"hanging onto something that you'll never get back..."
It is funny how you brain can be jarred by sonic cues while listening to new music and how fragmented those cues can be. Listening to the moody dirty keys of Les Cooper's evocative artful post rock "Stranger" and just a mere 4 seconds took my mind to John Paul Jones' caustic piano on the iconic "No Quarter" from Led Zeppelin's 1973 masterpiece album "Houses of the Holy". Of course when Cooper's scratchy vocal vibrato comes in, the song spirals into something else. I love the synth arpeggios, big piano chords, shifting drums and dramatic words that plunge the musical narrative into cinematic places and spaces.
Cooper's ability to interject tiny bits of surreal tones creating orchestral shapes cascading and splashing down around the sort of reticent drum beat feels so exquisitely moving and (to me) cloaked in an art rock presence. I mentioned just a tiny fragment of sound that brought a Led Zep sound to mind, other lovely tones have me thinking of Alan Parson's Project, 10cc and Eric Johnson. If you are under 40 you may not know these amazing artists but I think they would be worth checking out. Cooper is a highly successful, wildly accomplished artist and composer. Check out the Press notes below to learn more about his accolades, awards and those he has worked with (and inspired).
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/LesCooperMusic
https://www.instagram.com/lescooper/
https://twitter.com/LesCooperMusic
https://soundcloud.com/les-cooper-993808301/stranger/s-134QVfBXxxk
https://open.spotify.com/track/7E0GZCyERUhrwiXhw2HO16
Les Cooper is an award winning producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from the Greater Toronto Area. His compositions and productions have been featured on television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, The L Word, Fringe, and One Tree Hill. He was recently awarded Gold record status for his co-writing and production on the album Chances by Jill Barber. His productions have won several awards, including a recent JUNO for The Good Lovelies’ most recent album, Meaghan Smith’s critically acclaimed A Cricket’s Symphony, and several JUNO nominations for other projects. He has received critical acclaim across North America, Europe, and Australia. Recently, Les has been getting quite a bit of attention for his arranging and orchestration skills. He has composed commissions for Symphony Nova Scotia, as well as several works for Canadian artists such as Jill Barber, Andy Stochansky, Craig Cardiff, Meaghan Smith, and David Myles. His arrangements have frequently been compared to great arrangers of the past, such as Nelson Riddle and Duke Ellington, earning him a reputation as a composer with a classic and timeless sound.
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/LesCooperMusic
https://www.instagram.com/lescooper/
https://twitter.com/LesCooperMusic
https://soundcloud.com/les-cooper-993808301/stranger/s-134QVfBXxxk
https://open.spotify.com/track/7E0GZCyERUhrwiXhw2HO16
Les Cooper is an award winning producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from the Greater Toronto Area. His compositions and productions have been featured on television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, The L Word, Fringe, and One Tree Hill. He was recently awarded Gold record status for his co-writing and production on the album Chances by Jill Barber. His productions have won several awards, including a recent JUNO for The Good Lovelies’ most recent album, Meaghan Smith’s critically acclaimed A Cricket’s Symphony, and several JUNO nominations for other projects. He has received critical acclaim across North America, Europe, and Australia. Recently, Les has been getting quite a bit of attention for his arranging and orchestration skills. He has composed commissions for Symphony Nova Scotia, as well as several works for Canadian artists such as Jill Barber, Andy Stochansky, Craig Cardiff, Meaghan Smith, and David Myles. His arrangements have frequently been compared to great arrangers of the past, such as Nelson Riddle and Duke Ellington, earning him a reputation as a composer with a classic and timeless sound.
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Les Cooper, folk, indie rock, musician, artist, composer, singer songwriter, surreal tones, post rock, ballad, moving, cinematic soundscapes, "Stranger", Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, The L Word,
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