Erland Cooper: An Orkney Triptych

Hailing from the archipelago of Orkney in Scotland, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper explores the natural world of birds, the sea and landscape, manifesting in an immersive collection of music, words and imagery.

Originally part of The Magnetic North and Erland & The Carnival, Cooper returns to the Barbican in June 2020 after his sell-out solo debut in Spring 2019. He will be joined by the London Contemporary Orchestra for a transportative journey across a trilogy of albums inspired by Cooper’s childhood home of Orkney, its air, sea, land, community and native dialect.

The evening will combine his debut solo record Solan Goose (2018) – an ode to escapism, written to ease anxieties, amplified in a busy city, featuring piano, strings, electronics and wild birdcalls – and the award-nominated Sule
Skerry (2019), inspired by Orkney seascapes. The concert will also preview the final record in this series, which looks at the islands’ land community, myth and mythology (to be released in 2020).

The evening will also feature a spoken word contribution from award-winning author Amy Liptrot. Like Cooper, Liptrot originates from Orkney and wrote her acclaimed debut memoir based on her experiences of needing to leave the difficulties and alcoholism of her London life and finding peace and refuge in her childhood surroundings. Her book, The Outrun, is a Sunday Times top ten bestseller and winner of the 2016 Wainwright prize.