Modern Nature: Jack Cooper Discusses New Album ‘The Heat Warps

Last Updated on 2025-08-29 by a-indie

Beach House, Father John Misty, and Fleet Foxes are among the artists on London’s prestigious indie label “Bella Union.”

Today, we bring you an interview with Modern Nature, an alternative band signed to the same label.

Centered around frontman Jack Cooper, Modern Nature originally operated as a band with a fluid member lineup, similar to Dirty Projectors.

Through touring their 2023 album ‘No Fixed Point In Space’, they found a stronger direction as a band.

The core trio of Jack Cooper, Jim Wallis (drums), and Jeff Tobias (bass) was completed with the addition of new guitarist Tara Cunningham, resulting in their newly released album ‘The Heat Warps’.

The overall atmosphere of the music continues the minimal and intricate feel from their previous work, with sparse instrumentation that is deeply flavorful and resonates with the heart each time you listen. It’s a work that stimulates the creativity of each individual listener.

To convey the creativity-stimulating appeal of Modern Nature, this interview explores the diverse elements that form their sound, from contemporary classical music to Japanese music, American counter-culture, and even saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.

Band Formation and Current Member Lineup

-Yuuki Takita: Our publication values the roots of artists, the background of their music, and the musical, cultural, and artistic influences they’ve had. As this is our first interview with you, let’s start with the band’s origins. Am I correct in understanding that Modern Nature was originally formed in London, centered around Jack? I also understand that the lineup wasn’t fixed at the beginning. Could you tell us how the band was formed and who the current members are?

Jack Cooper: It initially started as a solo project when my previous band Ultimate Painting came to an end, but the last thing I wanted to do was to become a solo artist. I think it’s much easier to build a world and an aesthetic around a band. So that’s what I did… I had a lot of time on my hands and a very clear idea on how I wanted to frame my songs.

Transition to Current Band Structure

-Yuuki Takita: What prompted you to solidify the lineup and operate with the current members? Also, what musical direction or specific sound did this decision help establish for the band?

Jim and Jeff have really been involved since the start in different capacities. Jim has been integral to everything we’ve done since Annual and has a lot of input in the feel of songs and how they’re structured. Jeff has always been around the band and again, he has been an essential collaborator. The collective that satellites around me became considerably more fixed at some point and subconsciously it felt like we were always looking for a fourth side to the square. Our last record was really quite abstract, but when we played live we found ourselves gravitating towards rhythms again, so when I started playing guitar with Tara Cunningham, it all fell into place.

Members’ Musical Roots

-Yuuki Takita: Could you tell us about the childhood of Jack and the other current members, and how each of you first encountered music?

I’m from a town in the North West of England called Blackpool which is across the water from Liverpool. It’s a tourist town that has fallen on hard times, but there’s a huge entertainment industry there, albeit one that’s more geared towards people on holiday… not much of a music scene, but the idea that one could make a living from being an entertainer or an artist was very present when I was growing up. My mum’s family are from Liverpool so again, that’s a community of people who hold artists in high regard. But I don’t really remember not being obsessed with music. The Beatles were my first love and then The Stone Roses, so from there I got to The Byrds, Love, Captain Beefheart and Syd Barrett.

About New Member Tara Cunningham

When you’re a musician or a band leader and you encounter someone like Tara, you just want them in your band. She’s a wonderfully accomplished guitarist and has a very idiosyncratic approach to music that she’s very comfortable with. I haven’t seen the upside down photo but that sounds about right!

London Music Scene and Musical Influences

I’m really sorry to say but I don’t have much insight into the music scene in London. I never really have… The bands that I’ve been in have never really been part of any scene in London and the older I’ve got, the less I feel connected with scenes there. I think the scene that I’m probably closest to or the community that we’re most aligned with is the improvised music world… but again, we’re really on the periphery of it. But yeah… London is great and I go to a lot of shows, especially now my daughter is a bit older, but those shows tend towards improv, free jazz and then touring bands.

Contemporary Artists Who Inspire

-Yuuki Takita: In the booklet accompanying the CD for your 2022 album ‘Island of Noise’, Jack introduced 10 artists he felt a kinship with. Following on from that, I’m curious if there are any exciting cultures or art forms in London, outside of music, that are currently inspiring you. If so, could you tell us about them? If not, could you share something, regardless of location, that you are passionate or enthusiastic about right now?

I’m sorry to disappoint you again but I’m quite sadly consumed with my own world and my own music haha. I feel very out of touch! I love a lot of modern classical music or ‘new music’ so I’m drawn to composers like Laurence Crane, Cassandra Miller and the group Apartment House. It’s music that’s adjacent to that, but I listen to a lot of a Japanese music in a similar vein like Taku Sugimoto, Michiko Ogawa, Wakana Ikeda and Minami Saeki. I have some friends who always inspire me… Andrew Savage, Peter Liversidge and Iris Marchand. I really love a band called Lobby and make an effort to see them as much as I can.