Erland Cooper is a Scottish composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist originally from Stromness, Orkney. As a solo artist, he has released five acclaimed studio albums, including a trilogy of work inspired by his childhood home, as well as themes of nature, people, place and time. His work combines field recordings with traditional orchestration and contemporary electronic elements. Through music, words and cinematography he explores landscape, memory and identity. He develops these themes further by partnering with other artists, writers and poets.
Cooper also works across mixed media projects including installation art, theatre and film. He’s widely known for burying the only existing copy of the master tape of his first classical album in Scotland, deleting all digital files and leaving only a treasure hunt of clues for anyone to seek it. The tape was found in 2023 and the album will be released, exactly as it sounds from the earth, this year along with its world premiere of the completed score.
Recomposing Earth (Film)
Under two feet of peaty soil in Orkney, lies the only recording of Scottish composer Erland Cooper’s unheard album. In an entirely unique attempt to collaborate with the natural world, it would be an experiment on patience, art and value. Will the tape emerge silent, and does it matter if it does?
Recomposing Earth takes you into the mind of an artist and the magic of the Orkney Islands that inspire him, with a story that reminds us of music's importance as an expression of the human condition. With interviews including Paul Weller and Sir Ian Rankin.
