New South Wales' Hein Cooper is an indie/experimental pop musician and songwriter who, in 2013, was discovered by Franz Schuller (Half Moon Run's manager) in a small Sydney bar. Since signing to Indica Records, Hein recorded his debut self-titled EP in Montreal with producer Marcus Paquin (Arcade Fire, The National, Local Natives). His song "The Real" is a product of that.
"The Real" is haunting in its own regard, maintaining a sensual awareness whilst playing with solely electronic instrumentation. This all, as you could imagine, translates well to a film-like aesthetic. The music video, which we have the pleasure of premiering today, manifests the notion of duality, specifically in the context of contrasting lifestyles (or alter-egos?).
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12PxCLfBfYk[/youtube]
EARMILK: Your debut self-titled EP dropped back in April of this year via Indica Records. What's it been like since for you? I know you have been spending quite a bit of time in Canada.
HEIN COOPER: Yes, Canada is one of my favourite places so I've been working on a bunch of things there and treating it as my base in-between tours. When you live in Australia, the rest of the world is so far away so I'm happy to part ways with it for a while. This year has been an adventurous one for me so far. I've been touring the EP through Canada, Europe and Australia, playing with concepts and techniques throughout my shows and getting the chance to expose my music to a load of great people.
EM: And how's all of that touring going? You're currently on the road with Kim Churchill / Sophie Hunger / Kevin Garrett right? Exhausted yet?
HC: Yes, right now I'm somewhere in Germany getting ready for another show with Kim and I am not that exhausted actually. I've been really 'good' on this tour. Eating fruit/veggies and not drinking excessively for a change is keeping me strong. I toured Germany 2 months ago and partied a little too hard which resulted in my demise. I was so sick and had to cancel a show which I do NOT like to do.
EM: There's a lot of atmospheric contrast on the EP (i.e. between "The Art Of Escape" and "The Real"). Do you find that you're drawn to one approach more than the other in retrospect?
HC: I'm really interested in creating a universe with my music. Artists like Radiohead and Bon Iver really inspire me in their experimentation with different soundscapes. Bon Iver's 'For Ever Ago', for instance, has tracks with nothing but his acoustic guitar, then another with a large amount of vocal layering and a completely different style of music. This experimentation is one of the elements I find most exciting about modern music. It all started with folk music for me, so at my core I think 'The Art of Escape' is always going to be a song I love playing, however I would be bored if my whole sound was me and an acoustic guitar.
EM: Can we look forward to more music from you in the near future?
HC: Yes, I've been busy working on an album recently and will be releasing it in 2016!
See full list of tour dates below:
Sept 24/15: Reeperbahn Festival – Hamburg, Germany
Sept 25/15: BI NUU (ehem. Kato) – Berlin, Germany
Sept 27/15: Das Höchste Der Gefühle – Dortmund, Germany
Sept 28/15: Kulturhaus Karlstorbahnhof – Heidelberg, Germany
Oct 2/15: La Laiterie – Strasbourg, France
Oct 4/15: UBU – Rennes, France
Oct 5/15: Temps Machine – Tours, France
Oct 7/15: Stereolux – Nantes, France
Oct 8/15: La Sirène – La Rochelle, France
Oct 9/15: Le Métronum – Toulouse, France
Oct 10/15: Le Rocher de Palmer – Cenon, France
Oct 11/15: Cargo de Nuit – Arles, France
Nov 21/15: Mullum Music Festival – Mullumbimby, Australia
