brendon wilson

filmmaker, musician, radio person, film and media graduate, Canada.

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OxFF0 by Slow Man Tofu

A record I played drums on with Kingston musicians David Parker, Jared McKay and Tracey Guptill.

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An interview I conducted and edited for Beechwood Productions with Clairmont the Second during NXNE 2015.

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Part 3 of a 3 part series from Beechwood Productions // Lost Cousins perform “All We Are” at their EP release show in Kingston, ON

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Part 2 of a 3 part series from Beechwood Productions // Lost Cousins perform "Conscious Slips Below" at their EP release show in Kingston, ON

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Part 1 of a 3 Part series from Beechwood Productions // Lost Cousins performs Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies at their EP release show in Kingston

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Beechwood Productions newest video of Hollerado live at The Underground as part of QPOP! Music Festival.

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CFRC Sessions by CFRC Radio

An album I recorded and produced for CFRC Radio in Kingston, ON with local and touring artists who visited and recorded in the studios of Lower Carruthers Hall. This album was masted by Matt Rogalsky and Memory Device and was released as a fundraiser for CFRC Radio.

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The second part of the David Parker and Friends session put together by Beechwood Productions.

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Recently my newly formed production company, Beechwood Productions went to a cabin in the words to film a sessions project with Kingston based musician David Parker.

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Ambient: An Autonomous Presence in Society

The formation of what is now referred to as ambient music began with Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports in the late 1970s, but dated back to one of his earlier releases, No Pussyfooting with Robert Fripp, both of which borrowed from and expanded upon the experimental and synthesizer styles of the period. Eno’s career, beginning with Roxy Music was shaped from his art school influences, crossing the boundaries of many genres in through his postmodern work including minimalism, experimental new music, post-Cage avant-garde ideas, and electronic music (Tamm 6). After his departure from Roxy Music, Eno began working on his own career in the electroacoustic field, enabling and demanding new ways of listening to music. Eno was critical to the coining of the term ambient music, though there were significant movements before his first release under his Ambient label. His greatest influences were two of the most highly regarded experimental composers of the twentieth century, John Cage and David Tudor, who spurred a new movement and critical comprehension of sound composition. While in these early stages the music was referred to as “environmental” or “background” music, a distinction must be made. It is not meant to be neglected nor command the whole attention of the listen; rather it is to act as an intermediary from the temporal and spatial realms, with a positionality intersecting the physical and spiritual worlds. The ultimate purpose is to present the listener with a unique musical experience. In this paper, I will argue that ambient is not a specific genre or style of established canon compositions, but rather a way of listening to music. Through the use of Walter Benjamin’s conception of aura and the virtual, in reference to sampling and the listener’s participatory experience, I will suggest that ambient must be considered an autonomous genre, encompassing many different musical forms.

Works Cited

Bates, Eliot. Ambient Music. Middletown, Connecticut May 7, 1997. Diss. Wesleyan University, 1997. Benjamin, Walter. The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. Penguin, 2008. Byrne, David. “How Music Works.” McSweeny’s, San Fransisco (2012). Print. Cage, John. Silence: lectures and writing. Wesleyan University Press, 1967. Print Eno, Brian. “Ambient music.” Audio Culture. Readings in Modern Music (2004): 94-97. Holmes, Thom. Electronic and experimental Music 3rd edition. Routledge, 2008. Print. Stares, Booth Adrian. Ambient: Meaning and Function in Society. Kingston, Ont. Dept.of Music, Queen’s University, 1997. Print. Stratton, Jon. “Beyond art: postmodernism and the case of popular music.” Theory, Culture & Society 6.1 (1989): 31-57. Tamm, Eric Enno. Brian Eno: His music and the vertical color of sound. Da Capo Press, 1995.

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David Parker Demo 2014

Demo 2014 by David Parker

Recorded June - November, 2014. vocals, guitar, bass, ukulele, thunder drum - David Parker drums (tracks 4,6) - Brendon Wilson vocals (track 5) - Tracey Guptill released 24 November 2014

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New York City in 35mm // Photos from the People's Climate March in September 2014

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Rich Aucoin Interview - Oct 4, 2014 - QPOP Music Festival

Halifax indie-electronic artist, Rich Aucoin stopped by CFRC 101.9fm before his set at QPOP Music Festival on October 4, 2014. We chatted about his last Kingston experience and making it to Wolfe Island Music Festival on time, his new album Ephemeral, The Little Prince and new cheddar cheese among other cheeses. by Brendon Wilson on Mixcloud

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PS I Love You Interview - July 29, 2014

An interview with Paul Saulnier and Benjamin Nelson of Kingston band PS I Love You, prior to a secret performance at The Artel on July 29, 2014. We discussed their new album, For Those Who Stay, summer festivals, Paul's move to Toronto, the recording process as well as some Paper Bag Records marketing techniques. This interview begins with their opening track In My Mind, with Limestone Radio in the middle and it ends with there new title track, For Those Who Stay. by Brendon Wilson on Mixcloud

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Rural Alberta Advantage Interview on CFRC 101.9fm - August 7, 2014

An interview with Nils from Rural Alberta Advantage prior to their performance at Wolfe Island Music Festival on August 8, 2014. We discussed their upcoming album Mended With Gold, their upcoming tour and their road-warrior attitude among other things. by Brendon Wilson on Mixcloud

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Young Galaxy Interview on CFRC 101.9fm - August 7, 2014

An interview with Stephen from Montreal based band Young Galaxy prior to their performance at Wolfe Island Music Festival on August 9, 2014. We discussed the festival, islands, recording in Sweden and their matrix style music video among other things. by Brendon Wilson on Mixcloud

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Brave Radar Interview on The Vault, July 31 on CFRC 101.9fm

A radio show comprised of an interview with Montreal band Brave Radar, which consists of Tessa, Conor, Gabriel and Andrew. This show includes 4 of their tracks performed in CFRC studios. Off their new record Message Centre, Brave Radar performed the title track Message Centre, Out of Reach, Get in Step as well as Subterrain City. We spoke about their long awaited new record, managing Fixture records and some great things coming out of Montreal right now. The Vault is a weekly radio show on CFRC 101.9fm that hosts local and touring bands to Kingston Ontario.