Max Cooper is an electronic composer, multidisciplinary artist, music label founder and former scientist who has carved out a unique place for himself in music and the visual arts.
He holds a PhD in computational biology and was both the first contemporary electronic musician to perform at the ancient Acropolis Theater in Athens and one of the first musicians to produce in Dolby Atmos.
For over 15 years, Cooper has explored the intersection between art and science through music, collaborations and his label Mesh with installations, performances, immersive experiences, online media, music videos and live events. He takes an emotive approach that connects ideas and forms in a way that is accessible to us all.
An artist synonymous with the evolution of club culture, Cooper honed his craft as a DJ with a 10-year residency at legendary techno event Firefly in the Midlands, where he built a foundational relationship with Architecture Social Club, with whom he still collaborates on extravagant immersive installations.
"I want to promote the acceptance of electronic music as an art form like any other. Bringing electronic music and abstract audiovisual projects into concert halls, museums and galleries is liberating - the art world opens doors to communicate in ways that are not possible elsewhere."
Cooper's latest release On Being, an exploration of the "desperate experience of being human", is his tenth studio album. It is Cooper's first attempt to use his audience's experiences as inspiration for his music - rather than trying to influence his audience's experiences through his music. "I didn't realize what influence other people's words would have on me."
Moving from computational biology to electronic music may not seem like the most natural career change, but for Cooper, the similarities are obvious:
"In both fields, you're free in a sense. Free from the limitations of living systems, free from the limitations of physical sound. The only limitations are in your head".