Gawain Erland Cooper

Gawain Erland Cooper
Background information
Birth name Gawain Erland Cooper
Also known as Erland Cooper
Origin Orkney, Scotland[1]
Genres Alternative rock, folk, folk rock, shoegazing, psychedelic rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, artist, composer, producer, mixer
Instruments Guitar, vocals, piano, producer
Years active 2009–present
Labels Full Time Hobby
Associated acts Erland & the Carnival, The Magnetic North
Website ErlandandtheCarnival.com

Gawain Erland Cooper is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist and producer originally from Stromness, Orkney. He is the frontman of British bands The Magnetic North and Erland and the Carnival, with whom he has released five critically acclaimed albums. Cooper was born and raised on the Scottish archipelago of Orkney and now owns a London recording studio, which has become home to some of the UK’s most acclaimed leftfield producers, artists and mixing engineers.

As the front man for British indie/folk rock band Erland & the Carnival he released three critically acclaimed albums with guitarist Simon Tong (Gorillaz, Blur, The Verve, The Good, the Bad & the Queen). The album Nightingale charted at No. 11 on the UK Indie Chart and the last album Closing Time featured collaborations with British artist Paul Weller and was recorded at Damon Albarn's studio 13.

Cooper now leads the collaborative band project The Magnetic North which blends orchestral arrangements, rock, and electronica. Under this moniker, he has produced 2 widely acclaimed albums in the UK & Europe and the band are credited with exploring the concept of psychogeography, connecting identity, memory and place through music and cinematography. They explore these themes further by partnering with well-known artists and writers in their live shows.

For the album launch of The Magnetic North second album "The Prospect Of Skelmersdale" Cooper co-curated the first ever band gig at Royal Institute of British Architects with a multimedia event combining psychogeography, architecture and cinematography. He collaborated with artists including award winning writer Amy Liptrot,[2] writer and broadcaster Laura Barton, John Grindrod and artist Bill Drummond - choosing writers and artists from the arts & literary world rather than musicians in the support slot.

Early life

Cooper was born and raised on the Scottish archipelago of Orkney.[1] He was raised with six siblings on the small islands by his parents, describing it as a remote yet creative place to grow up. He left at age 18 to travel, seeing locations like London, New York and Edinburgh.[1] Cooper spent years studying Bert Jansch and Davey Graham, sourcing old British songs from the Vaughan Williams Museum near where he resided, and developing his writing skills.[1] Cooper is well known for his contemporary arrangements of traditional Scottish and English folk songs, resulting in a "wild pastiche of digital trickery and oral tradition that channels the spirit of '70s progressive rock while staying true to pop-song brevity".[3]

Music career

Erland and the Carnival

In 2009 he co-founded the band Erland and the Carnival in London with multi-instrumentalist Simon Tong (formerly of The Verve, Blur and The Good, the Bad & the Queen) and drummer/engineer David Nock (The Orb, The Cult, The Fireman, David Gilmour, Paul McCartney).[1]

In 2010 they released their critically acclaimed eponymous debut album, and a year later released Nightingale, which earned 4/5 stars from Allmusic. Nightingale charted at No. 21 on the UK Indie Chart.

The Magnetic North

In 2011 Cooper co-founded the British shoegaze band The Magnetic North with Simon Tong and singer, composer and orchestral arranger Hannah Peel.[4] Formed in London, they released their debut album, Orkney: Symphony of the Magnetic North on 6 May 2012.[4][5] Cooper said that the inspiration for the album came from an appearance of long dead Betty Corrigall in one of his dreams, insisting that he wrote an album about his home.[6] This theme is currently being developed into a stage production.

Solo career

Cooper released his debut solo album Solan Goose, heavily influenced by native Orcadian birds, on 23 March 2018.

Writing credits

Cooper is best known for his contemporary arrangements of traditional Scottish and English folk songs, including most notably "Love Is a Killing Thing", "East and West" and "The Derby Ram" collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Cooper has also scored and produced music for TV & Film. His Marie Curie (charity) Daffodil advertisement won two British arrow awards and he won the RTS award [7] for the theme music to the C4 show Dates. With Simon Tong he scored the independent motion picture Rufus which received two Canadian screen award nominations, and his music featured in the UK film The Great Hip Hop Hoax. Credits also include music for US TV shows including Bones (TV series), Ringer (TV series) and Roadies (TV series) and UK TV shows including Hollyoaks, Made in Chelsea and Match of the Day as well as on leading ad campaigns from Citizen, Livestream to Alzheimer's Research UK.

Discography

With Erland & the Carnival

Studio albums

With Magnetic North

Studio albums
  • 2012: Orkney: Symphony of the Magnetic North
  • 2016: Prospect of Skelmersdale

As a solo artist

Studio albums
  • 2018: Solan Goose
  • 2018: Murmuration (a collaboration with William Doyle)

Other recordings

Further reading

Interviews
  • "Erland & The Carnival Interview". Under the Radar. 21 February 2011.
  • "Erland & The Carnival: Question in the Form of an Answer". Passion of the Weiss. 31 March 2011.
  • "Erland & the Carnival: TAS Interview". The Alternate Side. 31 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Valish, Frank (21 February 2011). "Erland & The Carnival – Psychedelic Folk Dreams". Under the Radar. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  2. ↑ http://thequietus.com/articles/08693-the-magnetic-north-orkney-symphony-of-the-magnetic-north-review. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Nightingale – Erland & the Carnival". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 Tyler, Kieron (6 March 2012). "Interview & Video Exclusive: The Magnetic North". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Malone, Ailbhe (5 April 2012). "Indie bands get into the island life". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  6. ↑ Fulton, Rick (2013-07-19). "Simon Tong reveals how Orkney's rugged landscape inspired his new band to create haunting debut album". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  7. ↑ "RTS Craft & Design Awards".
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