Australian indie artist Hein Cooper is back with his most personal collection of songs to date, today unleashing his new album, My Own.

Described as a “raw, self-produced body of work” that was recorded in his mother’s garage, Cooper hasn’t just embraced independence, but self-reflection as he continues his evolution.

In addition to releasing the new album, Cooper has unveiled the single Rock, featuring blues powerhouse Ash Grunwald. The album arrives on the day Cooper begins his My Own national tour in Sydney, which will continue throughout NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT, and WA. The singer-songwriter is sharing the stage with co-headliner Gaudion.

To celebrate the release of My Own, Cooper has shared a guide to recording the album in his mum’s garage for The Music.

A GUIDE: How to Record an Entire Album in Your Mum’s Garage (with Hein Cooper)

GET STARTED.

Starting is the hardest part. Find a space—it could literally be your lounge room, garage, spare room, anything—it just needs to be something you have available (I had my mum’s garage). Then, whatever equipment you have, set it up. I had a mattress, carpet, two microphones, a laptop, a monitor speaker system, and a guitar. Load everything you’ve got to record into the back of your car, head on over to your space, and put it in motion.

Me and my friend Leon loading the car and getting it all set up in the garage. 

RECORD YOUR FIRST SONG.

After you’ve got things working in your space, start with one song. Go all the way and finish the entire production. This will create a process to build the rest of the songs later. If there’s anything you don’t feel you can accomplish with your space, like drums (I didn’t have what I needed for this), then outsource.

I worked with Syd Green (drums for Kasey Chambers), who lived up the road, for all the drums on my record. I’d spend the day with him at his space and then bring it all back to mine til I was happy. Get one sent off for mix and master with someone whose work you dig, and then you’ve got your first song ready and a process to make the rest. 

Syd in his studio tracking drums on my record

EVERY SPACE HAS ITS CHALLENGES.

Look for the time of the day when the mice on the roof, the rooster, and the dogs are making the least noise and get busy. Basically, every indie space has its challenges. My parents live on a farm, so I could literally hear the rooster crowing in the background during takes and would have to work around that and the mice in the roof.

They moved around from 4 pm-6 pm every night, so I’d be okay after that to go til around 10 pm before they were moving again…This is part of being resilient with what you have to make the most of it. 

Big kangaroo on the way to the studio

TAKE BREAKS.

Spend some solid time opening up, letting go, and talking to your mum about life in between takes. By now, you should be consistently making the time to build the album, heading in every moment you have free to get this song realised. But equally important is taking breaks in between takes to be clear in the mind. This helped me a lot through my record, having lunch with my family, having a tea, going for a run through the forest, all of it gave me clarity to create again. 

Having the forest to take breaks in was very helpful! 

GET WEIRD.

I collaborated with another Aussie artist, The Happiest Kind of Sad, on a song called Butterfly. We ended up staying in the studio late one night, with me walking around the room singing completely random melodies into this microphone that was nowhere near me. It ended up being a vibe. Taking the time to think outside the box gets me really excited about music and helped make this record what it’s become. 

Walking around the room

BACK YOURSELF.

Make that music as special as it can be to you. Put your heart and soul into it. There's no need to be perfect; just full of emotion and creativity. There’s a fine line between overthinking and taking the time to make things special. I think it’s something that develops by the process. I have been a perfectionist at times, but I’ve always finished ideas and set them free. 

FINAL TOUCHES.

Send it all off for mixing and mastering and overthink everything until you’re happy with it. Go back and forth with the mixer until there’s nothing left that feels wrong, and then you’re on. I worked with Jackson Barclay, who was so accommodating, and I was very grateful for his openness to getting things really sitting right. The same goes for George Georgiadis, who mastered it. 

SHARE THE STORY.

Capture it all with a camera and let people in on the story. In this world, I think it’s really important to let people in on the process via social media. This world has changed, and the elusive artist is gone. It’s about being real, and I genuinely enjoyed sharing the art visually day by day. It almost became part of the art itself and made sense to the record because it’s called My Own and really embodies the process within the music. 

START YOUR OWN RECORD LABEL & PUMP OUT YOUR MUSIC.

There is no right way. I released a song a month from this album for 15 months straight. Every record deal I’ve had told me not to do this, so I started my own. These days, people want to feel connected to creativity in a closer way, which requires that flow to be more present. There really is room to do things differently these days, and it’s exciting to take risks and try things out. 

Here’s my release schedule from the first single: 

1. Line (23rd February)

2. Worst Enemy (12th April) 

3. 98 Toyota (17th May) 

4. Hanging on the Wind (21st June) 

5. Smokescreen (Shadow King) 2nd August

6. Nest (11th October) 

7. Butterfly (15th November) 

8. Wallflower (13th December) 

9. Porch (10th January) 

10. Avalon (14th February) 

11. Submarine (19th March) 

GET ON THE ROAD.

Every indie record deserves to be played live, and it’s a great way to build up an audience around the music. I’m currently on tour through Australia at the moment and really enjoying sharing these songs live for the first time. It’s really clear that through that live connection, this album is living and breathing. 

Shot of the tour 

My Own is out now, and the album tour begins tonight. You can find tickets here.

HEIN COOPER

MY OWN NATIONAL ALBUM TOUR

Fri 23 May | The Loft on Broadway, Sydney NSW

Sat 24 May | Heritage Hotel, Bulli NSW

Sun 25 May | Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW

Thu 29 May | Northcote Social Club, Northcote VIC

Fri 30 May | Bells Beach Brewing, Torquay VIC

Sat 31 May | Alt Road Wines, Winchelsea South VIC

Sun 1 Jun | Whalers Hotel, Warrnambool VIC

Fri 6 Jun | Milton Theatre, Milton NSW

Sat 7 Jun | Dissent Café and Bar, Canberra ACT

Thu 12 Jun | Lefty's Music Hall, Brisbane QLD

Fri 4 Jul | Settler's Tavern, Margaret River WA

Sat 5 Jul | Suburban Vibes, Fremantle WA