existed in various forms since the mid eighties and is always a duo of myself and one other person. Dedicated to free improvisation over dance beats of some kind.
Below is an excerpt from our concert in BUNDABERG UNIVERSITY in QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA in April 2009
Influences
Blind Boy Fuller, David Toop, Kurt Schwitters, Gabby Pahinui, Raul Ruiz, Joseph Conrad, Son House, Steve Feld, Arthur Lyman, Ellery Chun, David Carsons, Lol Coxhill, Carl Stalling, Bruce Brown, Roger Turner, Wong Kar Wai, Len Lye, Tim Buckley, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Johnson, Keola Beamer, Steve Beresford, Sam Shepard, Greg Dening, John Wolseley, Martin Denny, John Zorn, James Hamilton Patterson, Fred Neil, Peter Bakowski, Albert Ayler, Sonny Sharrock, Eugene Chadbourne, Christopher Doyle, Louise Curham, Max Eastley, Keith Rowe, John Pilger, Nick Bantock, Tom Phillips, Tau Moe, Richard Nunns, Tapies, Captain Cook, Skip James, John Hassell, John Fahey, Van Dyke Parks, Freddie Roulette, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Esquivel, Henry Kaiser, Derek Jarman, Ry Cooder, Junior Brown, Dziga Vertov, Robert Flaherty, Robert Louise Stevenson, F.W.Murnau, J.G.Ballard, James Michener, Cecil Taylor, The Beachboys, Takemizu, Alvin Curran, Blind Willy Johnson, Harpo Marx, Lee Perry, The Pacific Ocean, South East Asia, Tiki Art, Eisenstein, Einstein, Chris Marker, the beach.
Phantom Island from an interview by Tam Patton for Xochi Magazine - 2007 Australia.
“There are islands that have been believed to exist, islands which have appeared on maps and have even had expeditions mounted to locate or conquer them, yet they have still evaded our observation. Some are eventually established as imaginary; daemonic. Others are seen only on old maps and charts, disappearing in more modern depictions, dismissed as mistakes. Others still are unsuccessfully sought for decades, and dismissed as fanciful or mythic, and then embarrassingly found in plain view, under another, more familiar name. Mike Cooper is perhaps one of these islands. Born in England in 1942, his 40-plus years of constant re-invention, experimentation and quiet genius in a myriad of musical styles has evaded categorization, perhaps as a side-effect of having been almost completely ignored by history. Encompassing Blues, Folk, Roots music, Electronica, Jazz, Exotica / Lounge, Dance, Noise, Modern Composition or Improvisation (amongst others), Cooper’s expansive remit blasts orthodox categorization into the befuddled librarian’s realm where it belongs.”
For more go to http://web.mac.com/cooparia and also http://www.myspace.com/hipshotrecords
audioMER.005 / crox.001 SACHIKO Golden Hypnos LP (ltd. 350) with artwork by Johan De Wilde 20 € (S&H excl.)
Stellar vocals and drones by Sachiko of Overhang Party; three pieces of hypnotic, gliding delight. This is Sachiko's first —all-drone— vinyl release, in an edition of 350. Heavy-weight vinyl & paste-on sleeve with artwork created by Johan De Wilde. AudioMER. edition in collaboration with Croxhapox gallery.
Please contact Smeraldina-Rima or audioMER. for orders or store/distro prices.
PsicopompoTeatro Rialto Santambrogio con il contributo della Regione Lazio
presentano
La modestia di Rafael Spregelburd
con Hervé Guerrisi Alessandro Quattro Gaia Saitta Simona Senzacqua
traduzione e regia Manuela Cherubini
musica Graziano Lella Fabrizio Spera
luce Gianni Staropoli
Dal 28 novembre al 6 dicembre: prove aperte al Rialto Santambrogio, Via di Sant'Ambrogio, 4. Tutti i giorni alle ore 20.00, le domeniche alle ore 18.00. (su prenotazione, max 10 spettatori, 5 euro) Dall'8 dicembre al 13 dicembre: Teatro in Scatola, Lungotevere degli Artigiani 12/14, h. 21.00 (biglietto 8 euro)
Only saw Mike live once - at Hull Truck Theatre (then The Hull Arts Centre) in the late 70's I guess - with The Machine Gun Co - great concert Been playing those old albums ever since - Trout Steel, Places I Know, Do I Know You, Life & Death in Paradise, & newer things like Zanzibar & National Gallery Favourite song has to be 'Places I know' - I listen to this on my mp3 player when I'm stuck in a hotel or airport somewhere & need to chill out..... I play MC on the show a lot- tune in at www.vixen101.co.uk One day I will do an interview!
By rinascitasuona at 2009-11-08 "La frittata"è l’ottavo episodio della serie Recover Band!,in cui si intravede la fine di un tunnel economico iniziato con i mutui subprime e che aveva costretto il Dr Richard Over a razionare cipolle ai suoi pazienti feticisti,come avevamo visto nella precedente puntata.Ora la frittata assurge a simbolo della supposta ripresa economica,che fa capolino persino nel suo disastrato Fetish Hospital.Egli però non ha mai smesso di seguire il suo destino,ciò che ha cambiato la sua vita e quella di altri sventurati e che forse lo ha salvato da gesti inconsulti:la RECOVER BAND!,covers improvvisate da 45 giri(ad estrazione).
con:Felice Lechiancole(Dottor Richard Over) Lorenzo Lustri(Dottor Clean) Alex Mendizabal(oggettistica) Adriano Lanzi(elettroniche) Leonardo Milani(elettroniche) Errico De Fabritiis(sassofono) Giuseppe Savino(trombone) E,in questo capitolo la partecipazione del sorprendente attore teatrale Gaspare Balsamo...
DICONO DI LORO
"...adesso Venezia non mi sembra più così triste " (Gil Fontolan,gondoliere)
"...dateli a me,li curo io,ja..."( Mengele,dottore)
"...quel cantante tozzo...Adriano......Pappalardo,sì,è stata proprio una cattiveria da parte sua portarli in tribunale!"(Carla Pedissequo,casalinga)
"...conosco Richard dal '61,si è fatto da solo..." (Hank"Crack"Tombstone,free lance)
"...hanno rifatto Dindonne de Lando Fiorini,je volevo spezzà le mano,ma quer dottore Richarde m'ha arigalato er 45 giri,allora me sò dato 'na carmata" (Alvar
MERCOLEDì 18 NOVEMBRE 2009 ore 22.00 / fine concerti 00.30 @ HOLD 'EM MUSIC PUB in via delle cave, 59. Roma (Metro Colli Albani). Al sottoscala concerti con sottoscrizione: euro 5.
Dear Mike, I am just sitting at the computer and working my way up step by step. Listening to your songs. The songs lamenting the state of the human beast ridden Earth.To put it not very mildly. It's the impression I have of your soundscapes and timings. You could have a quiet conversation with Marc Ribot. I think. About what matters after the show. Inspiring Sturm und Flaute. Calm. Stormy. Quite stormy. Relatively quiet. Straightforward is your message. Not too haunting. You have great musical ear and invincible empathy is always there. Hope to see you in Polonia some day. °warm greetings
Our song 'Yellow Suit' is on the first FRIEND VOTE Indie Top 100 Chart on this week. Maybe our friends can help us get no 1 for Monday. Vote for AMYCANBE at http://www.myspace.com/indietop100 Until again, all the best, Amycanbe
Yes!!! We are in PEACE, compilation for Amnesty International out next January, along with other great names. See our blog section for infos. Cheers!!
