Fences by Ben Brown

The name fences is aptly named after the fences I stumbled across in the seemingly abandoned municipal campsite of Juillac, a small town in southern France. The campsite is only open to the public two summer months each year and otherwise left deserted. I was exploring one afternoon looking for interesting sounds to play when I came across these fences acting as campsite dividers. I went thru each fence to find the "singing sticks". I marked my favourite notes by placing pine cones, rocks and twigs as markers, creating scales. The next two afternoons I returned and made these recordings on my cellphone. Each track is a first take; learning how to play that particular fence and then creating a kind of instant composition. I then did some minimal post editing and eq'ing at a friends apartment with nice mixing speakers in Saint-Ouen. I dedicate this album to our fears. The fear that fences us off from each other, from ourselves. Maybe fear is a fence. We can try to go over it , under it , around it and even straight thru it . But in the moment when we face the fence we have a choice. A choice to reimagine the fence. To see and hear the fence with new eyes, ears. To turn the fence into inquiry and then maybe even playfulness.

I am a musician and composer based in Vancouver, Canada. As a drummer, I have received a Juno Award with my group, Pugs and Crows. I am the founder of Music And Movement Mondays (MAMM) and the Conundrum series for solo drum performance. Most of these tracks are taken from full albums I worked on with many wonderful artists. Please seek out the music where I have provided a link to the entire work.