Magpahi

Magpahi is the experimental folk project of Alison Cooper. She previously appears as one of the plants in Samandtheplants.

Style and instrumentation

Magpahi’s music uses a range of instruments, including guitar, organ, piano and flute. The songs are described as stripped-down folk pieces with unusual, vignette-like structures and an interest in strange habits and abstract vocal sounds. Cooper’s voice is used to suggest higher powers, with the music evoking a primeval choir heard in a contemporary setting.

Influences and context

The project is linked to the folk revival of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as its underground counterpart in the 1980s and 1990s. It sits within folk, psychedelic, fairy tale folk, indie and twee contexts.