Martin Johann Kloppers began studying classical cello at the age of seven. Son of composer/organist Jacobus Kloppers, Martin pursued years of chamber and orchestral endeavors, began composing in grade 10, and eventually took a pivotal turn as one of the original members of Canadian indie sensations, Feeding Like Butterflies. The enigmatic Butterflies won over a dozen ARIA awards for their 4 albums, sharing the stage with groups such as Matthew Good, Spirit of the West, The Crash Test Dummies, Blue Rodeo, Pursuit of Happiness, Jann Arden, Barney Bentall, 54-40, Moxy Fruvous, The Headstones, Crash Vegas, Bootsauce, The Skydiggers, The Philosopher Kings, and Leahy.
Martin has also appeared in many string ensembles, accompanying artists such as Tom Cochrane and Gina Williams.
Current projects include a solo recording effort (Soundtrack No. 1), duo projects with singer-songwriters Chanda Cooper and Amy Seeley, and side-projects with the Dark Swans and the Kindred Spirits. Martin is also completing a BMus degree in cello performance, playing with the Academy Strings, University Symphony, and occasionally moonlighting with the Stringbeans quartet.
Recently Martin performed with composer Dave Clarke on his new live soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning silent film, 'Sunrise' at the Winspear (Mayor's Gala for the Arts), and the Citadel Theatre.
There are rumors of a new Feeding Like Butterflies album underfoot, as Martin and frontman Jason Johnson are plotting once again after a four-year hiatus . . . .
Martin wants to work on film scores and continue to perform for studio or live projects.
Martin's two marvelous electric instruments are in antithesis in many ways; one represents life while the other represents death.
Few musical instruments in the world create more public commotion than Martin's red skeleton cello, the "Cellotaur Celleton", or "Cellotaur" for short. It is a sculpture, a painting, and a specialized musical instrument... a living sculpture. It simultaneously evokes an enigma of emotional reactions... sexy feminine lines, combined with a macabre bloody carcass-like paint job that glows like lava in bright light, and yet a mockingly delicious candy-apple or candy-cane shine.
Looking down through the ribcage from above yields this vantage:
The Cellotaur took Martin over seven years to complete, every stage of its construction consisting of a new conundrum for him to overcome. Its appearance is best appreciated up close and in person. What was the inspiration for its design?
"If I had Antoni Gaudi standing before me, I would not ask him to design for me an instrument... I would ask him to imagine a cello as an alien creature, and then design its skeletal anatomy. I made Cellotaur while imagining Gaudi's design of a cello-shaped alien creature's skeleton."
The result is unforgettable, and photo shoots do not do it justice. Its seamless body appears carved out of a single piece of wood, a hollow and hole-riddled "spine†section in the center from which all ribs flow. An upper ribcage reduces to s slender "waist" ribcage section, and then widens into a lower "hips" ribcage section. All ribs wrap around smoothly from front to back. The paint is gruesome, streaking in bright smears and clotting in deep dark black-red coagulations. The clear coat is so thick that the entire cello appears encased in glass, like marbles, and looking through the ribs from above reveals a dazzling display of reflections.
Every millimeter, inside and out, is painted and clearcoated. Here we see inside, as Martin is looking through the Cellotaur:
Somewhat secretive about its construction, Martin discloses that it consists of various hardwoods, over 350 screws and automotive bondo. The clear coat is equivalent to approximately 250 coats. The process of sanding and white base-coating took over a year, until the entire body, inside and out, was as smooth as Kodak glossy photo paper. The purpose of this extensive sanding was to eliminate all textures in the surface that would affect the crucial brushstrokes to come.
Martin practiced painting for 8 months to isolate the exact degree of thickness of the paint and dryness of the brushes, and perfect the type of strokes that would achieve the one-piece grain appearance. Brushes were adapted or invented to reach into all the nooks and crannies, with the help of dentist mirrors, so that not a single spot would be missed. The reflections created by the clear coat would possibly reveal such missed spots, and more importantly Martin says, "I would know about them." The actual painting of the instrument took less than thirteen minutes... six minutes for the back and seven minutes for the front, due to the fact that no areas were given more than one stroke... there was no "going over" or fixing. The back was painted first, and then it was analyzed for another month or so to isolate the most successful ribs and further perfect the brushstrokes for the front. Ironically, Martin prefers the results of the back of the cello, because the strokes are rougher, streakier, and more erratic in appearance, like the stabs from static electricity or lightning.
Its blood-red appearance brings to mind the stirring film "The Red Violin"... in which a luthier (violin-maker) adorns a special instrument with the blood of a beloved partner, giving it its striking red color and bestowing upon it a living sound. Martin denies using blood in Cellotaur's paint, but admits that unintentionally his blood is certainly present in the construction of the body due to numerous inevitable minor cuts sustained during the process.
Another interesting note about the paint is that the center sections, or "spine" areas, were darkened up afterwards with a translucent black paint to create more contrast and yet not hide the red strokes beneath. This particular commonly available black paint is called “Bone Blackâ€, and is made from charred ground animal bones. Fitting!
Its design allows it to be played while sitting or standing.
Cellotaur has been shown briefly in galleries, and has had numerous offers for display opportunities, but it is, after all, an instrument which Martin uses regularly. Its solid-body design provides increased sustain and eliminates unwanted feedback in loud-volume scenarios, especially when numerous effects such as overdrives, distortions and delays are used in combination with volumes from drums, guitar amplifiers, and monitor systems in live shows. Cellotaur has also been used for shows in art galleries or featured as a musical attraction for gallery openings.
It was debuted at a Feeding Like Butterflies show at the famous Sidetrack Cafe in Edmonton in 2003.
Martin's beautiful green cello has a humorous origin. Tim Ashworth, cellist for the Edmonton/Vancouver based band "The Loved One" was about to burn a real cello onstage as part of a live show, and Martin rescued it and purchased it from Tim for a mere $300.00. It was a good solid plywood "student" model cello, in need of some repair, but perfect for Martin to paint, clear coat, and then convert into his first electric instrument.
The ideas for the paint ..otaur came from the work done on this green cello.... The green-blue paint virtually glows where it is applied lightly or with a dry brush (allowing the white base coat to shine through), and is deep black where applied thickly. The result is an extremely photogenic instrument that also films well in virtually any light. It is also covered with a thick glass-like clear coat (equivalent to approximately 150 coats of clear) giving it a permanently wet appearance.
This instrument has survived numerous accidents: a thrown beer bottle at Peachfest, a rollover in the FLB band Bus on the Coquihalla highway en route to Rossland British Columbia, a Ford Bronco rollover in Rogers Pass en route to Vancouver for the Vicki Gabereau Show (we still made it and played!!), a tray of shooters at the Drake in Canmore, a pitcher of beer at Bear Country (Edmonton), a soaking due to a 48hr thunderstorm en route to Thunder Bay and a leaking trailer, -40 temperatures on a very cold night without propane on the way to Winnipeg to open for the Crash Test Dummies, a mosh pit at the Okanagan Music fest, and lastly (but too numerous to list), lightning-bolt lead-singer Jason Johnson often though inadvertently found the cello a hapless conduit with either one of his toted weapons (flute and 12-string guitar).
The Emerald cello was debuted at a Feeding Like Butterflies opening set for The Crash Test Dummies in Winnipeg.
Martin has been known to perform on the top deck of houseboats for surprise middle-of-the-lake concerts.
There are plans laid out for two more entirely unique cellos, and when time will allow for such projects they will be addressed.
Some interesting details regarding the music selections:
Martin wrote the initial melodies and electric cello rhythms for "Kududance" in 1993, but the work was not completed until late 2007. It was expanded to include several new sections and many new parts.
Over a hundred cello tracks were used to complete the piece. Many of the parts are tracked over as many as eight times.
Every sound, noise, and note came from one of his cellos with basic effects pedals and an RC50 stereo looper. No keyboards were used. No rhythmical or pitch corrections were used.
The parts were "cut and paste" for arrangement purposes. A few of the sounds were reversed to create new sounds.
Kududance is not based so much on African rhythms (Martin is from South Africa) but rather on African visuals and sounds - bouncing Springboks, chattering critters, squeaking insects, and unknown unseen jungle noises - and perhaps the thrilling experience of flying over a gloriously wild terrain in a low-flying plane or helicopter (Martin has spent much time in helicopters as a Rapattack Firefighter).
Martin began playing with Chanda Cooper in 2007 as a duo act. He took her beautiful song "Evidence" from her debut solo album and added three cello tracks, including a high track that is often mistaken for a violin or viola.
Martin and Chanda are recording a brand new disc in the fall of 2008.
One of Martin's favorite tunes to perform with Feeding Like Butterflies is the dark and powerful "Vampires".
In late 2007 Martin added eight more cello tracks, and grouped them into three categories:
Firstly he overtracked all the electric guitar parts to give them size and depth and add new extended overdrive feedback sounds.
Next, he added what he refers to as "flying vampires", or eerie lofty wails and squeals.
Finally, he added a "vampire playing a giant distorted cello-Jewish-harp".
