Erland Cooper Folded Landscapes Vinyl LP Indies & Litho Print 2023
"‘Folded Landscapes’ is a record that transports you to a different world. Then when the time is right, it will bring you crashing back to earth. Having only been peripherally aware of Erland’s work before this I have since become a mega fan. Mixing delicate composition and arrangement for strings with spoken word pieces by poet Simon Armitage. A stunning listen. Having always thought of “modern classical” as a cringe inducing genre/term this record has opened my mind."
Indie Stores Exclusive + Litho Print
Tracklist:
1. Movement 1
2. Movement 2
3. Movement 3
4. Movement 4
5. Movement 5
6. Movement 6
7. Movement 7
Groundbreaking Scottish composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper shares his ambitious fourth studio album Folded Landscapes. Known for merging modern classical-electronic music with evocative storytelling and conceptual art, Erland shares his urgent observation on climate change, temperature and time. This poignant chamber string work figuratively and literally thaws over seven movements, unfolding with electronics, poetry, soprano, piano, harpsichord, field recordings and samples. The work features Scottish Ensemble, UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and other voices including activist Greta Thunberg, multi-award winning conservationist Dara McNaulty and & visual artist Norman Ackroyd. Field recordings of the natural world include the California wildfires and crashing glaciers.
The creative process mimicked the rising temperature of the piece from glacial to a threatening burn - musicians were recorded in subzero temperatures and the audio master tape was sun-burnt on the hottest day in UK history. The heat, moisture, salt and sunlight worked its way into the fabric of the tape, which has been mixed into the finished work, underscoring the work with an unsettling burn that crackles and pops.
A percentage of the copyright share will go to Brian Eno’s EarthPercent charity as a beautiful way of embedding the planet as a stakeholder in musical creativity and raising money for climate/environmental organisations. The Earth’s share of the song - and its income - will be directed to EarthPercent to redistribute to organisations tackling the climate crisis. Folded Landscapes is released on Mercury KX.