Bleep

It took decades for the world to properly catch up with the work of composer, singer and activist Beverly Glenn-Copeland. While the 2020 compilation Transmissions introduced some of his most seminal pieces and a smattering of incredible live material to a new audience of listeners beyond the world of new age aficionados and YouTube algorithm surfers, his 1986 LP Keyboard Fantasies alone is enough to showcase his raw invention. This 35th anniversary reissue is set to blow anyone’s mind all these years later.

Having established himself as a folk hero on blues and jazz releases throughout the 1970s — and managing to fit in a stint as a writer on Sesame Street — Glenn-Copeland brings a playful beauty to the Yamaha DX7 and Roland TR-707 recordings of this LP. Tones akin to Brian Eno and Jon Hassell billow through the popping chords of ‘Sunset Village’ and ‘Winter Astral’, invoking a brilliant pastoralism rarely heard in electronic music. Naturally, Glenn-Copeland’s lilting, loving vocal animates the analogue systems at his disposal into tools of otherworldly release. ‘Ever New’ is a staggering example of the kind of gorgeous lengths Glenn-Copeland can reach with so few material means.

Besides its breathtaking audio qualities, Keyboard Fantasies is a pioneering document of electronic music that ranks among some of the best ever.