Eluvium is the moniker of the American ambient recording artist Matthew Cooper, who resides in Portland, Oregon. Cooper, who was born in Tennessee and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, before relocating to the Northwest, is known for blending various genres of experimental music including electronic, minimalism and drone. His albums often feature artwork and photographs by Jeannie Paske.
Eluvium is signed to the record label Temporary Residence Limited.
Matthew Robert Cooper and Miniatures
In April 2008, Cooper announced he would release a "solo album" under the name Matthew Robert Cooper. Writing on the Temporary Residence message boards, Cooper explained the change "this is not far from something "eluvium" would release—but since I began writing them—I felt that they were somehow disconnected from eluvium—perhaps a different personality took shape—thus, the use of a different name - this work is very dear to me."
Miniatures was issued in 2008 on a limited vinyl release on the fledgling Portland label, Gaarden Records. The album was limited to 2,000 copies with the first 1,000 on colored vinyl.
Other projects
Cooper has also teamed up with Charles Buckingham, with whom he has worked on the ambient video project titled Window Exchange, to produce the "unedited improvised basement minidisc recordings" of Concert Silence. In the fall of 2007, Concert Silence made 09.22.07 [2-3pm], a 51-minute, six part instrumental piece.
In April 2010, Infraction Records released "09.22.07 [2-3pm]" on limited edition vinyl and compact disc, alongside a new 12" E.P./CD titled "Rain Furniture".
Cooper scored fellow Portlander Matt McCormick's feature film debut Some Days Are Better Than Others, under Temporary Residence Ltd. One of Cooper's original pieces can be heard in the trailer of the film. Another film scored by Cooper is For Thousands of Miles (2013) by Mike Ambs.
Cooper has released an Eluvium 10" vinyl named "Pedals / Petals" in January 2013, for the Vinyl Films project by film director Cameron Crowe.
In January 2014, Pitchfork reported that Cooper and Mark T. Smith of Explosions in the Sky teamed up to form a new act called Inventions, who released their first album, a self-titled, on April 1 through Temporary Residence. In September 2016, he released the album False Readings On.
Discography
as Eluvium
Studio albums
Lambent Material (2003, Temporary Residence Limited) An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death (2004, Temporary Residence Limited) Talk Amongst the Trees (2005, Temporary Residence Limited) Copia (2007, Temporary Residence Limited) Similes (2010, Temporary Residence Limited) Static Nocturne (2010, Watership Sounds) Nightmare Ending (2013, Temporary Residence Limited) False Readings On (2016, Temporary Residence Limited) Shuffle Drones (2017, Temporary Residence Limited) Pianoworks (2019, Temporary Residence Limited) Virga I (2020, Temporary Residence Limited) Virga II (2021, Temporary Residence Limited) (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality (2023, Temporary Residence Limited)
Singles, EPs and splits
Travels in Constants Vol. 20 (2005, Temporary Residence Limited) When I Live by the Garden and the Sea (2006, Temporary Residence Limited) Jesu/Eluvium split (2007, Temporary Residence Limited) Leaves Eclipse the Light (2010, Temporary Residence Limited) The Motion Makes Me Last (2010, Temporary Residence Limited) Pedals / Petals (2013, Vinyl Films) Catalin (2014) Wisdom for Debris (2014)
Compilation albums
Indecipherable Text (2007, Sensory Projects, Australia) Australian release combines 'Lambent Material' and 'Talk Amongst the Trees' and includes three additional tracks. Life Through Bombardment (2009, Temporary Residence Limited) Vinyl box set of full discography with Cooper's signature, poster, and artwork. Life Through Bombardment Vol. 2 (2016, Temporary Residence Limited) Vinyl box set of full discography with Cooper's signature, poster, and artwork. Includes a compilation album of rare and unreleased material titled Curious Things