Artist: Hein Cooper
Hometown: Mollymook, NSW
Latest Album: True to You
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Shane Hooper 😂
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
Bon Iver. Something about the first time I heard “Skinny Love” it hit me so deeply, and I think the rawness was something new at the time, which made it special. It was something I could do on a guitar, and that’s all I had at the time…so I went deep and made it my own. From there, I got into a bunch of different stuff.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
When we were in high school, my friend bought a guitar, and I did the same thing and was straight up hooked!
What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?
Books!!! I read Hemingway, Hesse, Fitzgerald, all the old stuff as much as possible. It helps me play with words; it’s how we communicate and fascinates me!
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
I stay in Spanish castles, and I find it rejuvenates me 😂
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with, and how do those impact your work?
The ocean! I live in a beautiful part of Australia, and it’s right on the edge of the forest and the ocean. It grounds me and makes me produce music I can stand behind.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0kZDtz2Bpmec9iWOxHcXsg?si=svczLit5QIGyV66WucfTRg
Photo Credit: @jessgleeson
