Two great guitarists make a welcome return to OTO, playing both solo and in a very special duo set following the release of their new collaborative album, Cantos de Lisboa. Steve Gunn has been a stalwart of the American experimental scene for closing in on a decade. He has a prodigious talent for fusing traditional american song structures with a raga influence and is known by many for his contributions as one half of the core duo behind GHQ (with Marcia Bassett) as well as for his many other affiliations with underground luminaries such as Tom Carter, The Magik Markers and Marc Orleans. Mike Cooper should need no introduction - for the past 45 years he has been an international musical explorer pushing the boundaries of his music. Initially a folk-blues guitarist he is as responsible as anyone else - and more so than many - for ushering in the blues boom in the U.K. in the late '60s. Cantos de Lisboa finds both artists effortlessly falling into step with one another in a recording that perfectly reflects - and builds on - the talents involved.
"Acoustic guitar records have been done to death in the past decade, but Cooper and Gunn are so good that every inch of this record draws you in. So singular is their vision that deciphering who is playing what is not just impossible but utterly unimportant. Rich tones ring out and into your soul as Cooper howls “Saddle up my pony!” on “Pony Song.” Timeless music like this only comes along so often and on the entirety of Cantos, it’s clear that these two were meant to find one another. Gunn’s blues bleed into the modern world and are tempered by Cooper, who has seen it all. The combination is intoxicating and in the end we’re left with one of the year’s best albums. Huge recommendation." - The Isolatarium, review of 'Cantos de Lisboa'
STEVE GUNN
Steve Gunn has been a stalwart of the American experimental scene for closing in on a decade. He has a prodigious talent for fusing traditional american song structures with a raga influence and is known by many for his contributions as one half of the core duo behind GHQ (with Marcia Bassett) as well as for his many other affiliations with underground luminaries such as Tom Carter, The Magik Markers and Marc Orleans. Steve's previous appearances here at OTO have been a joy to watch and it's a real pleasure to have him back.
A sometime-guitarist in Kurt Vile’s Violators and one half of the Gunn-Truscinski Duo, Gunn is offering the same kind of shelter on new album Time Off, a collection of six loose, spiralling guitar songs that give more than they ask: These are generous compositions, gently presented. Gunn’s a descendent of the Dead, but also of J.J. Cale and La Monte Young and Bert Jansch and Frank Hutchinson, and his guitar playing has a mesmeric quality, a tender circling that feels almost like being swaddled" Pitchfork
"Over the last 15 years, Steve Gunn has established a reputation as a fine guitarist in the vein of American primitives such as John Fahey, exploring folk stylings with an added dusting of jazz, minimalism and raga. Google, and you’ll probably find him listed as a player in Kurt Vile’s band. Go deeper, and he’ll be referenced as an improvisational, blues-based player. The word “deconstruction” may appear" - Uncut
MIKE COOPER
Mike Cooper plays lap steel guitar / electronics and sings. For the past 45 years he has been an international musical explorer pushing the boundaries of his music. Initially a folk-blues guitarist he is as responsible as anyone else - and more so than many - for ushering in the blues boom in the U.K. in the late '60s.
With his roots lying in acoustic country blues he has, arguably, stretched the possibilities of the guitar even more than his better known contemporaries Davy Graham Bert Jansch John Renbourne etc. by pursuing it into the more avant-garde musical areas, also occupied by contemporary guitar innovators such as Elliott Sharp, Keith Rowe, Fred Frith and Marc Ribot, with an eclectic mix of the many styles he has practiced over the years. Ranging freely through his own idiosyncratic original songs,traditional country blues, folk, free improvisation, pop songs, exotica, electronic music, electro-acoustic music, and ‘sonic gestural’ playing utilising open tunings and extended guitar techniques.
He is also a film and video maker in his own right and his work, often featured in his live performances, was recently shown as "Some Sound Point Of View' at GRIM in Marseille/France in a solo show of 12 films/video. Recently he premiered his first 40 minute feature video Hotel Hibiscus City, which he wrote, photographed, edited and scored music for.
He also composes and performs Live Music For Classic and Contemporary Silent Films. As well as presenting screenings/concerts worldwide he has been a guest lecturer and given workshops at universities and colleges on scoring music for films, improvisation and songwriting.
In 2012 he was artist in residence for one month on Pulau Ubin near Singapore which culminated in "Walking In Ubin" - a sound map of the island, three short video films and a free download of his field recordings. In 2013 he was artist in residence on Lamma Island near Hong Kong for Soundpocket.
His audio visual collaboration with Australian video artist Grayson Cooke, Outback And Beyond, for which Cooper wrote and performs live the libretto and music, was a prize winner at the 2013 Japan New Media Arts Festival.
Cooper's discography now stretches into the 100s and his web site has more information and YouTube video work can be seen here - http://www.youtube.com/user/cooparia?#p/u
