Ian Brennan (; born June 15, 1966) is an American

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, author and lecturer on violence prevention. Brennan has authored six books, two on anger, ''Anger Antidotes'' (2011) and ''Hate-less'' (2014); a novella, ''Sister Maple Syrup Eyes'' (2015); and three on music, ''How Music Dies r Lives' (2016), ''Silenced by Sound'' (2019), and ''Muse-Sick'' (2021). Brennan travels in search of countries and languages whose music is under-represented internationally, making field recordings of musicians and producing albums of their work. He started out making nine albums of his own music, and hosting benefits, making live recordings and releasing compilation albums of local bands in San Francisco. Of the albums he has produced,

Tinariwen Tinariwen ( Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's gu ...

's ''

Tassili Tassili n'Ajjer ( Berber: ''Tassili n Ajjer'', ar, طاسيلي ناجر; "Plateau of rivers") is a national park in the Sahara desert, located on a vast plateau in southeastern Algeria. Having one of the most important groupings of prehistoric ...

'' (2011) won a

Grammy Award for Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

and Zomba Prison Project (2015) was nominated; and

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

's '' I Stand Alone'' (2006) and

Peter Case Peter Case (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance. Biography Early career Case was born in Buffalo, New York, B ...

's ''

Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John ''Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John'' is an album by American singer-songwriter Peter Case, released in 2007. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. History The album was Case's first of new material in five years after ...

'' (2007) were nominated for

Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording. An award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was also presented. Prior to 1987 ...

Early life

Brennan was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

to James Brennan, a railroad engineer, and Marilyn Brennan, a nurse from a tiny town in eastern Kansas. He grew up on the Pleasant Hill border in the same suburban home his entire life. He and his older brother and sister have a mere two-and-one-half-year span between the three of them. This is due in part to his sister, who is the middle child, being born more than two months premature with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. At age five, he began playing drums and switched to guitar at age 6, which he taught himself to play.

Career

San Francisco Bay Area

At age 20, he self-released his first solo album and went on to produce eight more. He reflects now that he was his "own worst enemy" and made some of the "most horrible albums possible" due to his obsessive-compulsive, autocratic approach. Beginning in 1996, for five years he hosted a free, mostly acoustic music show in a San Francisco laundromat. He would perform solo and feature a different local band each week. He documented the shows as field recordings and these resulted in three Unscrubbed compilation albums in 1997–1999. Brennan also regularly organized benefit shows for social and/or political causes during this period with artists such as

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

. Most notably he presented Fugazi,

Vic Chesnutt James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the release of '' Sweet ...

, and

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member ...

for free in

Mission Dolores Park Mission Dolores Park, often abbreviated to Dolores Park, is a city park in San Francisco, California. It is located two blocks south of Mission Dolores at the western edge of the Mission District. Dolores Park is bounded by 18th Street on the nort ...

to honor the 20th anniversary of Food Not Bombs in 2000, as well as staging Green Day and

The Blind Boys of Alabama The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American Gospel music, gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a ch ...

for free in front of the steps of San Francisco's City Hall on the Sunday before

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

's election as President, also in 2000. He received two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nominations for producing albums in the traditional folk category (

's '' I Stand Alone'' in 2006, and

's ''

'' in 2007). The Ramblin' Jack record features

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

and members of

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

, X, Los Lobos, and the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

International work

In 2009, he and his wife, the Italian-Rwandan filmmaker, photographer, and author, Marilena Umuhoza Delli, began traveling the world in search of countries and languages that were underrepresented internationally. Amongst others, this has resulted in releases from Rwanda,

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

,Grant Smithies,
Of mice, Malawian men and melodies
, Stuff.co.nz, February 1, 2015. Accessed October 24, 2017

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, Comoros,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, from within Kibera in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

and most notably from inside Zomba Central Prison in Malawi. In 2011, he won a Grammy Award for the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...

band,

's ''

'' album, which was recorded live in the southeast Algerian desert just months before the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

erupted and war swept through the area. The album also includes members of

TV on the Radio TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...

, the

Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorpo ...

, and guitarist

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

. In 2015, he gained a nomination for

for Zomba Prison Project, the story of which was covered around the world including on the front-page of ''The New York Times'' and by the television program '' 60 Minutes'' with Anderson Cooper reporting. The segment won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Feature Story and was nominated for two other Emmys. Brennan has also produced many of filmmaker,

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

' live comedy shows since 2001 at venues such as

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fillm ...

in San Francisco and the Royal Festival Hall in London, as well as at festivals including

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

, Bumbershoot, and

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

. Brennan has created pairings for Waters such as with Jonathan Richman, evangelist

Tammy Faye Bakker Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist, singer, author, talk show host, and television personality. She gained notice for her work with ''The PTL Club'', a televangelist ...

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

, and

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

. Brennan has spoken about music at the Smithsonian Museum, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

(New York), the Berklee College of Music,

Ca' Foscari University of Venice Ca' Foscari University of Venice ( it, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, simply Università Ca' Foscari) is a public university in Venice, Italy. Since its foundation in 1868, it has been housed in the Venetian Gothic palace of Ca' Foscari, from ...

, the WOMEX conference, the

Le Guess Who? Le Guess Who? is a Dutch music festival featuring different music genres: from avant-garde, jazz, hip hop, electronic, experimental, noise rock, indie rock, world music and others. The festival, founded by Bob van Heur and Johan Gijsen, has ...

festival in The Netherlands, Peter Gabriel's

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

Festival (UK), the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity, the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and

WOMADelaide WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of Music, Arts and Dance, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is a four-day event that presents a diverse selec ...

in Australia.

Production style

Brennan is known for his

fly on the wall Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, t ...

style of production and is often compared to Alan Lomax. He states that relationships and emotion are what interests him, not technology. He often prefers to work with those who have no previous musical experience and hearing from historically persecuted populations. He advocates for embracing imperfection as a partner and prefers to record outdoors and 100% live, without any

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

Mental health background

At age 20, in need of a way to support himself, he began working in locked

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

s as a counselor. He continued to do so for another fifteen years in psychiatric emergency rooms in Oakland and Richmond, California. In 1993 he was asked to develop a curriculum and teach his co-workers in verbal de-escalation at East Bay Hospital in Richmond. This request was based on his having regularly demonstrated skill at de-fusing emotionally charged and violent situations. Through word of mouth, he began teaching full-time at hospitals, clinics, jails and schools in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

and greater California. This teaching eventually led him around the country and then the world, having now taught in Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East, at such places as

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, the Betty Ford Center, and the National Accademia of Science (Rome).

Political activism

Brennan has worked to establish a memorial for those who have died from homelessness in San Francisco. The installations were unanimously approved by the Board Of Supervisors, but later stalled due to opposition from the Mayors Office and the Chamber of Commerce. In the fall of 2019, Brennan produced a "sonic memorial" album featuring voices and songs from the homeless community of West Oakland. Brennan wrote a piece in May 2019 for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' criticizing the racist and misogynistic lyrics of The Rolling Stones', "

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

", and calling for the band to cease playing it live. In October 2021, the band announced that they were retiring the song from their performance repertoire. Brennan's piece was widely cited as a reference in this decision.

Writing

At age 19, Brennan's poetry was published for the first time in an anthology (''Fineline Thunder'') curated by his adult-school creative writing workshop instructor, Betty Solomon. He was published again that same year in the Berkeley poetry journal, ''Agape.'' He has written about music for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

,'' ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

,'' ''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, ...

,'' ''

,'' '' BOMB,'' ''

Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. History and profile Founded in 1981 in Fr ...

,'' ''

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''Mo ...

,'' ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

,'' '' Talkhouse,'' '' Huck,'' ''

Songlines A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dr ...

,'' ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', ''

No Depression (magazine) ''No Depression'' is a quarterly roots music journal with a concurrent online publication. In print, ''No Depression'' is an ad-free publication focused on long-form music reporting and deep analysis that ties contemporary artists with the long ch ...

,'' ''The Vinyl District,'' '' Afropop Worldwide,''

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

' ''

Qwest TV Qwest TV is a subscription video-on-demand ( SVOD) service featuring jazz and other eclectic music, including classical, blues, and soul. Qwest TV was created in 2017 by Quincy Jones and Reza Ackbaraly. History Key dates Reza Ackbaraly (member ...

'', '' Fretboard Journal,'' ''SonicScoop,'' ''Perceptive Travel,'' ''Flood Magazine,'' ''Zero,'' and ''

Tape Op A tape operator or tape op, also known as a second engineer, is a person who performs menial operations in a recording studio in a similar manner to a tea boy or gopher. They may act as an apprentice or an assistant to a recording engineer and dut ...

.'' In 2011, he published a book on anger, ''Anger Antidotes.'' A follow-up, ''Hate-less,'' was issued in 2014. In 2015, his semi-autobiographical novella, ''Sister Maple Syrup Eyes,'' was published, after working on drafts of it for over 25 years. It deals with the aftermath of the sexual assault of a partner, a trauma he experienced at age 21. ''Readers+Writers'' journal praised it, "A beautiful book. Achingly beautiful." And Louder Than War states it is, "….alive with the energy of an eye-witness." ''Small Press Picks'' noted, "In vividly re-creating Kristian's personal journey, Brennan offers a layered and moving exploration of the truth…" His fourth book was ''How Music Dies (or Lives): Field-recording and the Battle For Democracy in the Arts.'' In it he explores concerns related to the continuing domination of English language media across the planet,Banning Eyre,
Ian Brennan on the Zomba Prison Project
, September 22, 2016, Afropop Worldwide. Accessed January 21, 2018 and details how recording technology can lead to more lifeless results as well as centralization of content. ''LargeHearted Boy'' calls it "…one of the most thought-provoking books on modern music that I have ever read." His fifth book, ''Silenced by Sound: the Music Meritocracy Myth,'' was published in the fall of 2019. In 2020, Brennan co-authored ''Negretta: Baci Razzisti'' with his wife, Marilena Umuhoza Delli. The book is based on Delli's life growing-up in Italy's most conservative region with an immigrant mother from Rwanda. Brennan has hosted book events with the disability rights activist Judith E. Heumann (featured in the Academy Award nominated documentary '' Crip Camp''); tech visionary

Jaron Lanier Jaron Zepel Lanier (, born May 3, 1960) is an American computer scientist, visual artist, computer philosophy writer, technologist, futurist, and composer of contemporary classical music. Considered a founder of the field of virtual reality, La ...

; David Harrington (

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

); feminist scholar

Silvia Federici Silvia Federici (born in Parma, Italy, 1942) is a scholar, teacher, and feminist activist based in New York. She is a professor emerita and teaching fellow at Hofstra University in New York State, where she was a social science professor. She al ...

;

Ted Hughes Award The Ted Hughes Award is an annual prize given to a living UK poet for new work in poetry. It is awarded each spring in recognition of a work from the previous year. Background The award was established in 2009 with the permission of Carol Hughes i ...

winning, deaf poet,

Raymond Antrobus Raymond Antrobus is a British poet, educator and writer, who has been performing poetry since 2007. In March 2019 he won the Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry.Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Ba ...

( Nick Drake, Billy Bragg,

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

). His seventh book, ''Muse-Sick: a music manifesto in fifty-nine notes'', was published by PM Press in October 2021.

Publications

Publications by Brennan

* ''Anger Antidotes: How Not to Lose Your S#&!.'' New York City: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. . * ''Hate-less: Violence Prevention & How To Make Friends With A F&#!ed Up World.'' Toy Gun Murder, 2014. . * ''Sister Maple Syrup Eyes.'' New York City: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2015. . A novella. * ''How Music Dies (or Lives): Field-recording and the Battle For Democracy in the Arts.'' New York City: Allworth Press, 2016. . With a foreword by

Corin Tucker Corin Lisa Tucker (born November 9, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney. Tucker is also a member of the alternative rock supergroup Filthy Friends, and previously recorded ...

. * ''Silenced by Sound: the Music Meritocracy Myth'' PM Press, 2019 . With a foreword by

Tunde Adebimpe Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (born February 26, 1975) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, director, and visual artist best known as the lead singer of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio. Early life Adebimpe was born into a Nig ...

. *''Muse-Sick: a music manifesto in fifty-nine notes'' PM Press, 2021 . With a foreword by John Waters.

Publications with others

* ''Fineline Thunder: Work by the Devil Mountain Poets.'' Walnut Creek, CA: Devil Mountain Books, 1986. . With poems by Brennan and others. * ''Negretta: Baci Razzisti.'' Rome, Italy: Red Star Press, 2020. . with Marilena Delli Umuhoza (Italian language work).

Discography

Albums by Brennan

* ''Ian Brennan'' (Toy Gun Murder, 1987) * ''One Last Kiss'' (Toy Gun Murder, 1988) * ''Twisting by the Pool'' (Toy Gun Murder, 1988) * ''One Sided Stories,'' Ian Brennan and the Faith Healers (Toy Gun Murder, 1990) * ''Stuff'' (Toy Gun Murder, 1992) * ''Paperboy'' (Toy Gun Murder, 1994) * ''Cheapskate'' (Toy Gun Murder, 1996) * ''Teacher's Pet'' (Toy Gun Murder, 1998) * ''Mail-Order Brides'' (Toy Gun Murder, 2000) * ''Sometimes It Just Takes That Long: 1987–2015'' (Independent Records Ltd RL 2016) * ''Silenced by Sound: the Music Meritocracy Myth,'' spoken-word release (PM Press, January 2021)

Compilation albums recorded and released by Brennan

Acoustic performances at Brainwash Laundromat in San Francisco recorded live by Brennan. * ''Unscrubbed: Live From The Laundromat,'' various artists (Toy Gun Murder, 1997) * ''Unscrubbed: Live From The Laundromat II,'' various artists (Toy Gun Murder, 1998) featuring Henry Kaiser (musician) * ''Unscrubbed: Live From The Laundromat III,'' various artists (Toy Gun Murder, 1999) featuring

Grandaddy Grandaddy is an American indie rock band from Modesto, California. The group was formed in 1992, and featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Kevin Garcia and Tim Dryden, until Garcia's death in 2017 following a stroke. After several ...

Singles produced by Brennan

* ''Why he War,'' Yemen War Refugees (Toy Gun Murder, 2020) –

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

* ''Soccer (Summer 1988),'' The Good Ones ( Anti-, September 2020) * ''Albinism Unity (We Are Still Living In a Troubled World),'' Tanzania Albinism Collective (Six Degrees Records, June 2021) * ''I'm So Tired of Evil,'' Malawi Mouse Boys (Toy Gun Murder, August 2021) – Malawi * ''Death Can Come at Any Time,'' fra fra (Glitterbeat Records, February 2022) - Ghana *''Abnoy (Don't Call Me Names),'' Sheltered Workshop Singers (Toy Gun Murder Records, March 2022) * ''The Smallest Country in the World (We Are Ancient),'' Comorian (Glitterbeat Records, June 2022) - Comoros * ''In Memory of a Hungry Child,'' Malawi Mouse Boys (Toy Gun Murder Records, September 2022) * ''Peace to All,'' Ustad Saami (Glitterbeat Records, September 2022) - Pakistan * ''It's in the Book,'' John Waters (Sub Pop Records, December 2022) homage to 1950s comedian

Johnny Standley Johnny Standley (December 6, 1912 – May 27, 1992) was an American musician, actor, and comedian. Early life and career Born in Oklahoma City, Standley moved to Milwaukee at a young age, touring the Midwest and Southwest for many years as an actor ...

Albums produced by Brennan

* '' I Stand Alone,''

( Anti-, 2006) * ''

,''

(

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul W ...

, 2007) * ''Rain Machine,'' Rain Machine (Anti-, 2009) * ''Kigali Y’ Izahabu,'' The Good Ones ( Dead Oceans Records, 2010) – Rwanda * ''

,'' by

(Anti-, 2011) –

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

* ''He Is #1,'' Malawi Mouse Boys (IRL, 2012) –

* ''Italia 1988–2012,''

Jovanotti Lorenzo Cherubini (; born 27 September 1966), better known as Jovanotti (), is an Italian singer-songwriter, rapper and disc jockey. The name Jovanotti derives from ''giovanotti'', the plural form of the Italian word ''giovanotto'' ("young man") ...

( ATO Records, 2012) * ''Trance Percussion Masters of South Sudan,'' Wayo (Riverboat, 2013) –

Zande people The Azande are an Ubangian ethnic group in Central Africa. They live in the south-central and southwestern part of South Sudan, southeastern Central African Republic, and northeastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congolese ...

* ''South Sudan Street Survivors,'' General Paolino featuring Mama Celina (IRL, 2013) –

* ''Little Copper Still,'' The Cedars (Clubhouse Records, 2013) –

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

/South Africa/

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

* ''Lapwong (Freedom Fighters),'' Acholi Machon (IRL, 2014) – Acholi * ''Dirt is Good,'' Malawi Mouse Boys (IRL, 2014) * ''I Have No Everything Here,'' Zomba Prison Project (

Six Degrees Records Six Degrees Records is an independent record label noted for its catalog of recordings from international musicians and vocalists. History In 1996, former Windham Hill employees Pat Berry and Bob Duskis founded Six Degrees Records with the in ...

, 2015) – Malawi * ''Survival Songs,''

Bob Forrest Robert O'Neil "Bob" Forrest (born February 15, 1961) is an American musician who is best known for his work with the Los Angeles bands Thelonious Monster and The Bicycle Thief. Forrest, a recovering drug addict, has worked for years as a recover ...

(Six Degrees Records, 2015) – Big Sur * ''War is a Wound, Peace is a Scar,'' Hanoi Masters ( Glitterbeat, 2015) –

* ''Kibera Esbera

enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

'' West Bridge Band (Electric Cowbell Records, 2015) – Kibera,

, Kenya * ''Rwanda is My Home,'' The Good Ones (IRL, 2015) – Rwanda * ''Quaranta 0''

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS), formed by writer Rina Durante in 1975, is a traditional music ensemble from Salento, Italy. The seven piece band and dancer perform a contemporary style of Southern Italy's traditional Pizzica music and dan ...

(Ponderosa Music & Art, 2015) – Apulia, Italy * ''Like a Bird or Spirit, Not a Face,''

Sainkho Namtchylak Sainkho Namtchylak ( tyv, Сайын-Хөө Намчылак, russian: Сайнхо Намчылак, born 1957) is a singer originally from Tuva, an autonomous republic in the Russian Federation just north of Mongolia. She is known for her Tuvan ...

(Ponderosa Music & Art, 2015) –

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

; Brennan also plays on the album * ''They Will Kill You, If You Cry,'' Khmer Rouge Survivors (Glitterbeat, 2016) –

* ''Rough Romanian Soul,'' Zmei3 (Six Degrees Records, 2016) –

* ''Forever Is 4 You,'' Malawi Mouse Boys (

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...

, 2016) * ''I Will Not Stop Singing,'' Zomba Prison Project (Six Degrees Records, 2016) * ''Why Did We Stop Growing Tall?,'' Abatwa he Pygmy(Glitterbeat, 2017) –

Twa Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

people, Rwanda/ Burundi * ''White African Power,'' Tanzania Albinism Collective (Six Degrees Records, 2017) –

* ''Make Trouble,''

(

Third Man Records Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Tennessee, Detroit, Michigan, and Soho, London—with ...

, 2017) * ''Our Skin May Be Different, But Our Blood is the Same,'' Tanzania Albinism Collective (Six Degrees Records, 2018) – Tanzania * ''Score for a film about Malawi without music from Malawi,'' Malawi Mouse Boys (Toy Gun Murder, 2018) * ''God is not a terrorist,'' Ustad Saami (Glitterbeat Records, January 2019) –

* ''Not a homeless person, just a person without a home,'' Homeless Oakland Heart (Electric Cowbell Records, October 2019) * ''Rwanda, You Should Be Loved,'' The Good Ones ( Anti-, November 2019) * ''Funeral Songs,'' fra fra (Glitterbeat Records, April 2020) –

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

* ''Who You Calling Slow?,'' Sheltered Workshop Singers (Toy Gun Murder, September 2020) * ''Pakistan is for the peaceful,'' Ustad Saami (Glitterbeat, October 2020) –

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

* ''I've Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be,'' Witch Camp

hana Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a ci ...

(Six Degrees Records, March 2021) * ''Prayer to Pasolini,'' John Waters (Sub Pop Records, April 2021) – recorded onsite in Italy * ''We are an island, but we're not alone,'' Comorian (Glitterbeat Records, May 2021) – Comoros * ''Sons of South Sudan,'' Acholi Machon (Good Deeds Music, July 2021) – South Sudan * ''East Pakistan Sky,'' Ustad Saami (Glitterbeat Records, October 2021) - Pakistan * ''A Lifetime Isn't Long Enough,'' War Women of Kosovo (Toy Gun Murder, February 2022) -

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

* ''Rwanda...you see ghosts, I see sky,'' The Good Ones (Six Degrees Records, April 2022) - Rwanda * ''Afar Ways,'' Yanna Momina (Glitterbeat Records, August 2022) -

* ''The First Time I Wore Hearing Aids,'' Raymond Antrobus (Toy Gun Murder, September 2022)

Awards and nominations

* 2006: Ramblin Jack Elliott's ''I Stand Alone'' nominated for a

* 2007: Peter Case's ''Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John'' nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album * 2011: Tinariwen's ''Tassili'' won a

* 2015: Zomba Prison Project's ''I Have No Everything Here'' nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album * 2017: Khmer Rouge Survivors' ''They Will Kill You, If You Cry'' nominated for a

Music Award, Best Asian Album category * 2017: Brennan's ''How Music Dies (or Lives)'' nominated for Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award, Best Historical Research in Recorded Folk, Roots, or World Music category * 2020: Ustad Saami's ''God is not a terrorist'' nominated for a

Music Award, Best Asian Album category * 2021: Ustad Saami's ''Pakistan is for the peaceful'' nominated for a

Music Award, Best Asian Album category * 2021: Ustad Saami's ''east Pakistan sky'' won a

Music Award, Best Asia & Pacific Album category

References

External links

Brennan's artist website

Non-violent Crisis Resolution
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Ian Living people 1966 births People from Oakland, California Grammy Award winners Record producers from California Ethnomusicologists American music theorists American writers about music American audio engineers Engineers from California Musicians from Oakland, California