Ian Brennan (born 15 June 1966) is an American music producer, author and lecturer on violence prevention.
He has authored four books, two on anger, Anger Antidotes (2011) and Hate-less (2014); a novella, Sister Maple Syrup Eyes (2015); and one on music, How Music Dies (or Lives) (2016).
Brennan travels in search of countries and languages whose music is under-represented internationally, making field recordings of musicians and producing albums of their work. He started out making nine albums of his own music, and hosting gigs, making live recordings and releasing compilation albums of local bands in San Francisco.
Of the albums he has produced, Tinariwen's Tassili (2011) won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album and Zomba Prison Project (2015) was nominated; and Ramblin' Jack Elliott's I Stand Alone (2006) and Peter Case's Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John (2007) were nominated for Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. The Sunday Times (London) says he is "visionary".
Video Ian Brennan (music producer)
Early life
Brennan was born in Oakland, California to James Brennan, a railroad engineer, and Marilyn Brennan, a nurse from a tiny town in eastern Kansas. He grew up on the Pleasant Hill border in the same suburban home his entire life. He and his older brother and sister have a mere two-and-one-half year span between the three of them. This is due in part to his sister, who is the middle child, being born more than two months premature with Down syndrome.
At age five, he began playing drums and switched to guitar at age 6, which he taught himself to play.
Maps Ian Brennan (music producer)
Career
San Francisco Bay Area
At age 20, he self-released his first solo album and went on to produce eight more. He reflects now that he was his "own worst enemy" and made some of the "most horrible albums possible" due to his obsessive-compulsive, autocratic approach.
Beginning in 1996, for five years he hosted a free, mostly acoustic music show in a San Francisco laundromat. He would perform solo and feature a different local band each week. He documented the shows as field recordings and these resulted in three Unscrubbed compilation albums in 1997-1999.
Brennan also regularly organized benefit shows for social and/or political causes during this period--most notably presenting Fugazi, Vic Chesnutt, and Sleater-Kinney for free in Mission Dolores Park to honor the 20th anniversary of Food Not Bombs in 2000, as well as staging Green Day for free on the front of the steps of San Francisco's City Hall on the Sunday before George W. Bush's election as president also in 2000.
He received two Grammy Award nominations for producing albums in the traditional folk category (Ramblin' Jack Elliott's I Stand Alone in 2006, and Peter Case's Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John in 2007). The Ramblin' Jack record features Lucinda Williams and members of Wilco, X, Los Lobos, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
International work
In 2009, he and his wife, the Italian-Rwandan filmmaker, photographer, and author, Marilena Delli, began traveling the world in search of countries and languages that were underrepresented internationally. Amongst others, this has resulted in releases from Rwanda, Malawi, South Sudan, Cambodia, Tanzania, Romania, Pakistan, Vietnam, from within Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya and most notably from inside Zomba Central Prison in Malawi.
In 2011, he won a Grammy Award for the Tuareg band, Tinariwen's Tassili album, which was recorded live in the southeast Algerian desert just months before the Arab Spring erupted and war swept through the area. The album also includes members of TV on the Radio, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and guitarist Nels Cline.
In 2015, he gained a nomination for Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for Zomba Prison Project, the story of which was covered around the world including on the front-page of The New York Times and by the television program 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper reporting. The segment won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Feature Story and was nominated for two other Emmys.
Brennan has also produced many of filmmaker, John Waters' live stand-up comedy shows since 2001 at venues such as The Fillmore in San Francisco and the Royal Festival Hall in London, as well as at festivals including Coachella, Bumbershoot, and Bonnaroo. Brennan has created pairings for Waters such as with Jonathan Richman, Peaches, and Wanda Jackson.
Brennan has spoken about music at the Smithsonian Museum, the University of London, The New School (New York), the Berklee College of Music, and WOMADelaide in Australia.
Production style
Brennan is known for his fly on the wall style of production and is often compared to Alan Lomax. He states that relationships and emotion are what interests him, not technology. He often prefers to work with those who have no previous musical experience and hearing from historically persecuted populations. He advocates for embracing imperfection as a partner and prefers to record outdoors and 100% live, without any overdubs.
Mental health background
At age 20, in need of a way to support himself, he began working in locked psychiatric hospitals as a counselor. He continued to do so for another fifteen years in psychiatric emergency rooms in Oakland and Richmond, California.
In 1993 he was asked to develop a curriculum and teach his co-workers in verbal de-escalation at East Bay Hospital in Richmond. This request was based on his having regularly demonstrated skill at de-fusing emotionally charged and violent situations. Through word of mouth, he began teaching full-time at hospitals, clinics, jails and schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and greater California. This teaching eventually led him around the country and then the world, having now taught in Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East, at such places as University of California, Berkeley, the Betty Ford Center, and the National Accademia of Science (Rome).
Writing
At age 19, Brennan's poetry was published for the first time in an anthology (Fineline Thunder) curated by his adult-school creative writing workshop instructor, Betty Solomon. He was published again that same year in the Berkeley poetry journal, Agape.
He has written about music for Guitar Player, Sound on Sound, Talkhouse, Huck, Songlines, Flood Magazine, Zero, and Tape Op.
In 2011, he published a book on anger, Anger Antidotes. A follow-up, Hate-less, was issued in 2014.
In 2015, his semi-autobiographical novella, Sister Maple Syrup Eyes, was published, after working on drafts of it for over 25 years. It deals with the aftermath of the sexual assault of a partner, a trauma he experienced at age 21. Readers+Writers journal praised it, "A beautiful book. Achingly beautiful." And Louder Than War states it is, "....alive with the energy of an eye-witness." Small Press Picks noted, "In vividly re-creating Kristian's personal journey, Brennan offers a layered and moving exploration of the truth..."
His fourth book was, How Music Dies (or Lives): Field-recording And The Battle For Democracy In The Arts. In it he explores concerns related to the continuing domination of English language media across the planet, and details how recording technology can lead to more lifeless results as well as centralization of content. LargeHearted Boy calls it "...one of the most thought-provoking books on modern music that I have ever read."
Publications
Publications by Brennan
- Anger Antidotes: How Not to Lose Your S#&!. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. ISBN 978-0-393-70705-2.
- Hate-less: Violence Prevention & How To Make Friends With A F&#!ed Up World. Toy Gun Murder, 2014. ISBN 9781311823069.
- Sister Maple Syrup Eyes. New York City: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2015. ISBN 9780912887333. A novella.
- How Music Dies (or Lives): Field-recording And The Battle For Democracy In The Arts. New York City: Allworth Press, 2016. ISBN 978-1621534877. With a foreword by Corin Tucker.
Publications with others
- Fineline Thunder: Work by the Devil Mountain Poets. Walnut Creek, CA: Devil Mountain Books, 1986. ISBN 978-0915685042. With poems by Brennan and others.
Discography
Albums by Brennan
- Ian Brennan (Toy Gun Murder, 1987)
- One Last Kiss (Toy Gun Murder, 1988)
- Twisting By The Pool (Toy Gun Murder, 1988)
- One Sided Stories, Ian Brennan And The Faith Healers (Toy Gun Murder, 1990)
- Stuff (Toy Gun Murder, 1992)
- Paperboy (Toy Gun Murder, 1994)
- Cheapskate (Toy Gun Murder, 1996)
- Teacher's Pet (Toy Gun Murder, 1998)
- Mail-Order Brides (Toy Gun Murder, 2000)
- Sometimes It Just Takes That Long: 1987-2015 (Independent Records Ltd [IRL], 2016)
Compilation albums recorded and released by Brennan
Acoustic performances at Brainwash Laundromat in San Francisco recorded live by Brennan.
- Unscrubbed: Live From The Laundromat, various artists (Toy Gun Murder, 1997)
- Unscrubbed: Live From The Laundromat II, various artists (Toy Gun Murder, 1998) featuring Henry Kaiser (musician)
- Unscrubbed: Live From The Laundromat III, various artists (Toy Gun Murder, 1999) featuring Grandaddy
Albums produced by Brennan
- I Stand Alone, Ramblin' Jack Elliott (Anti-, 2006)
- Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John, Peter Case (Yep Roc Records, 2007)
- Rain Machine, Rain Machine (Anti-, 2009)
- Kigali Y' Izahabu, The Good Ones (Dead Oceans Records, 2010) - Rwanda
- Tassili, by Tinariwen (Anti-, 2011) - Mali/Algeria
- He Is #1, Malawi Mouse Boys (IRL, 2012) - Malawi
- Italia 1988-2012, Jovanotti (ATO Records, 2012)
- Trance Percussion Masters of South Sudan, Wayo (Riverboat, 2013) - Zande people
- South Sudan Street Survivors, General Paolino featuring Mama Celina (IRL, 2013) - South Sudan
- Little Copper Still, The Cedars (Clubhouse Records, 2013) - Scotland/South Africa/Portugal
- Lapwong (Freedom Fighters), Acholi Machon (IRL, 2014) - Acholi
- Dirt is Good, Malawi Mouse Boys (IRL, 2014)
- I Have No Everything Here, Zomba Prison Project (Six Degrees Records, 2015) - Malawi
- Survival Songs, Bob Forrest (Six Degrees Records, 2015) - Big Sur
- War is a Wound, Peace is a Scar, Hanoi Masters (Glitterbeat, 2015) - Vietnam
- Kibera Esbera (Kenya), West Bridge Band (Electric Cowbell Records, 2015) - Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya
- Rwanda is My Home, The Good Ones (IRL, 2015) - Rwanda
- Like a Bird or Spirit, Not a Face, Sainkho Namtchylak (Ponderosa Music & Art, 2015) - Tuva; Brennan also plays on the album
- They Will Kill You, If You Cry, Khmer Rouge Survivors (Glitterbeat, 2016) - Cambodia
- Rough Romanian Soul, Zmei3 (Six Degrees Records, 2016) - Romania
- Quaranta (40), Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (Ponderosa Music & Art, 2015) - Apulia, Italy
- Forever Is 4 You, Malawi Mouse Boys (Omnivore Recordings, 2016)
- I Will Not Stop Singing, Zomba Prison Project (Six Degrees Records, 2016)
- Why Did We Stop Growing Tall?, Abatwa [The Pygmy] (Glitterbeat, 2017) - Twa people, Rwanda/Burundi
- White African Power, Tanzania Albinism Collective (Six Degrees Records, 2017) - Tanzania
- Make Trouble, John Waters (Third Man Records, 2017)
Awards and nominations
- 2006: Ramblin Jack Elliott's I Stand Alone nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album
- 2007: Peter Case's Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album
- 2011: Tinariwen's Tassili won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album
- 2015: Zomba Prison Project's I Have No Everything Here nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album
- 2017: Khmer Rouge Survivors' They Will Kill You, If You Cry nominated for a Songlines Music Award, Best Asian Album category
- 2017: Brennan's How Music Dies (or Lives) nominated for Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award, Best Historical Research in Recorded Folk, Roots, or World Music category
References
External links
- Brennan's artist website
- Non-violent Crisis Resolution
- Ian Brennan (music producer) discography at Discogs
Source of article : Wikipedia
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