As Ridin' Hearts hits Australia, country music is back on the cards, with the genres evolution set to shine, particular through Cooper Alan.
There’s no question that Country Music’s on a bit of a hot streak at the moment, with Beyonce, Post Malone, and many more pop stars veering their pickups into the world of denim and yeehaws. But unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know plenty of artists have been in the genre for much longer, and aren’t strangers to doing super cool stuff.
Cooper Alan is one of the industry’s hottest acts, his approach showcasing him as someone that isn’t afraid to do things a little bit differently — and Australia’s noticing, with a killer crowd during his recent CMC rocks appearance, and a string of sold out and upgraded shows on his upcoming tour.
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“Before we came down [to Australia] for CMC, I could tell from socials that it was going to be pretty awesome,” Cooper Alan notes. “Maybe even a step above what we do over here.
“We felt like rock stars on that stage, and as soon as we played that first song, in my I’m like, “Okay, we got to come back here”.”
“Fans just continue to make me feel cool and make us feel at home there. And if it weren’t a 14-hour flight, we’d probably do a show every other month.”
Whether you’re a diehard country fan or have never heard a country song in your life, one element everyone’s aware of is the humour and laid-back nature of the music.
“When you write something that you know is kind of a banger, there’s no better feeling. And I’ve never really been the guy to take myself too seriously,” says Cooper Alan.
“But it’s so fun to have landed on something that connects with people, whether it’s a funny song, or a serious love song, or even a song about losing people in your life. We do this to try to enhance people’s lives in some way. We write our stories, and we hope that they connect to it. So we’re blessed that people have connected to some of our stuff.”
Cooper Alan’s love of sticking outside of the ordinary continues to his production too, starting his own record company with a business partner.
“Me and my business partner Victoria started this label when things started moving on social media.
“I knew I kind of had a vision for this whole thing that was probably a little bit left of centre of how it’s usually done in the music industry. So, we’ve been rocking that independent route for a while. I can kind of do what I want, which is fun. I can make an EDM song, I can make a classic country sound and song and everything in between.”
“I don’t necessarily want to be independent forever. I do believe that you got to at least partner with the record label or find a way to be part of that world.”
Check out Cooper Alan’s biggest influences to find he’s one to veer from the norm when it comes to genre. Non-country vibes can be seen in everything from recording to gigs.
“I’m taking a lot of influence outside of my genre for the live show aspect. Just great bands and great artists and music is to me, not necessarily within the one box.
“I love the crazy live show aspect of a rock show. I run around probably more like Angus Young than George Strait, that’s just my style. There’s so much inspiration from so many different areas because there’s so much good music, and I just grew up on it all.
“Now more than ever, you can draw inspiration from kind of everything. I mean, one of the biggest songs I’ve had was ‘Colt 45’, which is a sample and remix of ‘Crazy Rap’ by Afroman. Biafra man.
“I never thought I would make a country song that started with Afroman, but here we are,” Cooper Alan adds with a laugh.
The world of country music has moved into other areas as of late, pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter drip vibes of the genre, and icons like Beyonce and Post Malone are releasing full albums of the stuff. Cooper Alan chats about the new energy that’s been brought to the world of country.
“You can definitely feel it. Just scrolling on Tik Tok and seeing videos of shows. From what I remember, only artists like Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks and maybe George Strait could sell out a football stadium, and I might be missing a couple.
“But now Zach Bryan could sell out a stadium, Morgan Wallen could sell out a stadium, Luke Combs could sell out of Stadium. You can just feel the energy around it, and even walking around not just in Nashville, but around in big cities where it used to not be this at all,” says Cooper Alan.
“People kind of dress a little more country now too. Sometimes they might be wearing cowboy or cowgirl boots, it does feel cool. And it feels cool when big artists out of the genres such as Post Malone, or, or Beyonce, like they want to come and make country music.
Cooper Alan hits Melbourne this November as part of the Ridin’ Hearts Festival. Get your tickets here.
