Erland Cooper

Erland Cooper is a Scottish composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Cited as "one of the most unique, consistently engaging composers of his generation", he was born and raised in Stromness, Orkney. As a solo artist, he has released five acclaimed studio albums, with multiple companion LPs & EPs, achieving a number 1 album in the UK classical charts and number 4 in the US Billboard classical crossover chart. This includes a trilogy of work inspired by his childhood home, as well as themes of nature, people, place and time. His work combines field recordings with classical orchestration and contemporary electronic elements. Cooper also works across mixed media projects including installation art, theatre and film. He is a recipient of a Royal Television Society award and his music is played frequently on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6 Music as well as featured on multiple television and film productions.

He is widely known for burying the only existing copy of the master magnetic tape of his first classical album, a violin concerto in Orkney, deleting all digital files and leaving only a treasure hunt of clues for fans and his record label alike to search for it. He buried the tape in early spring 2021 and intended to retrieve and release it in 2024. After a year and half in the soil, the tape was found in September 2022 by two amateur sleuths. It dried out on public display in record shops in Scotland for another year and a half and was released. Along with the premiere, a short documentary about the album's story called Recomposing Earth previewed. The record topped the UK official charts in 2024.

He is credited by Mojo Magazine with exploring the concept of psychogeography, connecting identity, memory, and place through music, words and cinematography. He explores these themes further by partnering with well-known artists and writers in his work and live shows.

He also works across mixed media projects including installation art & film. He was commissioned to score the soundtrack to the floral transformation of The Tower of London, entitled Superbloom, celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and he also scored the giant kinetic light installation Nest, celebrating London's first Borough of Culture, bringing together thousands of local voices from the community within his composition. His first feature film score, broadcast by National Geographic, earned him an Emmy, Critics Choice and RTS nomination.

Along with broadcast premières, his works have now been performed in the concert hall by the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Ensemble. He also tours with his own ensemble, playing piano, electronics and tape machines, performing on stages globally, reaching a growing audience of fans who are coming to his music through a combination of his projects, most often inspired by the natural world.