The Lake Sutra
Healing, Timeless, PowerSéance Centre is the umbrella under which Brandon Hocura and Naomi Okabe produce unique curatorial projects as a record label, publisher, and media artists.
Séance Centre is known for uncovering and sharing music from all corners of the world, geographically and sonically, focussing on timeless music, whether it be a reissue from the past or contemporary future classic.
Their interdisciplinary backgrounds and love of art and design infuses everything they do, whether it’s a record release, poetry publication, or documentary film. Storytelling is at the heart of what they do, and The Lake Sutra is one such excursion into the narrative backwoods of one of their releases, Keyboard Fantasies by Beverly Glenn-Copeland.
Born in 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Beverly Glenn-Copeland was exposed from an early age to classical piano and singing, studied European Classical music at McGill University and went on to create prescient music, drawing on a wide array of genres. The technology of his time, too, was deeply important to the music Glenn-Copeland was making, particularly his 1986 album, Keyboard Fantasies. Originally released on a small batch of cassettes, the now widely popular album was recorded using only the Roland TR-707 and Yamaha DX-7 synths. But through that collection of sounds, Glenn-Copeland creates a beautiful and sweeping meditation on the landscape of Huntsville, Ontario, the lake-side town where he recorded the album. As is documented in Brandon Hocura and Naomi Okabe's short film The Lake Sutra, the project is as genuine a reflection of the serenity of the landscape as he could imagine.
Following Glenn-Copeland through the spotted light of the forest, the film is itself a serene and meditative insight into the process and philosophical foundations behind the album. Hocura’s direction and Okabe’s cinematography serve to bring the environment surrounding the album into focus, as well as Glenn-Copeland’s inner landscape at the time. When we see Glenn-Copeland playing on the drums along with the birds, we are given a sense of how Keyboard Fantasies became the classic album that, owing to its renewed influence, demanded a re-release from Séance Centre. Now in his seventies, Glenn-Colepand’s voice is being heard by a global audience, projecting his spirit through song and uplifting a new generation.
Séance Centre is known for uncovering and sharing music from all corners of the world, geographically and sonically, focussing on timeless music, whether it be a reissue from the past or contemporary future classic.
Their interdisciplinary backgrounds and love of art and design infuses everything they do, whether it’s a record release, poetry publication, or documentary film. Storytelling is at the heart of what they do, and The Lake Sutra is one such excursion into the narrative backwoods of one of their releases, Keyboard Fantasies by Beverly Glenn-Copeland.
Born in 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Beverly Glenn-Copeland was exposed from an early age to classical piano and singing, studied European Classical music at McGill University and went on to create prescient music, drawing on a wide array of genres. The technology of his time, too, was deeply important to the music Glenn-Copeland was making, particularly his 1986 album, Keyboard Fantasies. Originally released on a small batch of cassettes, the now widely popular album was recorded using only the Roland TR-707 and Yamaha DX-7 synths. But through that collection of sounds, Glenn-Copeland creates a beautiful and sweeping meditation on the landscape of Huntsville, Ontario, the lake-side town where he recorded the album. As is documented in Brandon Hocura and Naomi Okabe's short film The Lake Sutra, the project is as genuine a reflection of the serenity of the landscape as he could imagine.
Following Glenn-Copeland through the spotted light of the forest, the film is itself a serene and meditative insight into the process and philosophical foundations behind the album. Hocura’s direction and Okabe’s cinematography serve to bring the environment surrounding the album into focus, as well as Glenn-Copeland’s inner landscape at the time. When we see Glenn-Copeland playing on the drums along with the birds, we are given a sense of how Keyboard Fantasies became the classic album that, owing to its renewed influence, demanded a re-release from Séance Centre. Now in his seventies, Glenn-Colepand’s voice is being heard by a global audience, projecting his spirit through song and uplifting a new generation.
Statement by Omar El-Sabrout
The Lake Sutra
Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s Keyboard FantasiesCanadian artist Beverly Glenn-Copeland returns to the wilderness near Huntsville, Ontario, where he recorded the 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies. The film is a poetic reflection on the intersection of landscape, Buddhism, and technology and the unique music that resulted from his time living in this environment. Only a handful of the self-released cassettes sold back then, and now in his seventies, Glenn's music is being rediscovered by a new generation and his prescient vision has found its audience at last.
Credits:
Featuring Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Director - Brandon Hocura
Director of Photography - Naomi Okabe
Editor -Naomi Okabe
Colourist - Angelina Friskney
Music by Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Keyboard Fantasies, 1986 & 2017
“Winter Astral”, “Ever New”, “Old Melody”, “Sunset Village”
“Time of Tears” Poem by Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Shot on location in Huntsville, Ontario.
© Séance Centre, 2017
