CLAUDE COOPER
Myriad Sounds FRIENDLY
Jazzy breaks galore on Bristolian’s psych-funk debut
7/10
Whoever Claude Cooper is, they’ve chosen to stay in the shadows – you wonder why. They clearly have some clout because they’ve managed to assemble an all-star local cast – including Beak>, Reprazent and Beth Gibbons collaborators – to let loose on this enjoyably rugged psych-funk romp that nods (vigorously) to Bristol’s legacy of beats and breaks, from drum’n’bass to dubstep. Loping basslines and nifty percussion frame most of these cuts which either burst with energy – the sax-lashed “Stan’s Plan” and “Tangerine Dreams” – or soak up a groove, such as bongo dub job “Hardenhuish” or the low-end gristle of “Magic Circle” and “Holy Water”.