California Dreamin' in 2020 with Das Kope
- Austin Kennedy
- Nov 30, 2020
- 3 min read
In a year where many individuals' confidence in their own ability is faltering, Das Kope has stood out as an example of the incredible feats one can accomplish if you believe in yourself and focus on what you can control. He has been a beacon of hope for the world during these challenging and isolated times.
Das Kope, the mystery man from Brazil, is a true inspiration for the capabilities of the individual concentrated on their own personal growth. He is a mason of music from start to finish that writes, sings, plays, records, and even creates his own visual content. In an interview with Majestic Journal he said:
“It's such a personal thing. I play all the instruments, I sing. It's been my baby. I'm trying to break the rules. A lot of bands need a budget for recording, for visuals. I wanna do everything. I believe with creativity you can pretty much do everything you want.”
The sound of Das Kope is a curation of psychedelia lo-fi that would enamor fans of the slick synth-pop of STRFKR, the funky string riffs of Khurangbin, and the acid-dream vocals of Tame Impala. He released his first single ‘Ready for Summer’ in June of 2018, then 2019 he did his first tour as support for the legends STRFKR, and in April 2020 he blessed the world with his full album ‘Where I Live’ with eleven total tracks.
In his debut album, Das Kope brings together samba melodies, smacking percussion, dreamy vocals, and a dynamic range that arouses deep emotion. Throughout the album, Das Kope sings about the disillusionment of California. Inspired by the freeing experience of driving along the Pacific Coast Highway while dealing with the stresses of living in Hollywood, this album strikes relatable chords for people struggling in life while trying to keep their dreams alive.
The lo fi lyrics heavily touch on the desire to travel and notes the inspiration that comes from looking to the sky. Another major theme of the lyrics is the struggle of having a fire within you, but also battling feeling blue which may threaten to put the fire out. With motivation feeling like a game of hide and go seek, Das Kope reminds listeners it can be found through focusing on your dreams and getting out of your monotonous day to day. routine. The soothing synths, melodic bass and guitar, and foreboding lyrics are reminders to make the most of our time on earth even when we feellike nothing really matters.
In the process of making the album, Das Kope traveled the world and every single cover art was shot and edited during his expeditions. To help inspire himself in the studio, he would make his personal art a gif and have it play in his studio to inspire the creation of his compositions. Das Kope puts very high value on the power of being creative and doesn’t worry about his sound being crisp and in line with musical theory. Instead, he cares about the music being dirty, raw and organic. In an interview with Atwood magazine he said:
“...sometimes having an instrument that you’re not familiar with is the best thing to get the juices flowing. I see myself as more of a creative person than a musician… I never studied music. I’m really interested in the group of the parts.”
Overall, this album is a stellar representation of not only the internal struggle and need for resolve on an individual scale, but also the haziness of California in general. Definitely check out this album if you ever need some road trip tunes or need to listen to music to decompress! Luckily, if you are as impressed with Das Kope as I am, he is doing a vinyl campaign for Where I Live til December 10! He is only charging $20 per vinyl and he’s only $60 away from reaching his goal! Hope Das Kope can help you cope as much as he has helped me.
Links:
Website: https://www.daskope.com/
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/daskope
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DasKope
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