In his dreamy British accent, Hopkins says right off how he's "delighted" to have a grand piano for the session. As I found out researching my 2010 interview with him at Moogfest in 2010, Hopkins was a child prodigy on the instrument, as the love of all things electronic would come along a bit later. He presents several tracks off his latest album, Immunity, calling the collection" concealed experimentalism" in the interview. (I wrote about the single, "Open Eye Signal" back in June which appeared on my Late Summer New Music Playlist.) Hopkins also talks about working with Brian Eno, who would draw a diagram for "introducing accidents" during the artistic process. Unfortunately, time ran out before the entire set list but it's still worth visiting, along with the new album if you haven't already. This classically trained musician has an ear for form and beauty, along with an inventive electronic wizardry.
Link to listen in the KCRW archives here and watch the performance of the first song in the video below.
Track Listing:
1. Breathe This Air, Immunity (2013)
2. We Disappear, Immunity (2013)
3. Abandon Window, Immunity (2013)
4. Nightfall, How I Live Now (2013 Movie Soundtrack)
5. Autumn Hill, Insides (2009)
6. Open Eye Signal, Immunity (2013)