Perhaps the most fitting way to describe Copernicus is as a performance poet. Even though he (originally named Joseph Smalkowski) plays keyboards, Copernicus refuses to be categorised as a musician. Despite often having inhabited the alternative New York Rock 'n Roll scene, his music also exudes strong elements of Jazz, Classical and the Avant Garde. Even though Copernicus' preferred recording strategy is that of improvisation, his epic pieces te...
more
Perhaps the most fitting way to describe Copernicus is as a performance poet. Even though he (originally named Joseph Smalkowski) plays keyboards, Copernicus refuses to be categorised as a musician. Despite often having inhabited the alternative New York Rock 'n Roll scene, his music also exudes strong elements of Jazz, Classical and the Avant Garde. Even though Copernicus' preferred recording strategy is that of improvisation, his epic pieces tend to revolve around themes, riffs and repeated clusters, moving along a clearly linear pathway.
The booming delivery and abstract texts evoke the spirit of classic Beat Generation poetry, but the Copernicus stance goes back even further to the theatrical confrontations of the Dada movement. He's always preferred the improvisatory approach; even though each poem's grist might be prepared in advance, its rhythms and content might be disassembled in the moment.
Copernicus has always been fiercely independent, since he first started recording in...
less
