In Absolute Motion

Collaboration is the theme of Brian Kopper's new CD

When Missoula musician Brian Kopper set out to make his second CD, he sought something vastly different from his first solo fingerstyle guitar album - something with enough "space" to allow other musicians to shine through.

The recently released CD, In Absolute Motion, realizes that goal in a big way, drawing upon the considerable talents not only of Kopper, but several other Montana musicians. The result is an eclectic mix of folk, jazz and world music that defies verbal description.

Joining Kopper are Clipper Anderson on upright bass, Clay Green on percussion, Lawrence Duncan on bassoon, soprano sax and Choroi flutes, Beth Bramhall-Floridis on piano, Beth Youngblood-Petersen on violin and Melody Wilson and Jenn Adams on vocals. The individual instruments were recorded on separate tracks at Michael Blessing's studio, The Garage in Reese Creek (near Bozeman), then mixed and mastered.

Kopper studied fingerstyle guitar with John Stropes of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He released his first CD, Dreaming of the Sun, in 1995 prior to moving to Montana for a change of scene.

At that time, he was totally wedded to the notion of producing all the sounds he needed with his own two hands, 'a la Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges. "I was really ensconsed in that idea of being a one-man band," he says.

Within a year of moving to Missoula, he met Julie Norris. Two years later, they were married and imagining a new CD. But instead of another solo effort, a different concept emerged. "I really wanted to be able to open up and collaborate musically."

The first collaboration was with his wife, who helped write the lyrics to "Watched Are You ," "Sketches of a Child," "Shearwater" and "In a Dream". "She turned out to be a closed poet ," Kopper says.

Two years ago, the musician met percussionist and co-producer Clay Green. In addition to his "infectious drive for making music," Green also introduced the unusual rhythms of a kalimba and customed tuned wind chimes to the recording project.

Renowned double-bass player Clipper Anderson was another surprise. The brother of vocalist Melody Wilson, Anderson plays professionally in the Seattle area. "It was because of Clipper's talent that I decided to take more of a purist approach to the music and keep it 100-percent acoustic," Kopper says.

While recording the tracks individually posed some problems, it also provided an opportunity to create "more space for the instruments," says Kopper. "There were certain songs that just took a little longer to get the sounds we wanted," he adds. "Some things started out as a saxophone and ended up as a flute."

The guitarist, who usually plays solo gigs, says he has been excited to play with other talented musicians. "It frees you up a bit more," compared with having all the pressure on one player.

"That to me is really a joyful thing, being able to collaborate with other musicians," he says. And Montana is rich with musical talent, he adds - musicians who are more than willing to help each other out.

"I think that there is a unique environment here for music that to my knowledge doesn't exist anywhere else," says Kopper. "There's just a wonderful sense of community."

He compares that camaraderie with more urban locales where many musicians are intensely competitive and display "not as much willingness to share."

Kopper isn't sure which genre best describes his efforts. "I don't think it's just folk music," says Kopper. "There's a lot of jazz, world music to these chordal structures."

Besides, labeling musical styles is becoming increasingly difficult in an age when musicians can record their own CDs, apart from the "formulated guidelines" - and sometimes stifling influence - of big recording companies, he says.

The chore labeling aside, Kopper says all aspects of the recording process "have exceeded my expectations."

Kopper and friends will perform a free CD release concert 7:30 p.m. May 13 in UM's Montana Theatre. The performance will be broadcast live on Montana Public Radio and is a way "of giving back to a community which has given me so much."

Featured in the Lively Times in May 1999 by Bob Phillips go back to reviews listing