BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND
Transmissions
(Transgressive)
“There are three challenges in my life. The first is being Black in a white culture. The second is being transgendered in a heteronormative culture. The third is being an artist in a business culture,” says Beverly Glenn-Copeland in a press release about Transmissions, a career-spanning collection of his beautiful and eclectic music. Born in Philadelphia, Glenn-Copeland left the U.S. to study music in Canada in the 1960s. In 1970, after dropping out of college due to discrimination, he released two mystical folk-jazz albums. Then, after a 16-year hiatus, he released his cult classic masterpiece Keyboard Fantasies—a verdant, transcendental opus that combines nature, spirituality, and science-fiction with a Roland TR-707 drum machine and a Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer. Originally self-released on cassette, Keyboard Fantasies was rediscovered in 2016 and a new following quickly amassed. Transmissions weaves Glenn-Copeland’s classic tracks and more recent work into a cohesive retrospective fit for longtime fans and newcomers alike. “The great joy is to be alive,” he says. “Being alive means you’re going through some hell, some wonderful stuff, and a lot of stuff that is neither here nor there.” 5/5
By Maria Cecilia
Transmissions is out September 25, 2020. This article originally appeared in the Fall 2020 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!
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