ESPVisuals Interview with Ivan Shopov / Cooh

Today we have an interview with the extremely creative Ivan Shopov aka. Cooh

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Ivan Shopov and I am freelance artist and music producer from Bulgaria. Born in a small town called Troyan, that's situated in the middle of the Balkan Mountain in Bulgaria.

How long have you been illustrating and what are your influences?

I started with drawing when I was 6 as my mother is an artist too and I grew up in her studio. Later on I studied in the school of applied arts in my home town, taking ceramic and sculpture classes. Then after another 5 years I graduated at the National Academy of Arts in Bulgaria with speciality of graphic fine arts. So now I have been doing graphic prints and drawings for 13 years. My influences come mostly from the shapes of the nature twisted through the modern and classical art.

You are also a musician, producing electronic music. Tell us more.

I have been doing electronic music for the last 11 years and I have over 40 drum and bass and dubstep vinyl releases with my aliases Cooh and Balkansky.

Currently working on a few new projects in different styles. One of them is with my new alias for techno music - Drum Kid and another for hard and trippy dubstep - Underhill together with Dean Rodell and Current Value.

How does your music relate to your art or vice versa?

Its all connected, as I am a really creative person and cant stay a minute without doing something with my eyes and ears.

For me the art is in both directions and both help each other in the creative process.

When i do music its the same sence of composition, contrast and balance you have to apply for drawing a picture, so most of the time I spend half of my day drawing, the other half doing beats in the studio.

3 words to describe your art?

Organic, Abstract, Freedom.

3 words to describe your music?

Energy, Emotions, Future.

What are you currently working on?

Preparing new try point prints for my future exhibition in Belgium and setting up a portfolio with my current works to get some more attention over my art from galleries and art collectors.

Musicwise I am finishing some collabs for big labels, working on my solo stuff as Cooh, Balkansky and Drum Kid and sorting my tours all around the globe.

Awesome dubstep promo mix
BALKANSKY aka COOH - DUBSTEP PROMO MIX JULY2009 by COOH

COOH - HARD KNOCKS PROMO MIX 2008  by  COOH

Cooh - Metal vs Drum & Bass mix  by  COOH

Podcast for the mighty Offkey

Offkey Podcast Vol5 Cooh 2008 by COOH

View Ivan's gallery here.

More of Cooh's dnb here.

As well as Ivan's dubstep project Balkansky, techno project Drum Kid, jazz folk electronica project.

Follow Ivan on facebook