Orcadian multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Erland Cooper comes to The Queen’s Hall this May - the flagship Scottish date on this tour - for the launch of his second solo album, Sule Skerry. This special event is presented in collaboration with Edinburgh Music Lovers.
Having grown up in Stromness on the Orkney Islands, Cooper explores the natural world of birds, sea and landscape in an immersive evening of music, words and imagery. Cooper plays tracks from his seminal record Solan Goose and performs new material from his new album, Sule Skerry.
Originally part of The Magnetic North and Erland & The Carnival, Cooper has a diverse musical history. His acclaimed solo album Solan Goose (2018) was an Album of the Year at BBC Radio 6Music, the Quietus, musicOMH and more. An ode to escapism, Cooper wrote the album to ease the anxieties of working in a busy city through soothing piano, strings, electronics and wild bird calls, with its tracks each taking their titles from Orcadian dialect words for birds. Sule Skerry, the second album of his Orkney triptych, takes the North Sea as its narrative focus.
Support is from award winning experimental composer, sound artist and musician Michael Begg. Michael’s music is located in the place where formal composition and electronic erosion meet; a liminal space coloured by longing and discomfort.*
There will also be a reading by Stephen Rutt from his newly published book, The Seafarers which takes readers into breath-taking landscapes, sights, smells and sounds, bringing the vibrant birds of the UK and their habitats to life. Copies of the book will be availble to buy on the night.
* Due to circumstances beyond her control, the original support act SHHE has had to cancel.
Image and video by Alex Kozobolis.
Edinburgh Music Lovers (EML) is a boutique music promoter that curates events featuring eclectic and experimental artists as part of its mission to help make Edinburgh a music city.
Presented by The Queen's Hall and Edinburgh Music Lovers in association with Highland Park whisky.
(Erland Cooper about Sule Skerry)“It’s a record about the sea, our relationship with the outside world, forces outside of our control but it’s also about creating a nest within that, nurturing and protecting our own sea havens, those sheltered bays, those safe places. Always returning back in some form, as we step in and out daily.”
About Michael Begg
Michael Begg is an award winning composer, sound artist and musician based in East Lothian, Scotland. Michael’s music is located in the place where formal composition and electronic erosion meet; a liminal space coloured by longing and discomfort. His collaborations and commissions have seen him produce several albums and sight specfic work including at the National Galleries Scotland, St Giles Cathedral and on a 150 ft tall Titan Crane in Clydebank, Scotland for Cryptic for Sonica 2017. Michael will perform with Chris Connolly (Finitribe) at Liminal Nights #1 in the QH bar on Thu 27 June.
About Stephen Rutt
Stephen Rutt is a birder, naturalist and writer, whose work has appeared in EarthLines magazine, Zoomorphic, The Harrier and the East Anglian Daily Times. In 2015 he escaped his hectic, anxiety-inducing life in London to spend seven months at North Ronaldsay bird observatory, the most northerly island in the Orkney archipelago, where the idea for his first book was born. He currently lives in Dumfries.
The Seafarers is a moving and lyrical account of the remarkable diversity of seabird life supported in the UK: spectacular colonies of charismatic Arctic terns, elegant fulmars and stoic eiders, to name just a few. Often found in the most remote and dramatic reaches of our isles, these colonies are landscapes shaped not by us but by the birds. In this moving and lyrical account, Stephen Rutt travels to the farthest corners of the UK to explore the part seabirds have played in our story and what they continue to mean to Britain today. Pre-order a copy here.
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Erland Cooper