Ask me to compose an album about my life thus far, and I would probably end up placing an undue emphasis on my younger time spent patronizing the local 7-11, since Slurpees are delicious and Hostess cupcakes are the calorie-filled snacks creamily overwhelming the other memories from my childhood.
Composer Zach Cooper, by contrast, has been recording music since at least his high school days, formally and informally, which makes musical introspection and autobiography generally a lot easier. His debut album The Sentence is essentially a compilation of re-workings that have as their underpinnings musical ventures from earlier times in his life, and as such, you’ll find remnants from “high school demos,” recordings with the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble, and samples from “middle school conversations” embedded into the 12-track patchwork surveying Cooper’s life. Let’s not be surprised, then, that he’s reportedly a frequent utterer of “om” in his spare time. (Hopefully that’s not just a stereotype.)
Musically, The Sentence has more of a classical influence, but I couldn’t help but be reminded of The Books in parts (albeit a bit more meditative), just to give you a sense. The album itself is out March 18 via Styles Upon Styles. Here’s footage of Cooper possibly teleporting between Vermont, New York, and North Carolina:
The Sentence tracklisting:
01. This
02. Is
03. For
04. Us
05. To
06. Incite
07. Stillness
08. In
09. Our
10. Hearts
11. And
12. Mind
More about: Zach Cooper
