Forty-five years. That’s how long the Canadian-American musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland spent not waiting for fame. Bookending that period are his debut album, released in 1970, and the 2015 rediscovery of Keyboard Fantasies, a record first released on a few hundred cassettes in 1986. In the intervening years, Glenn-Copeland, who goes by Glenn, worked at everything from delivering pizzas to composing for Sesame Street and appearing as a regular on the Canadian children’s TV show Mr. Dressup. The one constant was making music in serene obscurity, a process he describes as translating into song the audible transmissions sent to him from the “Universal Broadcasting System.” In the last few years his ethereal music has resurfaced, and his albums Keyboard Fantasies and Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland reissued. He has performed at MoMA in New York and been the subject of a documentary film that covers both his creative journey and his transition to living publicly This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty Buy Now Related Stories Music Issue 31 Ryuichi Sakamoto The celebrated Japanese composer reveals the oddly shaped edges of his constantly questing mind. Music Issue 49 Tove Lo The pop star reflects on the big feelings behind her biggest hits. Music Issue 49 Róisín Murphy Five questions for an art-pop icon. Arts & Culture Music Issue 47 Second Thoughts The ubiquity of second album syndrome. Music Issue 46 Hun Choi DJ Hunee outlines his dance floor philosophy. Music Issue 46 Lil Silva A superstar collaborator steps into the spotlight.
Music Issue 31 Ryuichi Sakamoto The celebrated Japanese composer reveals the oddly shaped edges of his constantly questing mind.