August Cooke recently released his Like Rivers debut EP via Poets Studio. It’s a collection that journeys between jazz, pop and classical with an ambient leaning, perfect for followers of the likes of Arthur Russell and Sufjan Stevens. The formally trained cellist has toured with his own band, Marvellous Medicine whilst collaborating with numerous musicians from around the globe.

August has identified Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Milton Nascimento as a particular inspiration. Milton has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his album Nascimento in 1998.

It was during lockdown where hours dissolved into days, which got lost forever in formless, sponge-like months, that I was struck back into life by the voice of Milton Nascimento. His voice would soar above dense textures and jagged rhythms, pulling the music along with it, fleshing it out with searing emotion and vivid presence. We were socially distanced, but Milton was with us!

A cult figure in Brazil, revered by legends like Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter abroad, Milton is relatively unknown outside of Latin America. Perhaps that’s the price paid for remaining a truly authentic voice, perhaps also because his music is strange, unpredictable, emotionally demanding. Adopted by white parents in Minas Gerais, a theme through Milton’s music is unbelonging. Music is the vessel to help him and the listener depart from suffering and reach new anchorage. In Cais he sings :

“I invent the sea, I invent the dreamer in me

for those who wish to follow me, I have the path of what I’ve always wanted offshore

and a ship ready to sail”

The great 1972 album Clube Da Esquina travels through the gritted longing of Tudo O Que, the festive lightness of Cravo E Canela, to the prayerful sincerity San Vicente. The writing is the inspired work of an individual, nurtured by a musical ecosystem in full blossom, supported by brilliant talents like Lo Borges and Toninho Horta – all worth getting to know in their own right.

A beautiful picture of fraternal music-making can be seen in the video to O Que Sera, where Milton duets with Chico Buarque. There’s an emotional openness that for a withheld English guy who grew up in a classical tradition is liberating. It’s a wonderful song: a kind of chanson d’amour in the Jacques Brel mould with the long-term harmonic range of Schubert and Brazilian heart-on-sleeve spontaneity.

The soundworld of Milton’s music is of a different era. But the immediacy of his voice, the fluent range of emotions, the accessible abstraction of his lyrics are all traits I would dream of emulating in my music. Over and above the music, the sense of peace and gratitude that he exudes is an example to us all, and will continue to inspire me.

Our thanks to August for an enlightening insight into a musician who’s so far, travelled beneath our radar.

August Cooke photo by Denis Dobrovoda

August Cooke online: Bandcamp

You can read more from our extensive archive of Why I Love pieces from a wide array of artists on an even wider array of subjects, here.

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