Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Supernaturally standout freak folk from Brooklyn’s Anastasia Coope, who unsettles and soothes in equal measure. Her ethereal baroque-ambient sound channels the haunted girl group minimalism of Jessica Pratt in séance with Julianna Barwick’s experimental loops; she won’t be playing venues of this size for long, so don’t sleep. Unmissable FFO: Julia Holter, Panda Bear, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Broadcast."
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A gig held at The Old England Pub on Thursday 19th June. The event starts at 20:00.
Anastasia Coope + Support at The Old England
At just 21 years old, Anastasia Coope’s talents as a musician, painter, and folk artist are formidable, but it’s her haunting baritone that may first draw listeners in. Using layered recording techniques, she builds vast vocal choirs that sweep, chant, and swirl through her music, creating a phantasmic ether around her spectral timbre.
Hailing from the village of Cold Spring in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley, Coope cites Nico, Brigitte Fontaine, and Scandinavian choral music as provenance. Her work bears the lineage of classic psychedelic folk and can sound, at once, persuasively vintage and strikingly new.
Coope debuted in 2021 with her self-released EP, Seemeely, establishing her richly naturalistic recording approach. She was then invited by Animal Collective to perform at their curated edition of the Netherlands music festival, Le Guess Who, before opening a series of tour dates for Avey Tare.
“Her recorded music feels secluded to a special place, maybe otherworldly, yet it also feels grounded in the here and now,” Avey said. “She’s very much in control of her craft and able to dismember and loop song forms to express her ideas which feel very new and fresh.”
Coope also caught the ear of art-punk legends Liars whose frontman Angus Andrew issued her first seven-inch, “Tough Sun,” on his No Gold imprint. Now signed to Jagjaguwar, her debut album, Darning Woman, is set for release May 31, 2024.
“There’s a sense of immediacy and urgency when I’m making music, paintings, and drawings,” says Coope. “As a painter, I have a visual and artistic connection to landscapes; music can project landscapes, too. There’s an element of scene-setting, of creating a picture. It’s about trying to translate a visual portrayal of life into sound.”
Entry requirements: 18+
At just 21 years old, Anastasia Coope’s talents as a musician, painter, and folk artist are formidable, but it’s her haunting baritone that may first draw listeners in. Using layered recording techniques, she builds vast vocal choirs that sweep, chant, and swirl through her music, creating a phantasmic ether around her spectral timbre.
Hailing from the village of Cold Spring in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley, Coope cites Nico, Brigitte Fontaine, and Scandinavian choral music as provenance. Her work bears the lineage of classic psychedelic folk and can sound, at once, persuasively vintage and strikingly new.
Coope debuted in 2021 with her self-released EP, Seemeely, establishing her richly naturalistic recording approach. She was then invited by Animal Collective to perform at their curated edition of the Netherlands music festival, Le Guess Who, before opening a series of tour dates for Avey Tare.
“Her recorded music feels secluded to a special place, maybe otherworldly, yet it also feels grounded in the here and now,” Avey said. “She’s very much in control of her craft and able to dismember and loop song forms to express her ideas which feel very new and fresh.”
Coope also caught the ear of art-punk legends Liars whose frontman Angus Andrew issued her first seven-inch, “Tough Sun,” on his No Gold imprint. Now signed to Jagjaguwar, her debut album, Darning Woman, is set for release May 31, 2024.
“There’s a sense of immediacy and urgency when I’m making music, paintings, and drawings,” says Coope. “As a painter, I have a visual and artistic connection to landscapes; music can project landscapes, too. There’s an element of scene-setting, of creating a picture. It’s about trying to translate a visual portrayal of life into sound.”
Entry requirements: 18+
Other freak folk gigs
— Bristol Beacon
indie rock
psych
folk
folk-pop
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