REVISITING MAX COOPER
If someone were to ask me to give an example of what constitutes Intelligent Dance Music, I would certainly include Max Cooper.
Max Cooper is an electronic music composer and DJ with a PhD in computational biology, a field that uses computers, mathematics, statistics, and data science to study biological systems. His latest album, ‘Feeling is Structure’ furthers his research between architecture and humanity and the intricacies of mapping structures and feelings that connect science and art.
I can’t recall when Max Cooper came into my purview. To be honest I wouldn’t classify myself as a superfan or someone familiar with his oeuvre, but I am a fan of electronic music and am often interested in experiencing new artists.
A few years ago I was able to see him perform live at Paradiso and I wrote a substack of that experience. His latest showing at the same venue brought a few of the same production components while blending additional audio-visual elements.
In an electronic music industry inundated with visuals designed for spectacle and entertainment, the headiness and chin-scratching production from Cooper, both sonically and visually, is not just a feast for the senses but a refreshing and much needed perspective on techno. If someone were to ask me to give an example of what constitutes Intelligent Dance Music, I would certainly include Max Cooper.
What makes Max Cooper Live successful is its intentionality and attention to programming. Cooper has found a formula that caters to a variety of techno appreciators and afficiados, creating a cohesive feeling of community and connection. Existing somewhere between techno concert and dance party, the evening feels inclusive and joyous.
Cooper fuses his music production with visuals, hiding himself onstage between two giant screens, which helps accentuate the 3D illusion of his visuals. Didactic and at times so dizzying I had to look away, the visuals bring the evening to a heightened level of exploration, which I appreciate.
Amsterdammers do like a good dance party and towards the end of his two-hour set Cooper was ready to deliver, sharing an array of shifting genres from breakbeat and garage to four-to-the-floor pumping techno. His journey into breakbeat and dub was one I enjoyed in his last concert and I wondered if he’d revisit this sound again and I’m glad that he did.
This goes to show that there are people out there who appreciate a narrative structure in their techno music and acknowledge the importance of storytelling. Max Cooper spent the early part of his set taking us through intriguing visual landscapes of proteins, nature and architecture set to a trance-like cinematic score, and ended with much heavier rhythms and abstract visuals to get the crowd moving.
A groundbreaking formula for an epic dance party? Not really. But when done at this calibre it is a breathtaking experience that will linger with me for a while.
Rate: 5/5