{"product_id":"magnus-granberg-copy","title":"Ed Cooper","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMutism \u003c\/strong\u003e   (2026)      \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003e1\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eThe kind of quiet found at the bottom of the stairs\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e       \u003c\/span\u003e5:53\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003e2\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eWe are like ships in the dark (I fucking hate you)\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e       \u003c\/span\u003e10:33\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003e3\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eMy bedroom\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e     \u003c\/span\u003e4:30\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003e4\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eMishearing and rotting\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e6:21\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003e5\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eOn withdrawing\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e     \u003c\/span\u003e10:48\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003ePlayed by \u003cstrong\u003eTahdig\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eManlu Du, violin   Amalia Young, viola   Ben Finlay, cello\u003cbr\u003eKristine Healy, flutes   Henry McNamara, clarinets\u003cbr\u003eRob Burton, saxophones   Kate Ledger, piano   Niki Zohdi, conductor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; color: black;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003eRecorded by Ed Cooper, March 2026, Clothworkers Concert Hall, Leeds\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003eMastered by Miles Whittaker\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\"\u003eCover artwork by Ed Cooper\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Ed_Cooper_480x480.jpg?v=1791885036\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18.0pt; font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003e­Interview with Ed Cooper\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eI suspect that you'll be a new name to many people, so can you say something about your background, and how you came to experimental music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eIt's quite typical, I'd have thought. In my teens, I played guitar and sang in bands, and sang in choirs (and, briefly, tried to be a solo tenor, though I'm pants at that). I had a bit of an underlying interest in experimental music around that time (and other arts, for what it's worth). I remember listening to Sunn O))) on the way to school and thinking it was mad that my journey was shorter than one of their songs, and hearing a Biffy Clyro track that had sections in 7\/4 and 5\/4 and thinking that was cool as owt.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eTo be honest, I can't really get over the approach of music-making that developed in that time. Pretty much all of my composition still starts with me playing guitar in my bedroom. I used to feel awkward about that but I've accepted it now, for better or worse. The teenage approach of total naivety alongside total confidence is the way I'd like to make music, I think. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eIt was when I got to my undergraduate degree at the University of Leeds that my interests became more mapped onto experimental music. I've got gratitude to the sage that is Scott McLaughlin (or maybe a lot of blame, depending on how you look at it).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eIs there anything in particular that you learned from Scott which has proved useful in your early career as a composer?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\"\u003eLots. But probably the thing that’s stuck with me the most is more of an attitude than compositional approach or techniques. When I first met Scott, I distinctly remember thinking how approachable and nice—\u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003enormal\u003c\/i\u003e, even—he was, which is perhaps not quite what I’d imagined experimental composers to be. He shows up and makes things happen, both big and small. I sense that you could have a conversation with him, leave thinking just how kind and warm he is, and have no idea that he is a leading practice researcher and truly wonderful composer. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eWhat did you do after your undergraduate studies at Leeds?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003ePostgraduate studies at Leeds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eIt seems to me that 'Mutism' is in some ways a new departure for your music, but at the same time typical of it in other ways. How do you see it?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eI don't think there's a terribly strong thread between my pieces. But I suppose if my recent music is \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003eabout\u003c\/i\u003e anything—and I'm not sure that it can be, and much less that I would want it to be—then it's numbness. (I suspect that my music sounds quite different if you know me personally.) But I don't think that maps on to a particular soundworld or collection of techniques—maybe a 'vibe', but I'm not sure. This isn't intentional, mind; it's just the way it comes out, and I'm rather grateful for that. I can't stand it when composers (or artists more generally) basically make the same piece over and over again. I don't think it's beautiful or elegant or humble—I think it's boring and a bit self-indulgent. I like lots of things, all at once. (How could anyone not?) So, yes, I think it is a new departure, but not one that I feel particularly inclined to pursue.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003e‘Mutism’ is an unusual mixture of different styles. I might describe it as post-modern if I didn’t dislike the term. A lot of its energy comes from juxtaposing varied elements. Is that something you have done before, or particularly enjoy?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eAs I say, I don’t think that’s particularly deliberate, but thank you. During my PhD, I taught composition at Leeds with Scott and the Id-Meister General, Martin Iddon. Something really useful that they taught me that I still use with my students today is to imagine two canons of musical work—the music that you’ve learned about at school, college, or university, and the music that you like or are engaged with outside of that—and the ways in which they might collide to make music that is, for better or worse, only music that you might make (or like). From there, if you’re willing to indulge what might seem like a silly idea at first, then it’s relatively straightforward to plan some unusual music. So, for example, the second track of \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003eMutism\u003c\/i\u003e, ‘We are like ships in the dark (I fucking hate you)’, is, to my ears, a meeting of Cocteau Twins and Laure Hiendl, with the title referencing Blackhaine. I suspect that few people like all three of those artists and that there are even fewer who would earnestly entertain trying to make them fit together.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eCan you tell us about how the recording came about - and about Tahdig, the new ensemble who played the piece?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eWell, you're partly responsible, actually! I sent you some music years ago now and you asked if I had any music without electronics. I didn't, but that's a habit I fell into over the COVID isolations, and it was something I'd been meaning to do. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;\"\u003eTahdig are a new and absolutely dynamite ensemble. Some very dear and sweet loves are members: director and conductor Niki Zohdi, pianist Kate Ledger, and cellist Ben Finlay. The people I hadn't met before who Niki brought in were absolutely excellent—I really couldn't have asked for a better group. The recording and mixing was all extremely smooth. Plus, shout out to Miles Whittaker, who mastered the project. He always does such a great job and it's so beneficial to have someone outside of new\/contemporary music circles lend their ears to the project. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Liberation Serif',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: NSimSun; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: HI;\"\u003e\u003cbr style=\"mso-special-character: line-break;\"\u003e\u003c!-- [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--\u003e\u003cbr style=\"mso-special-character: line-break;\"\u003e\u003c!--[endif]--\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67681867071802,"sku":"at261","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at261_front_cover.jpg?v=1791816689","url":"https:\/\/www.anothertimbre.com\/products\/magnus-granberg-copy","provider":"Another Timbre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}