Kev Hopper

Kev Hopper (born 1961) is a bass guitarist.

Since the mid 1980s, Hopper's (mainly instrumental) output has been diverse and best described as a blend of experimental and melodic pop styles. He has played and collaborated with pop bands such as Stump, Stereolab, and The High Llamas and various musicians on the London Free-improvised scene.

Hopper began his musical career as a bass guitarist with the Anglo/Irish Captain Beefheart-inspired indie band Stump in the mid '80s. His playing was heavily influenced by the fusion bassist, Percy Jones; busy triplets, tremolos and stretched harmonics on a fretless Wal bass. After the group’s demise in 1988 his interest moved from bass playing to sequencing unusual samples resulting in the 1989 recording Stolen Jewels. A concept album (with a garlic theme) The Stinking Rose followed in 1992 further exploring sampling.

Around 1994, Hopper began playing on the London Free Improvisation circuit with a variety of musicians. The resulting recording from that period, Spoombung marked a return to bass playing with extensive new playing (hammering) techniques and ‘preparations’ – clips and other devices attached to the strings to produce overtones. He combined this approach with the tuned percussion of Dominic Murcott and the musical saw for a more melodic effect and greater tonal scope on the Whispering Foils album (2000). Around 1998, he co-formed the electronic ensemble Ticklish with Phil Durrant, Richard Sanderson and Rob Flint. Originally from the London free-improvised scene, they developed their interest in abstract electronica and became one of the first groups to perform with laptops and visual projections producing two albums; 'Here are your New Instructions' (2005) and 'Ticklish'. In 2003, an interest in the musical saw lead to an EP, Saurus featuring six original tunes and an electronic album I Saw Spoombung's Daughter consumed by Kirby Dots in 2005 under his 'Spoombung' alias; this featured a combination of acoustic and electronic mutant, granular pop with extensive use of the modular software synthesis/sampling package, ’Reaktor’. After a long period of silence, a 2012 album, 'The Germjoin' quietly emerged on the Japanese Afterhours label. This marked a departure from his more experimental material as it was a collection of melodic songs with a variety of different singers (including Hopper).

In 2012, Hopper returned to bass playing and formed a new instrumental live band, 'Prescott', with Scritti Politti keyboardist Rhodri Marsden and drummer Frank Byng, playing endlessly cycled, minimal riffs. They released their first album "One Did" in 2014. A solo album of bass-orientated material, "Kevlington" followed in 2015.

Solo albums

• Stolen Jewels (1990), Ghetto Records
• The Stinking Rose (1992), Bandcamp digital release
• Spoombung (1998), Thoofa
• Whispering Foils (2000) Drag City/Duophonic
• Saurus (2002), Drag City/ Afterhours [Japan]
• I Saw Spoombung's Daughter Consumed by Kirby Dots (2006), Afterhours (Japan)
• The Germjoin (2012), Afterhours (japan)
• Tonka Beano (2013), Linear Obsessional Records
• Kevlington" (2015), Bandcamp digital release

with Stump

• Mud on a Colon EP (1986), Ron Johnson (UK Indie #39)
• Quirk Out (1986), Stuff (UK Indie #2)
• The Peel Sessions EP (1987), Strange Fruit (UK Indie #13)
• A Fierce Pancake (1988), Ensign
• "Chaos" (1988), Ensign
• "Charlton Heston", (1988) Ensign (UK #72)
• "Buffalo" (1988), Ensign
• The Complete Anthology box set (2008), Sanctuary
• How Much Are The Chips" (2014) Cherry Red Records

with Ticklish

• Ticklish (2000), GROB
• Here Are Your New Instructions (2005), Textile Records

with Prescott

• One Did (2014) Slowfoot Records