Island of Noise Modern Nature

• 1 Tempest 02:23
• 2 Dunes 03:57
• 3 Performance 05:05
• 4 Ariel 03:56
• 5 Bluster 04:06
• 6 Symmetry 01:56
• 7 Masque 03:53
• 8 Brigade 02:34
• 9 Spell 03:28
• 10 Build 06:53
• Total Runtime 38:11

Info for Island of Noise

Since the demise of his previous band Ultimate Painting, Jack Cooper – under his Modern Nature guise – has never stopped looking ahead, exploring and reaching for something further. Since 2019, he’s released an EP, last year’s mini album Annual, one full length LP, one 7” and three live cassettes – in the process mapping out astonishing new terrain. Island Of Noise presents an obvious new peak in his discography.

Over the last 12 months, Cooper has constructed a beautiful, free-flowing box set’s worth of material featuring a new album, a separate and equally engaging instrumental interpretation of the album and an accompanying book featuring the work of wide-ranging, non-musical artists (including Booker-nominated poet Robin Robertson, mycologist Merlin Sheldrake, illustrator Sophy Hollington, and writer Richard King) that reinterpret, deconstruct or take inspiration from the 10 tracks on the record.

Island Of Noise represents an absolute career highlight, combining Cooper’s celebrated songwriting and compositional skills with a free flowing expansiveness coloured by British free music luminaries such as saxophonist Evan Parker, pianist Alexander Hawkins, bassist John Edwards and violinist Alison Cotton, as well as long term collaborators Jeff Tobias and Jim Wallis.

“Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises”

On re-reading The Tempest in 2019, Cooper was moved to write this quote on the wall of his workshop and doing so sparked the initial ideas and activity that culminated in this record. The short quote, part of a longer passage spoken by Caliban, “summed up what I was thinking about at the time, from the nature of music, noise and silence, to the chaos and confusion that seemed impossible to navigate.” says Cooper.

The rich imagery and themes of The Tempest have long been a springboard for artists, from Derek Jarman's unnerving adaptation and Sibelius’ Stormen to Jackson Pollock’s Full Fathom Five, but it was the setting of an island and the insular framework it represented that appealed as a way of elaborating on the musical and lyrical themes Modern Nature has been exploring since their first record in 2019.

“I imagined the island's landscape and how it would change and shift through the record. My guitar, Jim Wallis’ drums and John Edwards’ bass would represent a slowly evolving landscape that would provide the bedrock for the other instruments to colour. The forests, the valleys and the life would be represented by an orchestra of improvisers and classical musicians, working around certain modes and composed melodies.”

Standing in the edgelands, where the concrete meets the forest; the island's story is told through the eyes of an outsider, arriving and trying to make sense of the mystery and chaos. What do they make of the island’s systems, its customs, the inhabitants and their beliefs. How would an outsider interpret the inequality and divide? Where would they find solace, compassion and friendship?

The album was completed during a relaxation of the pandemic restrictions and for Cooper and his fellow musicians, its recording came to represent a sanctuary in itself. The feeling of freedom with which they made the record allowed for hours of improvisation and experimentation, resulting in a companion record called Island Of Silence; a more impressionistic instrumental picture of the island and its music.

Elaborating one step further, Cooper approached ten artists he felt an affinity towards (including Booker-nominated poet Robin Robertson, mycologist Merlin Sheldrake, illustrator Sophy Hollington, polymath Eugene Chadbourne and The Lark Ascending author Richard King) and asked them to reinterpret, deconstruct or take inspiration from one of the ten pieces of music for an accompanying book. Island Of Noise and Island Of Silence were both recorded on 2” tape with long-term collaborator and co-producer Ed Deegan and then cut directly to vinyl. Similar attention has been paid to the production of the book and box-set, with all of the material, including the vinyl, sourced from recycled and sustainable materials.

Cooper once said: “With every song we record or musician we gain, another door seems to open on a route that’s worth pursuing.” More than ever, this rings true on Island Of Noiseand Island Of Silence, with the musicians sharing a collective vision that builds the most cohesive and exploratory version of Modern Nature yet. Island Of Noise fits beautifully between genres sitting alongside (modern) classics like Mark Hollis’ Mark Hollis, David Sylvian’s Blemish and Bert Jansch’s Birthday Blues.

Like those, this is an album that may confound or challenge some, but will stand the test of time to those that open themselves up to Modern Nature.

Do you see it?

"Mesmerising… A treasure trove of interesting musical ideas, as well as a source of restorative solace." The Guardian – 4 stars

“On Island Of Noise Modern Nature’s Jack Cooper folds together much of what he’s already done – illuminated pop, exploratory improvisations, post-Canterbury prog – and locates a common thread, expanding outwards with the help of free-music pioneers saxophonist Evan Parker and bassist John Edwards.” Uncut – 9/10

“Jack Cooper captures a sense of mystery and magic on his second album as Modern Nature, using gentle folk rock as the base for a subtle evocation of peacefulness.” The Times – 4 stars

“Led by Jack Cooper, Modern Nature have been forging a one-of-a-kind sound… A sublime experience that blends folk, jazz and free-improv in an understated but elegantly haunting way… Even at its quietest Island Of Noise is an invocation of thunderous beauty.” Shindig – 5 stars

“Songs that marry folk-inflected introspection to brass and strings improvisation… When Cooper’s whispered vocals and shimmering electric guitar meet Jeff Tobias’ meandering brass arabesques, as they do on sublime album standouts Dunes and Masques, there is a jazzily transcendent, ineffably British Isles magic at play here.” MOJO

Modern Nature

Modern Nature
A meandering blend of bucolic folk, experimental jazz, and psych-tinged indie rock, Modern Nature is a project led by British musician Jack Cooper, formerly of Ultimate Painting. They made a strong critical impression with 2019's How to Live, which was followed a year later by the mini-album Annual. The group made an even bigger statement with the expansive 2021 double album Island of Noise.

After the 2018 breakup of Cooper's former band, the acclaimed indie rock outfit Ultimate Painting, he began working with Will Young (Beak, Moon Gangs) on a new venture that took cues from the classic British folk of Bert Jansch and the exploratory jazz of Alice Coltrane, and fused it with elements of the indie rock from which they came. Enlisting cellist Rupert Gillett, drummer Aaron Neveu (Woods), and saxophonist Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers) to complete their ensemble, the two set about recording their debut release. Signing with Bella Union, Modern Nature issued their four-song debut EP, Nature, in March 2019. It was followed five months later by their first full-length, How to Live. Having quickly established themselves as a critical favorite, Cooper and the band, this time minus Young, returned to the studio in December to record a pastoral song cycle based around a series of seasonal journal entries Cooper had made. The resulting mini-album, Annual, was released in June 2020.

Cooper's creative ambitions continued to grow with Modern Nature's elaborate second full-length, Island of Noise. Released in 2021 as a double album, the collection featured a fully arranged album (Island of Noise) along with an instrumental re-imagining (Island of Silence), accompanied by a film and deluxe booklet that contained work from such varied contributors as biologist Merlin Sheldrake and musician Eugene Chadbourne.

This album contains no booklet.