Innovation meets initiative: Erland Cooper inaugurates Beacon Green Gigs

The intersection of music and nature is an expansive, elusive, and entirely vital space.

Somewhere right at its heart you’ll find Erland Cooper. The Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist draws deeply from the wild landscapes of his Orkney home, and boasts a body of work that invariably incorporates or alludes to nature.

Cooper “weaves field recordings, orchestral arrangements, and electronic textures into pieces that capture the essence of place, memory, and time.” And he does so with aplomb.

From the climate-crisis-focused Folded Landscapes, Cooper breaks new ground (pun absolutely intended) with Carve The Runes Then Be Content With Silence.

He wrote and recorded the album three years ago, then immediately planted it underground in Scotland. And permanently deleted all digital copies.

As such, it’s a record that challenges the pervasive culture of instant gratification and meditates on the value of patience in art. So commenced some prime amateur sleuthing, and fans found the tape in late ‘22.

Now it’s here. Above ground. In the world. Of the world.  And performed live in the Beacon Hall on Friday, November 29.

So attendees can expect to hear the wonder of ‘nature on record’ paired with intricate instrumentation. And they can also expect to play their part in some environmental good.

Why? Because this is, rather fittingly, a Green Gig. Some of the initiatives in place for the event, spanning energy, waste, and water use, include:

• Green energy procurement, including from the 350 solar panels on the venue roof
• Reusable bottles and locally sourced food provided for the back-of-house teams. All catering for the artist’s team, tech, and broader crews will be veggie and vegan (oh, and served on real life crockery; none of this single-use malarkey)
• Minimal use of hazer tech to reduce power consumption and fluid use. All lighting will be LED. Outstanding production value will be achieved through sustainable means
• A host of other environmentally-conscious practices, like using in-house tech equipment to minimise transport, and ensuring the tech team use reusable cable ties over and above PVC, gaff, or spike tape

The Beacon had hundreds of solar panels installed on its roof as part of its recent renovations – photo: Solarsense

Audience travel makes up 62 per cent of the Beacon’s carbon footprint, so they’re also offering incentives on that front.

In partnership with First Bus, audience members will receive a 30 per cent discount on bus tickets to the gig.

Those who attend the concert by bus, train, bicycle or on foot will get 20 per cent off a drink at the bars to say thank you.

Those planning to drive can get involved too, with an optional travel levy at point of ticket purchase. All the voluntary funds will be used to offset travel emissions.

Green Gigs are a marker of the Beacon’s roadmap to net zero and their pursuit of more sustainable live music experiences. We love to see it, and we can’t wait to see more of these events unfold in the coming months.

The evening’s lineup also includes Mercury Prize-nominated folk singer and activist Sam Lee, and composer/sound artist Alice Boyd. Both will offer their own reflections on the natural world, with “sound and landscapes intertwining and music becoming a celebration of the Earth we share”.

Should be a corker. We’ll see you there…

Find tickets at bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/erland-cooper-2024

Main image: Samuel Davies

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