Much celebrated songwriter and composer Jack Cooper released his incredible debut LP under the Modern Nature moniker earlier this year to praise from the likes of The Guardian, Uncut and Pitchfork.
No Fixed Point In Space, the third full-length album by Jack Cooper’s Modern Nature, takes the palette of sound and themes that were honed on 2021’s Island Of Noise and launches them into an expansive world of openness and vivid technicolour. It’s a music that hasn’t been heard before; as melodic as anything Cooper has produced but framed by rhythms and instrumentation that reflect the chaos, unpredictability and colour of the natural world. “With this record,” Cooper explains, “I wanted the music to reflect nature: beginnings and endings, arrivals and departures, process and chance. I wanted the music and the words to feel like roots, branches, mycelium, the intricacies of a dawn chorus, neurons firing, the unknown.”
“The way you see or hear music in your head is abstract and magic… often far more beautiful than what eventually appears on tape. When you sit down with an instrument and begin translating an idea, it quickly conforms. I’ve tried to develop this music without thinking in terms of set rhythms, time signatures, folk or pop structures, syntax; the devices you associate with the music world which I come from. I wanted to make music that was abstract, free and honest, whilst still being predominantly tonal and recognisably song based. New music! It feels like time to make something that no one has heard before.” Certain moorings – woodwind, percussion, strings and Cooper’s lambent voice – are still present and recognisable from No Fixed Point In Space’s predecessor, Island Of Noise, but the new record marks a shift to utilising musical notation as a point of departure, from which the group explore the space around suggested notes and rhythms to create a semi-improvised, semi-composed ensemble performance. These explorations of partly organised chance were recorded live and directly to tape.
“Part of it is a reaction to what I hear out in the world,” continues Cooper. “Modern Nature’s music has certain threads that run through it. Music is increasingly sterile and informed by the grids and convenience of digital recording. Music needs the swing of humans for it to resonate on any level below the surface.
“I think the most important aspect of that idea is collectivism; the rhythm, melody, timbre, dynamics, all the aspects of music are not the responsibility of one instrument, they are the responsibilities of all the instruments. The vocals are no more important than the bass. That makes the music move in an organically unpredictable way. Like a flock of birds or a school of fish, notes breaking the surface and then disappearing. That’s how I want this music to feel.”
This approach gives the music a remarkably fresh feel; songs pulse and evolve. The changes between movements, verse and choruses are almost all ambiguous. During the album’s opener, Tonic, a verse of hushed brevity washes away into a passage of overwhelmingly vibrant orchestration.
Cooper devised musical notation for the players to follow in every song. Within this set of loose parameters or signifiers, they were able to explore the pieces on their own terms. “Most of the arrangement and orchestration is notated, but the musicians are all imaginative interpreters’” he says – and for the record, they include: Anton Lukoszevieze, Mira Benjamin and Heather Roche of Apartment House, Alex Ward (This Is Not This Heat / Spiritualized), Dominic Lash, Chris Abrahams of The Necks, Julie Tippetts (FKA Julie Driscoll) as well as long-term collaborators Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers) and Jim Wallis. There is a perceptible but graceful tension audible in the record. This approach is remarkably effective on Orange, where voices merge together in the refrain ‘turning again we go round and recover’, a phrase that provides the piece with a sense of momentum, even as the instrumentation resists being confined to an equally circular repetition and pulls in contraflow against the vocal lines. The melodies and words move in a similar way to the music, partly improvised, dissonant poetry.
The swing of one particular human present on No Fixed Point In Space is especially noteworthy. The legendary Julie Tippetts (Driscoll) adds her distinctive voice to the record, on what is her first appearance on a recording for several years. Tippetts’ ability to evoke a landscape, whether physical or interior, has always been a feature of her vocal performances. Throughout this record her voice does the same to great, purposeful effect, not least on the closing track Ensō, where she takes the lead.
“Ultimately,” concludes Cooper. “This is music I’ve always wanted to hear. I read a quote of Einstein’s via Merce Cunningham that said there are “no fixed points in space” and that felt right. It felt like what I was trying to achieve here.”
Find tickets with See Tickets: | Search now |
Where possible we will update our listings to notify of cancelled, postponed and rescheduled events, however we STRONGLY ADVISE that you check with the venue/organiser in the first instance for updates.
All information (whether in text or photographs) is supplied in good faith but should not be relied upon as being a statement of representation or fact.GOT AN EVENT TO SHARE? It's free to post your events on What's On Glasgow, click here to find out more!
Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Glasgow? Just hit 'Like' on our Facebook page, join the What's On Scotland Facebook Group and 'Follow' on our Twitter account and you're all set!Don't miss Australian soulful singer-songwriter, Ernest Aines who is touring with fellow Aussie, Camille Trail when they perform at The Glad Cafe on Tuesday 30th July!
READ MOREComing Out To Play at The Glad Cafe on Saturday 10th August will celebrate women, on binary and trans people in music!
READ MOREAndrew Wasylyk & Tommy Perman have released their first single as a duo and announced a UK tour which will see them play The Glad Cafe on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th September!
READ MOREGuitarist and songwriter Charlie Parr has announced he'll bring his Little Sun tour to The Glad Cafe on Wednesday 11th September!
READ MORENashville-based guitarist and composer William Tyler is set to headline The Glad Cafe on Tuesday 17th September!
READ MOREWinner of the 2023 Christian Raphael Prize, Frankie Archer has exploded onto the electrofolk scene with music that transcends stereotypes, don't miss her live at The Glad Cafe in October!
READ MORESpanish-British songwriter, musician and record producer Gizmo Varillas has announced his biggest tour to date which will see him play The Glad Cafe on Wednesday 23rd October!
READ MOREDiscovery Zone is the experimental pop project of New York / Berlin musician and multimedia artist JJ Weihl, don't miss the live at The Glad Cafe on Monday 28th October!
READ MOREAmerican singer-songwriter, producer and multi instrumentalist Chris Cohen will headline The Glad Cafe on Friday 15th November!
READ MOREJoin Edinburgh 8-piece jazzfunk superband The Katet live at The Glad Cafe as they funk up the music of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, E.T and more!
READ MORESloans Famous Friday Ceilidh is back and it's bigger and better than ever... it's a must for everyone visiting Glasgow and any true weegie!
READ MOREWith his uncanny attention to detail be prepared to let Alan Walker 'Entertain You' with his fantastic tribute to Robbie Williams & George Michael!
READ MOREEnjoy live music on Saturday nights at Arta... entry to the venue is free before 11pm so why not book a table in the main bar and put the entry fee towards a cocktail!
READ MOREJoin Gerry Lyons at Nice N Sleazy on Mondays for 'longest running open mic in the history of the universe'!
READ MORECome and sing your hearts away, with the best karaoke Glasgow has to offer at Nice N Sleazy's on Monday nights!
READ MOREBrought to you by Falasgair their resident Trad band, come along to Nice N Sleazy every Thursday for knee slapping traditional Scottish music!
READ MOREJoin in the fun and dance to the best in Soul, Disco, Motown, RnB, BIG Soul Classics to today's floor fillers!
READ MOREGet under the skin of Glasgow's vibrant music scene with this entertaining, guided walking tour of Merchant City and the East End from Glasgow Music City Tours!
READ MOREFeel the beat of Glasgow's vibrant music scene with this entertaining, guided walking tour of the city centre with Glasgow Music City Tours!
READ MOREGo Radio | Number 1 for Glasgow & The West - Listen on DAB, Online or on your Smart Speaker, just say "Launch Go Radio"