Max Cooper is a thinker. This you will pick up on as you read through the following questions. Having studied a PhD in computational biology and working as a geneticist, he takes a unique view on electronic music as he is able to blur the lines between science, emotions and techno/electronica (see video below).
To highlight this, you need look no further than Max’s two LP’s Human and his sophomore album Emergence. Both albums are aimed at plucking your heartstrings and make you think as sonic precision washes over your ear. Human focuses on, as the name suggests, the human condition, but the meaning behind Emergence goes even deeper still. ” Emergence takes cues from the natural world around us to forge its own universe—a kinetic environment in which every little thread is easily felt”. I hope you’re now getting a sense of what Max and his music is about. Ahead of his visit down to Australia for Babylon Festival, I had the chance to shoot Max some questions.
SR: Music wasn’t where you’re life was heading at one stage. Having done a PhD in computational biology and worked as a geneticist at UCL. How did science become a big part of your life? Did you find it hard to find balance between work/study and music? When did the tides turn and you decided that music is what you’ll follow as a career from down on?
MC: I was always interested in science from a young age, I think I used it as escapism from the mundanities and difficulties of normal life. I always had a strong emotional connection to music too. Science seemed like a more realistic career choice so I stuck with that, until I had an opportunity to try music full time, which I decided to do, and that was 8 years ago. The two were easy enough to balance during my studies, it was only when I got to the stage of needing to enter the academic funding cycle to pursue my personal projects further that I realised I couldn’t keep both going at once.
SR: How has studying science changed your perspective on how you experience life?
MC: I spot a lot of bullshit out there, there’s so much nonsense flying around in the name of science, which is used to manipulate public opinion, you really have to be careful about your sources (and (mis)use of statistics by politicians). “Experts” from established research institutions should be taken seriously. My use of science in my projects on the other hand, is for artistic reasons: It’s not trying to convince people of anything or be taken as authority on any question – I’m more interested in the beautiful art which is hidden in there – the subjective view.
SR: How has your background in science influenced your music? Are there certain elements of your past career that you like to draw upon for inspiration?
MC:I’ve toyed a lot with how I can bring scientific ideas into my work. The main project at the moment which does this is Emegence, where I use a scientific creation theme to tell a live visual story to which the music is scored to – my live performances become something between a live film and a techno party.
I’m also experimenting with software development for mapping natural forms into musical structures – a project coming later this year, and another project due in a few months with the Babraham Institute in Cambridge and Andy Lomas, using DNA structural data to create a music video and VR experience visualising real chromosomal structures and functional sites. That second project again, relying on the inherent beauty of much of nature, as brought to light by scientific techniques. I think it’s a shame people don’t usually get to experience the beauty of science in that way, so it’s a general area I think there’s legs in exploring further.
SR: With your works, you are trying to express yourself musically. Was putting your thoughts and feelings into music hard initially? As people change all the time, do you feel that you’re music is always changing as you move through life and change as a person yourself?
MC: Yes, every piece of music is a snapshot of the creators mind at that point in time. I really don’t like a lot of my older tracks, as my tastes and feelings have developed. I always had a strong feeling for what I liked and didn’t like musically, so that side of things came naturally. The challenge was learning enough via trial and error, so that I could start to translate the feelings I had into something solid in the form of pieces of music. I still work that way now, and I’ve tried to learn more about general techniques of expression than traditional music theory, with the hope, and perhaps mislead, idea, that if I can keep my process personal I stand a better chance of pulling something personal out into musical form.
SR: For a producer, writing an album is something of big thought to have. How do you know if you’re ready or not to undertake working on a full length LP?
MC: I knew I was ready because I had a project in mind which wouldn’t fit on an EP, and also a project that wasn’t so club-oriented, in my first album, Human. I had come from a DJ 12” background, so for me the EP was something that had to tick that box, and the LP was a way to escape it. But that’s just because I came from the world of writing club tracks.
SR: You have two full length albums currently released, the first titled Human in 2014 and just recently your sophomore album Emergence in 2016. Human was your way of putting common concepts to all people into a musical form, and Emergence is expanding on the concept of complex things in the universe like life, coming into existence due to simple laws. When did this concept first come to you and how did you expand upon it when you were planning the album?
MC: Emergence came from the fact that I wanted to make a visual project. Several of my old videos had already involved the idea of Emergence, such as Andrew Brewer/Whiskas FX’s work, and the concept also provided rich grounds for exploring new ideas, so it was an easy choice. There was no shortage of ideas for chapters of the story, and the whole thing rapidly turned into a monster of a project. Rather than me reeling off a long list of science ideas and how they can be used to make music videos and fit into a wider story, you can find all of that here > emergence.maxcooper.net
SR: Would you say that Emergence is following on from the concepts addressed in Human, i.e you looking into being human, and now you’ve looked at where humans fit into what we all experience as life?
MC: The two are certainly linked, with “Woven Ancestry” in Human built of old traditional instruments playing interlocking melodies representative of our geographically spanning ancestral roots, for example. Which is linked to the parts of Emergence where humans have finally arrived and are taking over, after much development from simple natural laws. Human is a personalised theme, and Emergence, the bigger picture. But I was able to communicate the ideas much more precisely with Emergence, with the focus on the visuals, rather than trying to fit too much detail into the music, which is hard given music is a much more blunt form of communication.
SR: Rumour has it that you’re working on a new LP. Are there any details that you can reveal?
MC: I’m always working on new LPs yes!….I’m fairly obsessed with creation, I think maybe I’m afraid of dying and my subconscious is desperately trying to break out from inside my head somehow. The next LP project is happening this year, for release next year, but I can’t tell you what it is yet…It will involve a totally new approach to creating an album for me however.
SR: You have some Australian heritage as your parents are of Australian descent. What are your thoughts on your upcoming trip to the land down under for your tour including a stop at the Babylon festival?
MC: It’s always a pleasure coming to visit, I’ve had some amazing gig experiences in Australia, so I’m hoping to meet some more friendly/mad people this time too.
SR: What’s one of the most memorable or scary moments that you’ve had down here?
MC: I was just about to go on at Rainbow Serpent and waiting backstage with my bags…a huge snake came over to me and slithered on past. It was a brown snake, which turned out to be the world’s second most poisonous land snake. I’d never had that happen backstage before (the gig was very memorable too, Sunday closing, was awesome).
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