Mike Cooper
ISLAND GARDENS
BX09
Cardboard Box (cm. 14 x 14 x 2,6) containing:
4 Colour posters (cm. 26 x 35)
10 Colour photographs (cm 13,5 x 13,5)
36-page booklet with photographs and liner notes by the artist
2 video DVD-R

Limited Edition of 75 numbered copies

€ 50,00 buy via BANDCAMP, DISCOGS
This release is dedicated to the video works of Mike Cooper,
a cosmopolitan figure of which musically it seems superfluous
to say. From bluesman of the first hour, to improviser/
experimenter of the European (and not) more interesting
scene, to proponent of a sort of experimental exotica that
has become, over time, his trademark.
But, instead of the well-known and represented musician and
sound artist, this publication offers, in two DVDs for almost 3
and a half hours in duration, perhaps the least known side of
Cooper's creativity, that of filmic works.
The videos included here were made over a period of about
20 years, around the world (obviously, we would say ...): from
Sri Lanka to Bali, from Timor East to Hong Kong (Lamma), from
Crete to Sardinia, using different technologies, and different
filmic approaches (from experimental fiction to video
reportage, up to a very personal approach to video art),
sometimes intersecting the visual trajectories with his music,
sometimes simply leaving the video camera microphones open,
sometimes narrating stories.
All of this merged in a single or multi screen audio video visual
project (often shown as a live performance) centered on
small island cultures.
In the Box (which have the usual, extremely limited edition),
there will be also a selection of travel photos and drawings (in
photo and poster formats), as well as a booklet with very
detailed notes on all the videos.
(Please note: due to the limited edition the video supports are
DVD-R, singularly printed and checked)

Mike Cooper has traced a path completely of his own for the
past 50 years as an international music explorer, lap steel
guitarist, singer, improviser and composer, performing and
recording, solo and in a number of inspiring groupings and a
variety of genres, stretching the possibility of the guitar with
an eclectic mix of the many styles he has practised over the
years. A very eclectic and inspired artist, he is also active as a
videographer, sound artist and music historian.


Video DVD 1  (TT: 88:45)
Hotel Hibiscus City  (45:49)
Abstractions (16:12)
• Sidney
• Raft
• Vietnam
The Walking Series (pt. 1)
- Walking in Bali  (6:41)
- Walking in Timor East - Makan Itu Batu  (9:06)
- Walking in Crete  (10:57)

Video DVD 2  (TT: 117:34)
The Walking Series (pt. 2)
- Walking in Lamma  (41:05)
• Dead Silence
• The Ferryman
• A Stor(y)m in a Tea Cup
• Beach Eco(ustic)
- Walking in Sardinia - Molentargius  (3:02)
- Walking in Sri Lanka  (8:11)
• A Bus Ride South
• Anuradhapura
• A Call to Prayer
- Walking in Syros  (26:21)
• Syros(ly) Acoustic
• The Ferryman
• Greek Bus Aegina
- Walking in Ubin  (38:55)
• Nature
• Night & Day
• The Floating World
• Ferryman

released 13/11/2021

Of related interest:
Sharp/Sorrentino - SPILLA'
Corner - GAMELAN COMING & GOING
Livebatts! - LIVEBATTS!
White - ELECTRIC MUSIC
ANTS, A New Timeless Sound // experimental record label established in 2001