Over the last few years, Anastasia Coope has dripped out a run of folk-inspired songs that experiment with songwriting structure. For her debut album ‘Darning Woman’, she leans into that further. Minimalist in the approach to lyrics, she loops her words, building up layers of sound and exploring an idea until a deeper meaning is revealed.
On the album’s first single, ‘He Is On His Way Home, We Don’t Live Together’, the title is almost the only line in the song, repeated until it becomes like a mantra. Eventually this gives way to a second line, “Told me off, you must realise that I am younger”, that helps to build a clearer picture of the situation in the song.
New single ‘Woke Up And No Feet’ paints a more abstract picture. “Wonder how good a boy would be understood if he woke up with no feet”, she questions. These words are delivered over and over in staccato rhythm, before further lines raise questions about the perspective of men and women in similar situations.
It’s perhaps not surprising that Coope started out as a visual artist, beginning to experiment with recording software while staying in a relative’s vacant house. Singing her songs into an empty living room, she aimed to create a sound to fill that space, rather than focussing on traditional songwriting.
“I was able to envision a room of things happening, rather than me just building something”, she says. “This record was me starting to think spatially about music”.
‘Darning Woman’ is set for release on 31 May.
🎧 Watch the video for ‘Woke Up And No Feet’ below
