So, whatʼs in store at the moment? Iʼm having the great privilege to perform with another wonderful singer, Allegra Levy, and her band this month, at a wonderful French Bistro in Brooklyn, and thereafter am hoping to continue working with these great bunch of musicians! Iʼm also continuing to book the odd gig with my own quartet, Human Equivalent (in its many shapes and forms), on a per monthly basis. Open invitation, however: feel free at any time to ask of my services! I am not bound to any one project and am always excited to work with new people and new/different music!

Iʼve been finding much inspiration in a couple of other areas this year.
At my internship, Iʼm finding myself gravitating a lot towards the Mixing/Audio and Sound Designing aspects there – my goal is to gather much more practice and experience in these fields, getting an even better grasp on the various software used in the industry and for my own projects, too.
With this, Iʼve begun to delve more into Electronic music, which has always been a genre that Iʼve gaped at in wonder and adoration from afar for years now. Like anything in the arts, it takes time, patience and practice to fully realize ideas (both sounds and composition/arranging) and understand the full potential of it all – itʼs also amazing in that itʼs a world where you really have to set your own limits as you go along and be really sure of what it is you want to produce, because the rabbit hole can go on and on and on…
In all honesty, itʼs been a while since Iʼve been this inspired and really determined to learn it. Funny how I canʼt seem to escape the educational (or, should I say, self-educational) bug, right…? It now feels like Iʼm ready to pursue this area after all thatʼs come beforehand!

So, as they say, please watch this space. Iʼm excited to go down this path and merge everything I learnt (theory, acoustical performance) with this new platform! Iʼm sure the outcome with be entertaining, at least…
In the meantime, the temperature has dropped here in NYC – hereʼs to making it through January with a warm heart…!
Check back in soon!

So, seeing as today is Labor Day here in the US, and having been for a vigorous 8 mile walk (yes, exercise is still something I have to put in, even when it’s as scarce for me as it is right now!), a few hours’ practice, some laundry and a spot of cleaning my apartment, it seemed the appropriate time to sit down, relax for the rest of the afternoon and detail some of what’s been going on at the headquarters here.

For the next year, I’m going to be living in Brooklyn, New York (NYC), where I have been now for the past month (since August 1st, to be exact). It’s a school-related work-experience year that all foreign students (unless you’ve committed a crime or some-such idiotic act), are entitled to, so I decided around the time I last updated my site, that I wanted to spend mine in The Big Apple. I’m going to be honest, 6 months ago, the thought of moving to NYC was a daunting and extremely scary prospect: the massive buildings, the fast-paced mentality, the horror stories of being a miserable, starving artist etc., etc.
Would it be melodramatic of me to say that this city has potentially saved my life? Answer: yes (haha!). But for those of you who know what transformation took place with me over the last year, you’ll understand what I’m talking about…

NYC is inspiring because it is a city that constantly reminds you to live for NOW. It has amazing beauty, but also edge and grit. It has it’s quieter, more serene areas, but is also has the most over-the-top-Times-Square-crazy-party-life districts, too. It has an abundance of culture, from so many places and backgrounds, that have created this melting pot over a space that’s not as big as you would think. NYC has the ‘tude but you’ll always get help with your luggage in the Subway. You’ll never get bored with both the scenes and up-to-date ideas and creativity produced by anyone and everyone, Einstein to Average Joe.
And people like it when you smile at them in the street. Even if you or they are a little bit crazy…
In short, I am very happy here and inspired. Thought I’d just express that. Which brings me to the proper update…

So, why am I happy? Because I can be who I really am here:

Human Equivalent is back in business, after a 1 year (and a half)’s hiatus (blame the Masters course… . I’ve decided to go back to my roots, to a time when I had the same fiery passion to just make some fun and bristling music with a nice wee group of friends, so am returning to the Quartet setting, with sax, electric guitar, electric bass and drums, for that edgy Rock-Jazz I’ve missed for so long.
Human Equivalent NYC features Serghio Jansen on electric guitar, Alex ‘Busby’ Smith on electric bass and Bob Edinger on drums. They are all NYC-based musicians, all incredible and just some of many of the coolest people I’ve met here so far.
We’ve already done a show, got a small recording out of it, so will be posting that up in the near future, as a little taster, unless we get an opportunity to record something with even better quality before then…!

Some other projects I’m going to be getting a chance to be involved in is drummer Rodrigo Bonelli’s Group, who specializes in a mixture of contemporary jazz & Brazilian music. If you’re in the city, try and check this group out!
I’m also having the pleasure of sitting in with vocalist and composer Emily Wolf over the next month, a great singer who I went to school with, for some more straight-ahead jazz, in some great little settings in and around the city!

So, that’s some of the performances I will be doing/have been a part of. But there’s more…

A good friend of mine from Berklee approached me over the summer to inform me that a company in Manhattan was looking for an intern. As I had only just graduated from the Masters and the world was looking like a rather big oyster, the opportunity was something I definitely wanted to participate in.

Yessian Music is a production house for original music, sound design, audio mixing and music licensing in film, television, advertising, gaming and even theme parks. I was a performance major (along with plenty of composing) for my time at school, so you can imagine that I am very willing to learn the ins-and-outs of the business and how it all works, as it wasn’t the avenue I pursued originally.
Needless to say, I am extremely fortunate to have been given this position and can’t express how much I enjoy working there. Not only am I still continuing to learn, but the team at the office have made my settling-in to NYC even more easy, with their supportive work-ethic and friendship! The advertising industry is one that I never even thought about (mainly just because, again, my previous knowledge of how it all worked was minimal), but it is incredibly creative and the aspects involved with analyzing music and film, deciding what might fit and (for the on-site composers), having to produce something for a deadline, with certain criteria, is amazing to be a part of. It’s also giving me the chance to get to grips with the technology side of music and writing, something I always wanted to do, but never had time to knuckle down to during school.

So, fingers crossed that I get to be a part of this experience a little longer…!

I’m really going to try my best to update more regularly from now on, it’s not that hard an activity to do, really! So, watch this space for a Leah Gough-Cooper news update near you!

Yes, I am ashamed to say it has been an awfully long time since I gave an update on my latest adventures, and to those of you who visit this website now and again, I apologise a trillion-fold! It’s been pretty much a year – I am a terrible person, I know…

This last year has been a bit of a trip, with some amazingly cool things happening, but also some big changes for myself and also my family and friends. I was going to go into enormous detail about it all, like a chapter from a book, but I decided against it for the meantime. I may publish it for public view in the near future, but for now I just want to let you all know of upcoming projects and other cool things that will be going down in the next few months!

Keep an eye out for my newest project and group, The Janus Quintet. Don’t worry – Human Equivalent are still in the stratosphere, but seeing as many of us will be moving in different directions over the course of the next year or so, I decided to take teeny-tiny break. Plus, I’ve been dabbling with a new instrumentation with this more recent project, incorporating tenor sax into the mix instead of guitar. I adore guitar. Timbre-wise, however, I’m finding some cool new sounds with a 2-horn line-up.
SO, Monday April 11th 2011, we will be performing at the New England Conservatory @ 8pm, in Brown Hall. It is in fact part of my Senior Graduate Recital (as part of my Masters) and will have 2 sets, one of which will have acoustic bass, the other electric.
Check out my gig schedule for the line-up – it’s going to be fantastic! I may even get some tracks recorded for your listening pleasure, if not for a newer release…!

So, what happens after school?
NYC, baby! Well, that’s the plan, anyway. I’m hoping to venture on down to the Big Apple, play plenty of music, perhaps even teach a little and live in the artist environment! I’m currently working a little with a fantastic piano player, Noah MacNeil, originally from the Mass. area. I was fortunate enough to gig with him in Harlem this past weekend at The Shrine and keep an eye out for Banda Magda, led by Greek Singer/Songwriter Magda Giannikou, and also another fantastic piano player, Yuki Shibata. These are sure to be (if not already) regular performers in the NYC scene.
I’m also doing some collaboration work (when we both get it fitted into our busy schedules) with Electronic artist Rudi Zygadlo. Again, did some Sax work on his last album and we’re hoping to do some live performances for a month or two this coming summer, back at home in the U.K., if not in Europe!

And lastly, keep an eye out for an emerging Company, Art Shape. Can’t go into too much more detail about it just now, but I will be most definitely filling you in on it all when the Company takes off and what I’ll be doing as part of it…!

Right, better be off to a rehearsal! I shall back for more updates and maybe some backstory for the past year very, very soon! X

Dumfries-born, Boston-based saxophonist Leah Gough-Cooper’s debut album shares three musicians with drummer Patrick Kunka’s album (reviewed a couple of issues back), and merits equally high praise. While certainly accessible, Gough-Cooper’s intelligently crafted music is way too intense to be a credible future pop, nice though that notion is, but open-minded rock/pop/funk/dance fans may well connect with what is going on here.

The saxophonist’s fluent and inventive work on alto and soprano is supported by responsive and focused ensemble playing and strong soloing from the band, featuring Kunka and pianist Alan Benzie (prominent on Fender Rhodes and electric keyboards as well as piano) alongside guitarist Serghio Jansen and bassist Martin Nessi. George Garzone, a leading figure in the Berklee College faculty, is a special guest on tenor saxophone on ‘Night Surf’.

Kenny Mathieson – The List, 29 March 2010.

Though it’s her name featuring on the album cover and Human Equivalent is definitely her band, ‘Future Pop’ is nothing like a solo album. It is, in fact, quite surprising how small a role she’s got on her own album. Opener ‘Future Pop’ sees her collaborating on an exciting piece of jazz psychedelics, with her and guitarist Serghio Jansen firing away the solo’s on the rhythmic sounds of the Rhodes piano. With the calming ‘Only a Matter of Time’ and the lounge music of ‘Leaf Blower’ in between, where pianist Alan Benzie serves as the main contributor, it’s only on ‘Hollywood Ghost Dance’ and ‘Politix Street’ that she’s the one shining out.

Luckily for her, ‘Politix Street’ is the highlight of ‘Future Pop’. ‘Hollywood Ghost Dance’ is an amazing piece of fusion – combining soundtrack, pop, jazz and experimental rock – with drummer Patrick Kunka and guitarist Jansen highlighting the lot. But it’s the nervous breakdown jazz of ‘Politix Street’, once again with Jansen and Benzie having a prominent role, that shows why Human Equivalent is Gough-Cooper’s band. Rather than being egocentric and the main musical contributor, she only plays when necessary and inspired. But rather than just releasing a collection of improvisational pieces, songs like ‘Hollywood Ghost Dance’ and ‘Politix Street’ are quite epic and so much more than the regular jazz composition. Gough-Cooper’s quality doesn’t lie in her talents as saxophonist only, it’s as a songwriter that she really stands out.

In a way, the album title is not as overoptimistic as it sounded at first. After all, before Elvis made the blues rock and roll, jazz was the youngsters wild musical anthem and with so much originality hidden in her songs, Gough-Cooper does give jazz an edge of excitement again. A new jazz revolution taking over the world doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon though, but in her own jazz land, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that she will be seen as an established name any day now.

- Floris Stoter – AltSounds.com March 28, 2010, 02:23 PM

It’s a bit early to be selecting a new-star album of the year, but this may well turn out to be it. Kunka, who hails from that ultra-hip jazz Mecca of Aberdeen, is a drummer and composer of outstanding promise. He and his similarly youthful Scots posse have amassed honours at Berklee and the New England Conservatory and appeared at jazz festivals in France, Switzerland and Panama in recent months. And yet they’re almost unknown here. Prophets without honour in their own homeland, one might say. Though broadly of the Tony Williams school of drumming, Kunka can also contribute to a ballad performance with taste and sensitivity, as on ’4am’, Coleman’s bass feature here. Equally impressive is the title track, one of those spare up-tempo themes that sound hip yet are easy to play and beg for a strong solo to suit. Altoist Gough-Cooper is the winner here, a stirring discovery of Kenny Garret-like intensity and creativity. Pianist Benzie has the ethos of Hancock and Corea under his fingers and builds a sophisticated solo. Indeed there are no weak links in this astonishing young band. Read Kunka’s webpage, track down a copy of his debut album on jazzcds.co.uk and enjoy. It might be a while before they play a club near you. – Jack Massarik.

http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com

This debut album from Aberdeen-born drummer Patrick Kunka was originally issued last summer, but was rather overlooked at the time. Some positive recent response has encouraged him to re-promote it, and it more than justifies that decision. Kunka is currently based in Boston after studying at Berklee College, and is joined here by American bassist Dylan Coleman and two more of Scotland’s bright young talents (also with Berklee connections), pianist Alan Benzie and saxophonist Leah Gough-Cooper.
They play a bright and exciting brand of contemporary jazz. All nine compositions are the drummer’s own, drawing on American models, but with an edgy, energised feel. They are attractive in themselves, and also provide fine vehicles for the improvisational talents of each of the players to shine through, with Gough-Cooper’s saxophone work – not for the first time – making a particularly strong impression. – Kenny Mathieson

http://www.list.co.uk