Please join us on Monday, October 9th at 6:30 pm for Prison Pipeline on KBOO Community Radio as we talk Ian Brennan about his latest project, Parchman Prison Prayer. The album which records the artistry of 15 adults in custody at Parchman Prison in Mississippi has the feel of a gosel revival meeting. Parchman Prison is the state's oldest prison and has been the subject of numerous documentaries and investigations. In his recording Brennan elevates the voices of AIC's at this institution through raw vocals and powerful musical testimony which carries the voices of these people out into the broader world.
Ian Brennan is Grammy-winning producer (Tinariwen) who has produced three other Grammy-nominated albums (Zomba Prison Project, Peter Case, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott) and published eight books while also teaching violence prevention around the world since 1993 for such prestigious organizations as the Smithsonian, New York’s New School, Berklee College of Music, the University of London, UC Berkeley, and the National Accademia of Science (Rome). His latest book is Muse-$ick: a music manifesto in fifty-nine notes [PM Press, 2021]. His seventh book, Missing Music: voices from where the dirt roads end, will be published in March 2024.
Brennan released his first album in 1987 and in the past decade, Brennan has produced over forty records by international artists from five continents (Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Asia) which have resulted in the first widely-released original music albums from many nations, among them Rwanda, Malawi, Kosovo, South Sudan, Romania, Comoros, and Vietnam.
Since 2001, he has produced live-comedy shows around the world for filmmaker John Waters at venues including Coachella, Bonnaroo, and The Fillmore.
He has worked with artists as diverse as Fugazi, country legend Merle Haggard, Sleater-Kinney, and Green Day.
His work has been featured on the front-page of the New York Times, PBS television, and in an Emmy-winning segment of “60 Minutes” with Anderson Cooper reporting.
Links from Today’s Show:
Please feel free to connect with us with any questions, comments or suggestions at [email protected]
Parchman Prison Prayer: https://parchmanprisonprayer.bandcamp.com/album/some-mississippi-sunday-...
- KBOO