CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 152: HEIN COOPER'S JOURNEY TO 'MY OWN'
Interview by Brooke Gibbs.
In a world where algorithms often dictate sound and success can feel like a borrowed suit, Hein Cooper has chosen the road far less travelled; one lined with solitude, stripped-back honesty, and hard-earned autonomy. After three albums shaped by traditional industry structures, the indie-folk artist emerges from the quiet storm with My Own, his most personal and self-defined work to date.
Written, recorded, and produced entirely in his mother’s garage over six months, My Own isn’t just an album. It’s a declaration of independence. Forced into self-reliance after losing label and management support post-Covid, Cooper turned what could have been an ending into a rebirth. The result is a collection of songs that are raw, reflective, and remarkably unfiltered, shaped in real time by life’s curveballs.
Drawing inspiration from the introspective depths of Bon Iver and the heartfelt storytelling of Ben Howard, Cooper has crafted a sound that feels both expansive and deeply grounded. From the vulnerable “Worst Enemy” to the luminous “Avalon,” the album is a testament to what happens when an artist strips everything back to their core and builds again, this time on their own terms.
In this Creative Conversations interview with Futuremag Music’s Brooke Gibbs, Hein opens up about the emotional weight behind My Own, the healing power of full creative ownership, and why stepping away from the industry machine may have been the most sustainable move of his career. This is Hein Cooper, untethered, accountable, and finally, truly his own.
FMM: Congrats on the release of your album, My Own. How are you feeling?
Hein Cooper: I feel really good. This new album for me has been very different to the last three that I put out before this one because it's the first record that I've been so involved on the production and the actual release and all the other things that usually, I kind of get all these other people to do. I literally did it all on my own this time. So I feel really good to have finished it and have the whole thing out because it was something I'd never done before.
FMM: What inspired you to take full control this time around?
Hein Cooper: Honestly, it was not a choice that I made. It was kind of just life putting me in the deep end. And all of a sudden, I didn't actually have a choice. I came out of the whole Covid thing, without a label deal for the first time and also without management and all the usual people. So I guess I was forced into that lane. And at first I thought it was a really negative thing, but now I think it's just been so good because it kis so much more sustainable when you have all of that ability to do all of those things because you're not really relying so much on whether it's successful, because if you can just do it all yourself, then you don't actually have to borrow a ton of money to pay all these people to do it for you. Then you're like, oh, my God, I hope this does well, because otherwise I'm in debt to another label deal.
Honestly, it was not a choice that I made. It was kind of just life putting me in the deep end. And all of a sudden, I didn't actually have a choice. I came out of the whole Covid thing, without a label deal for the first time and also without management and all the usual people. So I guess I was forced into that lane. And at first I thought it was a really negative thing, but now I think it's just been so good because it kis so much more sustainable when you have all of that ability to do all of those things because you're not really relying so much on whether it's successful, because if you can just do it all yourself, then you don't actually have to borrow a ton of money to pay all these people to do it for you. Then you're like, oh, my God, I hope this does well, because otherwise I'm in debt to another label deal.
FMM: Having had both the experience of having a team and doing it by yourself, for future work, do you feel like you would take that new approach of doing it solo?
HEIN COOPER: I think that it's definitely going to continue to be more independent than it ever has been. But, I think as I kind of develop all these new processes around it, I probably end up delegating again to other people, but definitely in a very particular and specific way. And not having these enormous businesses with all these people involved. It's just kind of like too many chefs in the kitchen, you know?
FMM: I think that it's definitely going to continue to be more independent than it ever has been. But, I think as I kind of develop all these new processes around it, I probably end up delegating again to other people, but definitely in a very particular and specific way. And not having these enormous businesses with all these people involved. It's just kind of like too many chefs in the kitchen, you know?
FMM: You’ve described this album as your most personal work to date. Can you take us into your headspace during the making of the album and how that shaped the songs?
Hein Cooper: One of the main things that I was reckoning with was facing all of the self doubt of being able to get through that time [Covid] and still be an artist. That was a huge thing for me that I think all of the songs captured, in a way, was having faith and belief in what I was doing when I wasn't getting that externally. I think that it really made it clear to me that the real reason why I do it is because it comes from a passion that no matter what the results are going to be externally, that's always going to be there and always going to be the driving factor for why I do it.
I think that’s why this record was really special because it was so pure. It wasn't like I was doing it for success, you know. Well, there was also a huge accountability factor involved in it too, because I feel like when you really choose to own whatever your situation is and make the best of it, there's definitely an accountability that comes with that, where it's like knowing your own hand in the situation that was kind of dealt to you.
I feel like that was something that I really accepted as well, more than I ever had before. And it was something that all of a sudden, that kind of accountability, I could see that spilling off into my personal life and what my relationships were like and the hand that I had played in all of those. So it wasn't just about music, but it all kind of came back through the record.
FMM: Speaking of like taking accountability, was there a particular song that was really healing or difficult to write on this album?
Hein Cooper: Probably Worst Enemy. The whole idea for My Own well was to have these different song titles and then put ‘my own’ in front of it. So my own Worst Enemy because it was all about myself and my relationship with my wife and how I'd caused a lot of issues in that. So that was definitely a hard one to get out, but so good and so helpful.