You may have heard some of them that he's made as Eluvium. Though he's released under his given name before as well.
I mark his tones as sacred. I know others do as well.
Some Days Are Better Than Others is original music Cooper scored for a film by the same name. I haven't seen it. Is it out yet? I don't know.
I'm already arrested by the sounds of it though, by Cooper's subtle grandeur.
This is rehabilitation music. Sad music. Eternal music. Hopeful music. Wonderment in sound.
In snippet form, likely due to the placement of the tracks in the film, Cooper's compositions still shine as brightly, as warbling and shimmery, as beautiful.
In the hectic space of life that I'm in, this is a wonderful redemption.
Eluvium Similes
(2010, Temporary Residence)
RIYL = Red House Painters, Stars of the Lid, Idaho
The work of Matthew Robert Cooper, AKA Eluvium, has always registered with me as some of the most accessible and in many instances the most successful in the world ambient drone. However, in the wake of Eluvium’s last full length, Copia, it was definitely time to inject something new into the formula. So, the addition of lyricism to Mr. Cooper sound was a welcome one. Something to bridge the gap even further between pop music and instrumental drones. And, thankfully, Cooper has managed the new transformation quite wonderfully. In fact, at the rate Simile has been growing on me, it may stand as the next best record to his masterpiece, Talk Amongst the Trees. Cooper even makes a nod to that album in the opening lines to his first song, using that album's title in his lyrics. That being said, lyrics aren’t really Cooper’s strong point. But that isn’t the point. Cooper’s vocals sit more as an additional instrument in these compositions, as an added human comfort. That is probably one of the best ways to describe this album provides: comfortable. And not in a bad way comfortable. Cooper obviously isn’t fully comfortable with his new format himself, but the inviting, marinating tone that he has created on Simile is the kind that you want to go to sleep with at night and to wake up with in the morning. It’s a tone that all his best musical moments are marked by and the addition of lyrics really sets it off to a new level. Interspersed with few small piano-laden interludes, Simile inhabits the dreamy area between abstract drone and 90's slow-core. Really, it's one of the best things I have listened to this year. It’s a grower for sure, and it's worth every spin.
Eluvium Talk Amongst the Trees
(Temporary Residence, 2005)
My acquisition of Eluvium’s Talk Amongst the Trees was a chance decision based on spontaneity; however, Talk Amongst the Trees is anything but spontaneous. I don’t think I would have ever guessed how deeply the looped ruminations of this album would penetrate me or how important it would be in my ensuing interest in experimental music, but that's the whole excitement of such purchases: not knowing. With the increasing pervasiveness of downloading, I think that that feeling has been lost a little bit. But I'm not here to worry about that, I am here to say that listening to Talk Amongst the Trees and its endless beauties is so wonderful that it has become a spiritual experience for me.
Amidst all the havoc of jarringly life changing modern events, Eluvium’s Copia sets out to change your life subtly. Instead of using a standard musical stranglehold, Copia lulls you into its grasps with the most beautiful orchestrations you have ever heard. Eluvium is the alias of modern composer Matthew Cooper of Portland, Oregon. Cooper takes the beauty of a picture perfect scene of Oregon’s lush hills clouded with mist and translates the image into a gorgeous wave of sound. I say wave because the music literally washes over you until you are completely submerged in all things Eluvium. Copia is Cooper’s fourth album and follows in combining slow melodic drones with sprinkles of classical piano and string arrangements. The effect is a slow moving, contemplative listen that, similar to his previous releases, is the type of backdrop that can inspire revelations on the true nature of beauty in sound. Cooper does ride close to the edge on this release, however, as the last half begins to become monotonous, a first for Cooper. It is a difficult trapping to avoid when delving into ambient washes. In the end, despite some small battles, Copia is triumphant in transporting you to where you need to be.
