Robin Cooper: ‘A big part of why I like country music and the Nashville style is the tongue-in-cheek writing’

Leeds’ country artist with a indie rock twist Robin Cooper has released his very catchy, tongue-in-cheek debut track ‘Single As You Can Get’.

The track chronicles a great night out, underpinned by Cooper’s warm vocals and a banjo line that gives it a real edge, alongside humorous and memorable lines like “I can’t wait to make a bad decision”: ‘Last year, I’d gone through a bit of a rough breakup and come back to Leeds,’ he said. ‘I remember going out on a couple of really good nights out with my mates, nothing really heavy, but we’d go out to Oporto and a few of the other bars in Leeds. I’ve been friends with these guys since primary school and when you have a few pints, you get a bit silly (laughs). It was something one of my friends said recently which was really nice, it was first time in ages I felt okay, I felt good, I felt happy and I remembered what this feeling is like again. I sat down and started writing and I got that hook that came in. I was sat there for ages, it kept going around in my head!’

‘Single As You Can Get’ conjures up the joy, resignation and gentle humour of a night out with your friends and I say that the humour in it is one of the factors that really makes it stand out: ‘A big part of why I like country music and the Nashville style is the tongue-in-cheek writing,’ he said. ‘I like adding my air of, like you say, British resignation to it. I love doing this song live, it changes up the energy in the room. You see people bopping around. A big part of that I’ve got to give to Miguel Boleta on the drums. I knocked up the demo before and put a beat behind it and Miguel added this disco groove to it in the chorus, so I think that really adds the danciness of it. It feels a little funky because of that groove. I also really enjoy putting in breaks and other little stops, starts and drop outs in my music, I find it’s a great way of playing with dynamics and building tension.’

I ash him which TV show he’d like to hear it on: ‘Is it too much of a cop-out to say Nashville?! I would have loved to have seen it on Brooklyn 99, when it was still airing. They often have these really chaotic moments in the series with a lot of yelling and silliness and I just think it would fit perfectly over the top. I see them in the same sort of vein of art – light-hearted and fun but also in your face a little bit!’

‘It was one of the best experiences because I had a mandolin player, Nic, and I had Dan on the banjo, they were sat there jamming away and I was just watching and loving it!’

Cooper often finds inspiration on the go, in all kinds of unexpected places and moments: ‘If you ever see me with my eyes glazed over on a train staring out of the window, that’s probably what I’m doing, thinking about a song,’ he said laughing. I ask him who the phenomenal banjo player is on the track: ‘That’s a guy called Dan Walsh, he’s an incredible player,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘I had some other banjo players fill in and out and do their takes on it and I had a bit of a demo down with a guy on a tenor banjo which is very different, it’s much, much higher. I knew I wanted to have a banjo on it because I love the sound of it. I went on Fiverr, the freelancing site, and I found Dan on there. I checked him out and some of the stuff he’d worked on. When he came into the studio, it was one of the best experiences because I had a mandolin player, Nic, and I had Dan on the banjo, they were sat there jamming away and I was just watching and loving it! He’d learned the track and had a few ideas. When he sat in the booth, he nailed it in one take, it was incredible.’

Next up will be two new singles next year: ‘Steal My Night’ and ‘Whiskey Into Wine’: ‘Single As You Can Get’ is very boppy, very loud and unapologetic, which is what I completely wanted from it,’ he said laughing. ‘I’m a bit of a big softie on my other side, so ‘Steal My Night’ is that softer side of me. Being a bit of a softie, I wear my heart on my sleeve quite a lot. It’s not really a ballad, it’s still quite poppy, quite hooky. I try to keep everything that I write about, whether it be with a co-writer or by myself- personal to me, inspired by real events or real people in my life. ‘Steal My Night’ is about a girl I was dating at uni who was really cute. She would message me quite late in the night and be: “I don’t want to interrupt but can I come see you?” And I’d be like: “Yes, that’s absolutely fine”. I’d wanted to bring that in, put that into a song really, because I thought it was a really nice idea. I’m a real sucker for old school love songs. Instrumentally. I really like the production style of Nashville and the way you build an acoustic bed and then fill it out, so there’s a banjo in it again. The banjo’s not going anywhere, I love the banjo! It’s Dan on it again. In this one, the mandolin takes more of a front seat in it. My dad plays the mandolin, so I always grew up with it. I love the sound, it has a little solo in it, it pokes through on the second verse and says a little hello. It’s a really fun song!’

He describes ‘Whiskey Into Wine’ as ‘a bit of a quirkier one’: ‘It’s a humorous take on setting foot back into the dating world,’ he said. ‘Sonically, it’s a lot more summery than the others and we’re still ironing it out. The demo has been ready for a while and it’s now ready to take into pre-production which I’m really excited about!’

Growing up, he listened to a lot of country music and been inspired by a broad range of country legends: ‘Musically, Brad Paisley was my first foray into country music, he’s an incredible guitar player,’ he said. ‘I draw a lot from him in terms of my writing style, he’s very tongue-in-cheek. He likes to flip concepts on their heads and he’s not afraid to laugh at himself, so I always like doing that when I write. I draw a lot from writers as well, such as Ernest (Ernest Keith Smith), Ashley Gorely, Ross Copperman and other incredible writers and the way that they can not just tell a story but make you feel like you’re in the story. That’s something I focus a lot on as well. I like it when they throw some clever word play in, when I think: “Oh, that’s good, I wasn’t expecting that”.’

‘I think not necessarily in terms of wordplay but in the sense of the imagery of the album, you can almost smell the summer air – those songs are hard to write’

I ask him if he sometimes takes notes when he’s listening to other people’s songs and he laughs: ‘All the time! My notes page in my phone is so messy. I look a bit crazy if you look at my notes. There are lots of songs I wish I’d written like ‘Whiskey Glasses’ by Morgan Wallen, it’s such a brilliant song. I love the word play, the “I’m going to see through Whiskey Glasses”. I think it’s great, I really like the humour in it. And ‘Cruise’ by Florida Georgia Line (an American country duo that has disbanded). I think not necessarily in terms of wordplay but in the sense of the imagery of the album, you can almost smell the summer air – those songs are hard to write. The party less, just going drinking songs. I think they can be really hard to write and I think they’re very well written in that album (Here’s To The Good Times, 2012).’

When he plays live, a few classic country songs sneak into his set, including ‘Country Girl (Shake It For Me)’ by Luke Bryan” ‘I love doing that song live, it’s just fun! There’s no other way to phrase it really (laughs), we all have a bit of a dance in it! ‘Cover Me Up’ (by Morgan Wallen) is another good one that I like to do. You’ll sometimes hear me give a little speech in the middle of it, it’s one of the songs that I think really sums up country music. It’s really real, really raw and really honest. That’s another one I wish I would have written. It’s beautiful.’

I ask him if he tempted to go down the path of writing the murder ballads also associated with the country music scene and he laughs: ‘I don’t think that’s for me but I like a lot of the outlaw stuff. I love Colter Wall as well. I don’t think I have it in me to be that angry (laughs). There’s another artist in the scene called Shayler, he does a lot of that outlaw stuff. I always love seeing him live, he’s got a great voice. He can really channel that outlaw spirit!’

‘I got Darius Rucker to go to a Wetherspoons!’

Cooper has been lucky to meet some of his heroes, including Darius Rucker, frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish: ‘It’s a bit of a silly story, actually. I work at the O2 Academy to help fund my recording. I’m still starting out and he was playing a gig, it must have been around March this year. I managed to catch him outside of his tour bus before he was leaving and I had a conversation with him. I asked him a few questions about his writing. I wanted to know what it was like to write with Josh Osborne and Ross Copperman, two of his frequent collaborators and two songwriters I really look up to. He told me they were both good fun in different ways, that Josh likes a beer or two whereas Ross is much more well-behaved! He also told me that the original demo for his 2010 hit comeback song was sang by none other than Chris Stapleton! It was so cool just seeing inside that Nashville community even just for five minutes.’

Getting Rucker to a Wetherspoons was also quite something, as he recounts: ‘There’s a Wetherspoons at the top of Leeds called the Hedley Verity and as I was leaving, I turned around and said: “You know, Darius, we’re off for some drinks at the Hedley Verity. If you want a shot of tequila or a pint, it’s on me, come say hi.” And he turned around and in his thick American accent, he’s like, “Yeah, man, we’re looking for a pub, so I’ll see you in there.” He came in but I was in the toilet, I missed him! Apparently my workmates were sat down and he asked them if I was there but took one look at the place and went: “I don’t think this is for me” (laughs) and walked out! But I got Darius Rucker to go to a Wetherspoons!’ I say that he might be the only person who’s ever got him to do that and he jokes that he’s going to put it on his CV.

If he could go out drinking with any musician, Cooper picks country legend Waylan Jennings: ‘I feel like he’d be very fun,’ he said happily. ‘I want to hear his life advice, he seems like the type of person that’d be really good at guidance. Once you get a few pints down someone, their life advice seems to flow (laughs). I reckon he’d be really chilled, sitting back in a corner booth. Actually, I’d like to see Morgan Wallen on a night out. From everything I’ve heard, I think he’d be very chaotic and I think that’d be quite fun!’ I ask him if he thinks he could survive a night out with Wallen. ‘You know what? I don’t know. I think my threshold is pretty high and I think I can drink but Morgan Wallen might give me a run for my money. I’d be a little bit scared!’

When we were chatting on social media earlier this month, he mentioned that tequila is his favourite drink and I ask him about it: ‘I absolutely adore it! Any tequila will do, to be honest. I’m not fussy about it but I like it with salt and a lime. I studied Spanish and I remember they taught us a bunch of cheers. So I always do like a little Spanish cheers, the “Arriba, abajo”, just drink, basically. You’ll see me doing that and half the band rolling their eyes every time I do it (laughs). We went to visit with my friends out there a couple of months ago, it was an incredible experience. We did a lot of tequila and mezcal tasting. Some of the stuff when you don’t shot it and just sip it is really good. It’s really smooth. There’s a nice whiskey-esque burn down as you go! We went to Merida, it’s a gorgeous city and across to Tulum, which was a bit more unhinged (laughs). We went on a couple of big nights out in Tulum, which were really fun. We had some tacos al pastor, which I think is pork, they were delicious. That, when you’re drunk, is the best thing. I can’t have a Maccies now, it’s just not the same!’

‘Especially in Leeds, I think diversity is such a big part of the city and its DNA‘

The country scene is becoming more popular in the U.K., partly due to artists such as Taylor Swift who have brought it into the mainstream, and Cooper acknowledges the positive effect: ‘Leeds has got a big indie rock scene, so I tend to get put on those bills as well,’ he said. ‘In the past, it was more: “Hang on, what’s this, a bit of a curveball, woah stetson hat and cowboy boots”,’ he said laughing. ‘Whereas now it’s a bit more like: “Oh, cool, there’s a country band on it, let’s go see them.” I’ve had very positive responses, which has been really nice. Especially in Leeds, I think diversity is such a big part of the city and its DNA. And I really like to see the scene diversify more. The whole point of Leeds is you come here and you do what you want and you be who you want to be and there’s some real beauty in that. Seeing country bands get put on with punk bands that get put on with jazz bands is great.’

If he could put together a dream line up for the night, he picks Dierks Bentley ‘hands down’: ‘I love Dierks Bentley. I love his really early stuff as well, the really honky-tonk classics that he does. You know, the smashing Telecasters and the real twangy tone he’s got going, I love a bit of twang! I like the sense of humour he shows through when he’s live, the way he interacts with an audience, I think he’s incredible. It sounds like he’s had a wild life as well (laughs). I’d love to play a gig with Dierks and Florida Georgia Line, if I could get them back together just for one show. I really love the pop side of country, I always have. They were one of the first bands I really, really got into. The music’s really fun. I’d have Buck Owens as well, I think, a bit of past and a bit of present. My nan was a really big fan of Buck Owens and I love his music, the sense of humour and the sense of resignation in it is really fun in some songs. ‘Act Naturally’ is a brilliant song. I’ll have (Don) Rich on guitar as well, the original Telecaster man and the godfather of chicken picking. I might put on a festival at this rate!’

(Photo credit: Nathan Robinson https://www.instagram.com/apertunes/)