Portland, Ore’s Matthew Cooper has been making ambient records as Eluvium since 2003. Like previous efforts, the new Similes (due out via the Temporary Residence label on February 23) was recorded at Cooper’s home studio, though the eight-track album marks the first time an Eluvium record features percussion and singing. With this excellent mix tape he made us, you’ll get a sense of what it’s like hangin’ with Mr. Cooper.
“Leaves Eclipse The Light” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/LeavesEclipseTheLight.mp3
“The Motion Makes Me Last” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/TheMotionMakesMeLast.mp3
Aphex Twin “Xtal”
Mark Smith from Explosions In The Sky gave me a mix of Aphex Twin a few years back; somehow most of his work had escaped me. This was the opening track of the mix. Mark is a dear friend and a mean mix-tape maker among other things. I thank him for properly opening my eyes to the AFX world. Video
Arthur Russell “Losing My Taste For The Night Life”
I owned First Thought, Best Thought for quite a while before getting to this track. I guess I was just too busy listening to “World Of Echo” instead. When I finally found this piece, it seemed to sum up so much of what I loved about Arthur Russell both musically and lyrically. Video
Brian Eno “On Some Faraway Beach”
Probably not so near my favorite Eno song (though I’m not sure I’d know where to begin with that list), but the lyrics are just so lovely and the way the instruments are just barely holding it together—falling in and out of time slightly—is really wonderful. Video
Broadcast “Tears In The Typing Pool”
I’m not sure what it is about this song; it seems so very matter of fact in its delivery, I suppose. But whenever I think of Broadcast, I seem to autopilot mentally to this song every time. Video
Leon Fleisher “Sheep May Safely Graze”
Many people have played Bach, but this is the one for me. I believe the title says enough. I thank my brother Philip endlessly for showing me this piece and all of the album, Two Hands. Video
The Books “Vogt Dig For Kloppervok”
I could probably put anything from Lost And Safe here; the ingenuity of this record is astounding. I would have liked to have placed the last track of this album somewhere in this mix—as the words are just beautiful—but for the sake of mix-tape flow (even in the hypothetical sense), this is the one that made it. I consider the Books to be one of the most important things happening in music—or art of any form, for that matter—these days. Perhaps they might laugh at that statement. Video
Cluster “Zum Wohl”
Oh, Cluster—how I love thee. If you ever find yourself in the wooded mountainous region just before the coast of the Pacific Northwest—slowly weaving along through bits of sun and leaves, chasing a little creek through the damp to the ocean—this quite possibly could be the song for you.
David Byrne/Terry Hinely “Glass Operator”
Truly wonderful men. A truly wonderful song. Video
OMD “Of All The Things We’ve Made”
It was very inspiring to me at the time to hear a single open guitar strummed endlessly and a single drum hit over and over again to create such powerful music. My wife showed me this album when we first met at a record shop here in Portland maybe nine years ago. She knows what’s up. Video
