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After taking time out from working together to focus on separate musical
projects, maverick composer Alan Roberts (Jim Noir) and crowd-rousing
vocalist Leonore Wheatley (International Teachers of Pop / The
Soundcarriers) have re-joined forces to introduce Co-Pilot. Each the other’s
wing person, they’re plotting an escape through Manchester’s claustrophobic
grey skies with the pencil case colour of a hand-sewn multi-coloured primary
school patchwork quilt. “We are both the creators in charge of navigating Co-
Pilot’s overall sound which changes from track to track,” Leonore hints at what
to expect. “There are about 6 different genres on one album, it's a pick n mix
record!”
Happy in the haze of many boozy hours the album was recorded over just a
few months whilst holed up and hanging out in Al’s city centre Dookstereo
studio. The former Mill allowed the pair to relax, laugh and create without
constraint. Armed with their original demos and vocal recordings from Al’s flat,
they’d nip by the offie to pick up some Dutch courage before setting to work:
building arrangements from a drum beat and basic chord pattern, the pair
were so in tune they rarely spoke, allowing only the music to lead the way.
“We’d communicate through nods of agreement or grimaces of dismay,”
Leonore recalls. “Using the instruments with Al in production mode, we let the
sound dictate the process whilst being drunk enough to follow it.”
The sound of life coming full circle after honing their separate crafts, Leonore
had previously played keys and vocals in Jim Noir’s live band before moving
on to front International Teachers of Pop for two critically lauded albums of
joyous dancefloor filling bangers - their self-titled debut (2019) and Pop
Gossip (2020). During that time Al would further expand Jim Noir’s universe
with AM Jazz, which was celebrated as the no.1 album in Piccadilly Records’
‘End of Year Review’ (2020), followed by the Deep View Blue E.P. (2021)
cementing his status as one of Manchester’s finest songwriters.
Tracklist
1) Swim To Sweden
2) Move To It
3) Motosaka
4) Brick
5) Can You See
6) I Am 1
7) She Walks In Beauty
8) Spring Beach
9) Cornerhouse