Hippopotamus, by William Roper

Hippopotamus

by William Roper

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more

1.	Judicanti Responsura - Hippopotamus - Alice Inez 28:00	lyrics	buy track
Hippopotamus. Hippopotamus. Greek: hippos, meaning horse. Potamus - river, given in allusion to its semi aquatic habitat. Hippopotamus. At intervals during the night, the hippopotamus bellows and roars. A large African river mammal with dark, thick, almost hairless skin, short legs, a broad snout and a wide mouth. The mouth is enormous and the upper lip is thick and bulging. The hippopotamus is a social animal. Eight or nine months after mating, the cow gives birth to a single young. Sometimes there will be twins. To pre-dynastic Egyptians TAUERET was a hippopotamus-deity, a mother-goddess. The mother of Isis and Osiris. TAUERET was the protectress of women in pregnancy and childbirth. To the people of middle and southern Africa, the hump on the back of the hippopotamus is representative of the stomach of a pregnant woman. A hippopotamus rising our of the river is representative of a pregnant woman breaking her water. The hippo is mother. Alice Inez was my mother. The hippopotamus can stay submerged for long periods. Water is the symbol of the unconscious - Alice Inez was diagnosed as mentally ill; lost in the sea of unconsciousness, emerging occasionally (like the Hippo) onto the land of consciousness. The Hippopotamus roars and bellows at night. The Hippopotamus sweats blood.
2.	Etoiles - It's Time to Turn Out the Lights, Dear 39:11	info	buy track

about

Hippopotamus is a project of two extended works. They are both about death. (To the extent that music is about anything at all.) One about the death of a person (my mother), the other the death of love (any number of people). Curiously enough, the first one is the more overtly joyful piece. Also they both have totems, so to speak. Hippopotamus is obvious. The hippo symbolizes motherhood for the Africans. The totem of Etoiles is the rat. Rats are about perfidy and betrayal. As I said, it is an end of love song.

I was joined on this recording by some very fine musicians. The primary unit here is Judicanti Responsura, a tuba and percussion duo of myself and my long-time partner in crime, Joseph Mitchell. We are joined by Glenn Horiuchi, on Etoiles. Robin Ross and Kim Richmond on Hippopotamus. I played a lot with the late Glenn Horiuchi. He was a dynamic and versatile musician. He shows his softer, more subdued side on Etoiles.

credits

released August 13, 2020

William Roper - tuba, percussion, spoken word, water, roars.
Joseph Mitchell - percussion, mallets.
Kim Richmond - clarinet.
Robin Ross - viola.
Glenn Horiuchi - piano.
Hippopotamus recorded at Newzone Studio, Wayne Pete - engineer.
Etoiles recorded at Pacifica Studios, Glenn Nishida - engineer.
Mastered at Newzone Studio, Wayne Pete - engineer.
All paintings, drawings and photos by William Roper.
The recording of Hippopotamus was made possible through a grant from the American Composers Forum.

license

about

William Roper Los Angeles, California

William Roper is a multi-disciplinary artist residing in Los Angeles. His primary foci are music composition, music performance and improvisation, and the visual arts. He has toured Japan, Europe, and the two Americas, as soloist and ensemble musician. He is represented on 60+ recordings, twelve as leader. ... more

roperarts.com

contact / help

Contact William Roper

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like William Roper, you may also like:

I was too young to hear silence
by Patrick Shiroishi

Free jazz saxophonist explores negative space on a vast, improvised work recorded in a L.A. parking structure. Bandcamp Album of the Day Nov 9, 2023
go to album
The Organ That Breathes
by Alex Ring Gray

A striking new work from Alex Ring Gray finds the composer transforming his saxophone into a living reed organ. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 20, 2023
go to album
The Shenanigans-to-Tomfoolery Continuum
by Bridges of Königsberg

This experimental release from Bridges of Königsberg is electroacoustic noise at its most playful and expansive. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 1, 2023
go to album
Boulder blues
by staraya derevnya

Marvelous experimental music from this Tel Aviv musician that fuses outré noise with almost folk-like arrangements. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 13, 2022
go to album
Under the Porch
by Bright Dog Red

Loose, limber, funky jams—with heavy roots in jazz—populate the latest from this celebrated NY group. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 5, 2022
go to album
Time Hunt
by Sputnik Trio

The Spanish avant-garde jazz trio takes listeners on a journey through time on their thoughtful new album. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 4, 2022
go to album
EROSÃO
by Mariá Portugal

featured on Bandcamp Radio Nov 2, 2021
go to album