17. Aimee Copping: The woman behind Transstar

SOPHIE SCHAFER

Guelph is home to some truly amazing artists, and Transstar is one of them. Aimee Copping, known by her stage name Transstar, creates electric pop. Innovative music built from scratch that twists and turns, delighting the senses and providing a new way to interact with music.

On Nov. 25, Copping performed at the Guelph Civic Museum and channelled old Hollywood during her glamourous, yet eccentric set.

Copping knows how to captivate an audience, her first set, full of slow-moving songs, had people wiping away tears, and her second set was so upbeat and energetic that audience members were out of their seats dancing. There wasn’t a still foot in the room; it was utterly impossible not to tap along with Transstars catchy beats.

Showcasing new music and some old, each song offered something different. Copping sang songs about her friends and loved ones, songs that detailed the Trans experience, and even songs about her living room. Each moment of the show was carefully considered. Her thought and care shone through, making the evening a truly special time.

Copping has had a long and interesting music journey, which she was ever so kind to sit down and share in an interview. Copping has a fabulous personality. Dry, witty humor, she is down to earth and laughs easily at herself.

Aimee Copping, also known as Transstar, has a new album coming out in January called Untraceable. CREDIT: EDITH WILSON

Copping has a BA in English from Concordia University, and is currently halfway through her MA in Critical Studies in Improvisation at the University of Guelph.

Copping explained she has always been naturally gifted in music. For as long as she can remember, she has understood instruments. She doesn’t consider herself a flashy musician although she can create moving sounds, and loves to write songs.

Copping started recording music in 1981 when she was in the first year of her undergraduate degree. Laughing, she recalls her Portastudio, her very first recorder that put music onto cassette tapes. Copping found local success right away when those cassette tapes were played on CBC radio. However, none of these old songs are available to listen to today.

Lately, Copping has been focusing on her recent work. In those early years, Copping was the lead musician of a band called Amateurs, but she didn’t stay in the music scene for long. In fact, after the ‘80s, Copping did not make her return to the music scene until 2013.

Life happened and things moved the way they were supposed to. Her transition back into the music scene came naturally.

Copping rediscovered her passion for song-building, even finding that she could write better than before. Coincidentally her transition back into music matched up with her gender transition. 2013 was a pivotal year in her life’s journey.

During her re-entry into the music scene, Copping moved to Berlin. She found that she was not happy, and there was something missing in her life. She realized that she wasn’t helping anyone other than herself, and it was unfulfilling.

She got involved with an organization known as El Sistema, a non-profit music education project for children who cannot afford music lessons. Copping moved back to Toronto and started her own music program called Blackball. Besides the slight lull due to the pandemic, she has been running workshops for elementary aged children ever since.

Every artist experiences highs and lows, successes and failures. Copping explains that her greatest weakness is her ability to market, and deal with the business side of the music industry. The music world is ever changing, and moving quite quickly at that. It is hard to keep pace and maintain a large audience.

As for successes, Copping says there are many to come in the future. She has no specific goals, and would just like to grow her audience.

Copping shared two major lessons that she has discovered throughout her music journey. The first is that songwriting takes a lot of time and effort. Copping shared that to write a song that is lyrically brilliant, is to be really lucky. A good song and a good chorus doesn't come around very often.

She said she felt that in the last two decades many songwriters have overlooked the complexity of song building. She added that when you want to write songs that are strong, memorable, and listenable, you need to design and build. It takes time.

Copping said the second lesson is to never forget that the audience is everything. The only reason an artist has the platform they do, is because of the audience. To put on a good show you need to understand that you are there for them. An artist needs fans like they need oxygen.

Our conversation then turned to Queer culture, and Copping’s experience as a trans woman who creates music. She explained that Queer culture does not have a lot of nuance, there is a lot of black and white.

Copping said she is passionate about songbuilding and resonating with her audience. CREDIT: SOPHIE BROWN

Musically that has meant that queer artists must be very flamboyant, heavily focused on costume and dramatic performance. Copping believes that a very singular understanding has been asserted, and her own music doesn’t conform to this idea. She would love to see change in the queer community, and plans to help change it herself.

This January Copping is releasing her new album, Untraceable. All year long singles have been released in anticipation of the album drop. Her title track, Untraceable was released this past March, and serves as a very powerful anthem.

Copping explained that Untraceable is essentially a handbook for non-Trans people to understand what it is like to be Trans. It shares how Trans people cook, or walk down the street, or how they get killed.

Copping said the reality of being Trans is that horrible things happen to you everyday, and it is unsurprising. Untraceable is about this experience, “It’s like

being mugged every day,” she said.

Filled with brilliant songs, and many sad ones, Untraceable is an album to watch out for. The album will be released early this month and Copping encourages you to check out your favourite streaming service to give her music a chance.

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