Mr Cooper crafts a sound that feels like it was unearthed from a time capsule buried in a rainy English garden. It is foundational instrumental hip-hop that leans heavily into the 'trip' part of trip-hop, prioritizing mood and texture over dancefloor utility. The music is characterized by its heavy use of vinyl crackle, mournful piano motifs, and drums that feel slightly dampened, as if heard through a thick fog.
What sets him apart is a specific brand of British melancholy. While his American contemporaries might lean into jazz or funk, Mr Cooper’s work often feels more cinematic and desolate, drawing on the grey-skies aesthetic of the early 2000s Brighton and London scenes. There is a tactile, 'bedroom-produced' intimacy to the tracks that makes them feel like a private conversation between the producer and his sampler.
Start with the album 'Amongst Strangers'. It is the definitive statement of his sound, capturing that perfect balance of head-nodding rhythm and heart-tugging atmosphere. It’s the ideal soundtrack for anyone who finds beauty in the overcast and the abandoned.
Shares trip-hop, abstract hip-hop, downtempo (subgenres); absent, processed, spoken word (vocal style)
Shares trip-hop, abstract hip-hop, downtempo (subgenres); sample based, lo fi, tape saturation (production style)
Shares trip-hop, downtempo, abstract hip-hop (subgenres); absent, processed, spoken word (vocal style)
Shares melancholic, wistful, contemplative (moods); abstract hip-hop, downtempo, glitch (subgenres)
Shares absent, processed, spoken word (vocal style); abstract hip-hop, downtempo, glitch (subgenres)
Shares trip-hop, abstract hip-hop, downtempo (subgenres); sample based, lo fi, layered dense (production style)
Shares trip-hop, abstract hip-hop, downtempo (subgenres); sample based, lo fi, bedroom production (production style)
Shares trip-hop, abstract hip-hop, downtempo (subgenres); absent, processed, spoken word (vocal style)
Shares trip-hop, downtempo, glitch (subgenres); absent, processed, spoken word (vocal style)
Shares trip-hop, abstract hip-hop, downtempo (subgenres); absent, processed, spoken word (vocal style)
Shares turntables, trip-hop, glitch, abstract hip-hop (instrumentation)
Shares turntables, trip-hop, glitch, abstract hip-hop (instrumentation)
Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →