“I am not afraid to talk about my problems,” Cope told Happy Mag of the impetus behind his brooding new single EGO.
Earlier this month, we were treated to the heady introspections of Cope’s latesting single EGO. An expansive blend of grunge R&B and hyper-pop, the track saw the Sydney musician track the demise of his lower self with insatiable anguish and restlessness.
So feverish was our reaction to the track that we simply had to catch up with Cope to chat all things EGO, beloved sitcom The Office, and how he navigates being “very in my head lately.”
Read our full interview with Cope below, and scroll down to listen to his latest single EGO.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
COPE: Working! I work a 9-5, at night I’m up making music.
HAPPY: What’s the music scene like in your neck of the woods?
COPE: I’m Sydney based but I don’t typically blend in with the scene here, the majority here busk whereas I do everything digitally. I’m trying to blend myself in with the internet sad vibe culture of musicians and producers.
HAPPY: What does a typical day look like when recording a song like ‘EGO’?
COPE: So, basically, I shut myself off from everything and just live in my DAW, I get a majority of my work done at night so a typical day is just work.
Then when I get in the zone I’m playing back guitar melodies and messing with different tempo’s to get the right feel, puts me in the zone to be able to write.
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HAPPY: What is it about Jim’s dialogue from The Office that speaks to you?
COPE: Jim’s talking about how he felt when Pam left, I felt that as sort of kindred with ego death, Pam plus Jim = big ego, Jim minus Pam = no ego/ego death. Plus I just really like The Office.
HAPPY: Is there anything else you’ve watched or read that inspires your artistry?
COPE: So much inspires me, but if I had to boil it down to what I watch, that would probably be dramatic shows like 13 reasons why (i sample that in ‘i want to be me’).
Articles of my favourite artists talking about their creative process, Finneas and brakence are huge inspirations.
HAPPY: The lyrics on EGO are incisive and personal. Is there a certain level of fear that comes with songwriting like this? Or is it more so cathartic?
COPE: It started off scary, I realised that a lot of my old writing played it safe but If I really wanted to make something I could relate to and vibe with I had to start writing in a more literal sense.
There were and still are periods of my life where I don’t respond to people for weeks, there are people who say bad things about what I do but there are also people who think I can achieve things as well, all that went into ‘ego’.
HAPPY: Why was the concept of the ego particularly inspiring for the single?
COPE: I’ve been very in my head lately thinking about what people think of me or the certain branding I’ve made for myself, I wanted to make it clear that I’ve killed my ego and that I am not afraid to talk about my problems.
HAPPY: Is there anything exciting on the horizon that you can tease for us?
COPE: I’ve had the pleasure of working with Quiet Frankie on an album, coming out February 9 this year. Put a lot of work into it and we’ve gotten to a point where we’re happy with the tracklist and design and everything, I hope people enjoy.
HAPPY: What makes you happy?
COPE: Making music and engaging with listeners, plain and simple, listening to it brings a sense of calmness but making it yourself is insanely satisfying and rewarding when you don’t rush things.
To be able to hear feedback on it makes me so happy as that really goes to show that people have listened and thought about what I’ve created.
