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'A Different Life' out now!
They could easily have spent their whole lives living worlds apart, but the chance encounter between the two songwriters of The Coo feels like it was always meant to be.
“I remember how you knocked me out / down by that lazy canal”
The Coo’s journey started with a serendipitous meeting at an Amsterdam open mic, and has since evolved into a deep musical and personal relationship that bridges the North Sea. Matt Arthur (The Arthur Brothers) and Jara Holdert (Lewin) write and sing songs together in two-part harmony, reminiscent of the warm late 60s and early 70s sound of artists such as Carole King & James Taylor; Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and contemporary artists such as Angus & Julia Stone and Big Thief.
“The Amsterdam moon cut a path through my gloom and we parted too soon”
Because they live in different countries, the two years that followed Matt and Jara’s meeting were spent writing songs over WhatsApp, meeting over FaceTime and visiting each other - when they could afford it - to play intimate acoustic shows together. “We discovered very quickly that there was this kind of magic between us, musically” says Matt. “We enjoyed playing together so much that songs just evolved naturally”.
In particular it was when performing for audiences in London and Amsterdam, that The Coo really started to find their sound. “We could start and end songs on stage whenever we liked, or we could change melodies and arrangements on the spot and we knew that we would follow each other” says Jara. “This made for a really unique and exciting energy”.
When it came time to record their first EP, Matt and Jara knew they had to do it in front of a live audience. So, in April 2019 they gathered some friends and fans in an old synagogue in the center of Amsterdam and together with the recording expertise of Jared Sacks (Native DSD Music) they captured their unique live connection on the songs that would eventually make up their debut EP ‘Amsterdam Moon’.
After touring through the Netherlands, UK, Scandinavia and Germany with the EP, The Coo was ready to record an album
A Different Life
A Different Life
Even through the hardships of the pandemic, The Coo managed to finish a number of new songs and began increasingly detailed planning for their next recording project. Their vision from the outset was to capture the fresh organic vibrancy that they produce on a live stage but from within a recording studio environment. They began looking for a space where they could push their sound into new territory and expand their sonic palette, in line with some of their greatest modern influences, whilst sticking to the roots of their heroes.
The answer came in the form of multi-instrumentalist producer and sound engineer Sean Gascoigne, who they also met on the indie scene in Amsterdam. Gascoigne had recently built a studio in the basement of an Amsterdam hotel, centered around his collection of idiosyncratic vintage analogue recording equipment, and the three artists decided to explore what could come of a collaboration. The working rapport between this creative triumvirate was instantly exciting and before long the first demos were taking shape, each with the distinctive sound that now adorns the whole record.
Analogue recording techniques come with forced limitations that pushed Jara and Matt into the areas they needed to be to capture their unique magic. When working to tape artists do not have the luxury of unlimited attempts to capture songs or the ability to create complex composites of various myriad performances. The direction was clear; Gascoigne would get the sound on the tapes just right and The Coo would perform their songs live, most often alongside their new rhythm section of Gascoigne on drums and Bram Van Langen on bass. Extra embellishments were then added afterwards, but in a limited way, using only what space they had left on the tapes.
What resulted were recordings of live immediacy with a charming and authentic vintage flavour.
Afterwards, they transferred all of the tapes to digital files and Matt mixed the songs in England, sending them over to Jara continuously for her feedback, again bridging the North Sea in their collaboration. A testament to their skill at working together from afar. The whole process of creating this record makes for a beautiful and affecting hybrid of old and new.
Themes
The songs themselves deal with themes such as love and loss, mental health, friendship and the struggles of life, but often from a narrative distance or through a looking glass. In their stories The Coo keep returning to the idea that things could always have been different, sometimes with a wistful or nostalgic eye and sometimes with an acceptance and purpose.
‘A Different Life’ is forever around the corner, but sometimes out of reach.
This record makes for the perfect summary of seven years’ worth of deepening musical connection and friendship amidst the twists and turns of life. They could not be more proud to share it with the world.
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