Insta

Insta crafts light yet sophisticated pop that balances hooks with melody in equal measure. The project originated with married multi-instrumentalists Adam Cooper and Catherine Cooper. The pair first gained recognition as members of Alison's Halo, the Tempe, AZ shoegazer trio that incorporated a drum machine. During the late '90s they moved Alison's Halo to Chicago, IL, where they pursued several pop-focused side projects issued as Kitten Factor and the Pastry Heroes. In 1999 the couple adopted the name Insta and cut the five-song EP Horn Rim Fury at Jetpack Studios, their personal archive of vintage analog gear. Catherine handled lead vocals on those initial tracks while both Coopers played keyboards and guitars; David Rogers supplied bass, and Ken Marl and Ben Currier alternated on drums. By 2000 Adam and Catherine had placed Alison's Halo on indefinite hiatus to devote themselves fully to Insta. Over the following two years they assembled their second album at home, drawing on an assortment of bassists, drummers, and additional contributors. Once Checklist for Love was finished, the group had settled on a stable lineup consisting of Adam and Catherine alongside bassist Cyrus Khazai and drummer Timothy Ford. The Illinois-based Sunday Records label issued Checklist for Love after first re-releasing Horn Rim Fury, which the band had originally distributed itself.