Take 10: Max Cooper shares 10 tracks that inspire him
Max Cooper is best known for emotive soundscapes that translate both on and off the dancefloor, and is defined as an artist consistently pushing the boundaries of sound and vision within his work. His third studio album, ‘One Hundred Billion Sparks’, was inspired by a month of solitude in a secluded part of Wales far from the constraints of everyday life. The outcome is twelve pensive tracks with plenty of nostalgia; all intricately woven into visual art to elaborate the story. Aside from his recent trip to the idyllic countryside, we asked Max to reveal ten of his most influential tracks of all time...
1. Future Sound Of London ‘Papa New Guinea’
“One of my first exposures to beautiful rave- influenced ambient electronic experiments as part of the ‘Lifeforms’ album. It was a signpost for what could be done.”
2. Philip Glass ‘Glassworks Opening’
“Loopy hypnotic piano, almost like techno, and part of the first ‘minimal’ genre — long before electronic music created its own. This also led me onto [the documentary] Koyaanisqatsi, which was a huge influence on my visual projects.”
3. Lusine ‘Two Dots’
“Another musical eye-opening with this seminal work from one of my most consistently favourite producers over the years. Such lush synth-work and playfulness with the stabs and use of micro-elements, a rich palette and groove which I’ve aspired to.”
4. Vaetxh ‘Unfolding Mechanism’
“I’d always loved the UK electronica/glitch stuff going back to the Warp classics, but when I heard this in my studio it was pushing everything forward, particularly on the psycho-acoustics work which had often been ignored by older experimentalists. Rob Clouth’s work continues to blow my mind with every new track.”
5. Leftfield ‘Melt’
“A firm lesson in the reach of electronic music with the ‘Leftism’ album, one of the best ever for me, and still sounding fresh 28 years later.”
6. The Flashbulb ‘Undiscovered Colours’
“One of my first obsessive favourites in the realm of cinematic classical meets micro- electronica. This, amongst others like ‘Rossz Csillag...’ [by Venetian Snares], lead me onto collaborations and experiments with classical musicians which were really productive.”
7. Fuck Buttons ‘Stalker’
“So huge, this blew my mind. The pace and development was a big lesson for me too, and I’ve had a lot of fun playing this out to unsuspecting audiences at DJ gigs. Most minds are blown, and there’s always a funny few moments seeing the people for who it’s all a bit too much — apologies for that!”
8. Trentemøller ‘Take Me Into Your Skin’
“So much human expression and fine detailing work in this, which became a major influence for my work, and the end of many a DJ set for me.”
9. Autechre ‘Nine’
"An inspirational production duo forging out on their own path for more than three decades, and a moment of extreme beauty in this particular track. Many lessons in how to apply purity for greatest effect in their work. Choose the vibe and push that to the extreme, removing any fluff that most producers would add to fit into this or that genre.”
10. Artificial Intelligence ‘Desperado’
“Catchy chords, loads of feeling, groove, anticipation, destroys it every single time without fail. It was a drum & bass track that captured everything I wanted, and I still sneak it in there for unsuspecting techno audiences whenever I can.”
