The world conjured by Das Kope in his visual art–as portrayed in the Brazilian artist’s Instagram posts and YouTube videos–is that of a hazy, psychedelic trip to the beach, replete with swaying palm trees, rippling waves, and passing clouds, all cast in vibrant, photonegative fades. His graphics, collages, and animations range from sublime to apocalyptic. They are often both.
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“I’m fascinated by the coast of California, it has been an inspiration for me,” the Sao Paulo-born artist told American Songwriter over email. “I love to drive north and south on the PCH. It gives me an escape from that uninspiring ‘Hollywood vibe’ that you find [elsewhere] in Los Angeles.”
Many of Kope’s visuals come straight from those drives up and down the PCH. “I like to make animations from photos and videos I’ve taken around the coast,” he says. “My visuals are grainy and colorful. They also give me this surreal hypnotizing summer vibe.”
As it turns out, that “surreal hypnotizing summer vibe” extends to Kopes’ debut album, Where I Live, which sees the singer / producer delivering an ambivalent ode to his current hometown of Los Angeles over eleven lo-fi psychedelic tracks. “The album title tells it all,” he explains. “I was alone in my apartment searching for sounds, writing about my experiences in the city [where] I live.”
As a whole, Where I Live is marked by woozy, muffled vocals, reverb-heavy guitar, and sweltering synths. “I often write music to these looping animations I make,” explains Kope, who doesn’t reveal his real name. Many of the tracks on the album call to mind Kope’s chillwave forebearers such as Washed Out and Teen Daze, plus fellow LA electropop acts BOYO and Harmless. Tame Impala is another name that seems to pop up around Kope’s music, but the Brazilian artist grew up listening to a wide range of genres. “I accepted the beautiful melodies through punk rock, like The Buzzcocks,” Kope has said. “Later that took me to post-punk and Bowie, and it opened my musical world.”
If–on the surface–tracks like “Ready for the Summer,” “Desert Dome,” and “L.A.X.” evoke something of a sun-soaked oasis, the album also has a darker side. “Tiger,” “Meet You in the Dark,” and “Welcome” all contain traces of anxiety and sadness. The latter, in particular, pulses with unease. Even “Ready for the Summer” speaks to Kope’s depressive tendencies: “I’m ready for the summer / I’m waiting for that sound / I’m walking on my ceiling / Feel like I’m coming down,” he sings in a daze over cascading synths.
“Sonically, I like to keep things sunny,” says Kope. “Lyrically not so much. I remember seeing the bright summer days through the blinds of my Hollywood apartment, but at the same time I was staying inside by myself, stuck with my feelings, not really knowing what I was doing with my life. I was in a weird place creatively and mentally. I think that most of my songs live in between these two opposite feelings. There’s summer vibes on one side and solitude and anxiety on another.”
Kope was initially planning to bring on collaborators to help craft Where I Live, but he ultimately chose to finish the project by himself.
“My efforts trying to find like-minded musicians and producers to work with me were unsuccessful, so I had to learn how to do it all by myself,” he explains. “I think Brian Eno once said something about embracing your shortcomings in the creative process, and that’s what I tried to do. Still, even though I was aiming for a lo-fi aesthetic, I’d be lying if I said it was easy to find my sound. It was a process and took me a long time and a lot of experimentation.”
Kope relishes this bricolage approach. “I like experimenting with whatever I can get my hands on,” he says. “I’m mainly a guitarist, but I mess around with synths, drum machines, etc. I like to run things through effects and filters. I’m not a trained musician, and in some ways I feel like a punk with a laptop.”
For a “punk with a laptop,” Kope is a patient producer, bringing a clear vision to each of his hazy arrangements.
“When I’m able to turn my ideas into songs, I get a real special feeling,” he says. “It’s one of my favorite feelings. I remember I couldn’t get the production of ‘L.A.X’ to sound right–all the parts were there, but it didn’t blend together. When I finally cracked it, it gave me such a feeling, it was a bit like magic. Every idea goes through that transformation period. It always amazes me to see these sonic sketches turn into finished songs.”
For Kope, this experimental process underlies his music, visual art, and creative persona. “The name [Das Kope] really comes from kaleidoscope,” he tells Majestic Journal. “I thought I needed a name, and it represented this experimentation. Not that this sound is experimental, but there was a lot of experimentation to get to it.”
Where I Live is out now.
