By Will McGuirk
Of course we are always happy to hear new artists, new to us anyway, who come from the Durham Region, and those which take inspiration from and proscribe value to the geography, well, even more so. Such is the case with Alaskan Tapes, aka Brady Kendall, an Ambient artist raised in Brookin, ON.
So we asked of course if there's any of the geography of Durham Region which works its way into the music, as inspiration, as a place to work?
“Definitely,” says Kendall, “Particularly, my wife and I are big fans of the Greenwood conservation area. We go walking there quite often. I've named songs after it, I've taken album art photos and press photos there, and used it in video work. We're also down by the lake very often taking photos and videos of the water. There's a little path near the Darlington Provincial Park that we love as well. There are so many lovely and inspiring places in Durham, even though I've been here all my life, it feels like I haven't scratched the surface.
Kendall says Brooklin was small when he was growing up, not much to do but he got into skateboarding and via that sport into music.
“I got into skateboarding pretty young and thankfully there was a small crew of people around who were into it as well. The crossover between music and skateboarding is pretty significant, so I was introduced to a lot of the bands that shaped my musical taste through the people around, but also skateboarding films and the culture in general. I was around 12 years old when I got my first drum kit, and once I did I never really stopped playing, it only grew from there to include other instruments, types of production, and eventually into other genres which I'm now part of such as Ambient and Experimental music.”
Alaskan Tapes has several Ambient and Experimental albums already available, including his latest ‘Blank Slate, Open Space’ which dropped this past Friday May 8 on his own label We All Speak In Poems, named for his debut Alaskan Tapes album. We All Speak In Poems also has other artists, mostly ambient, neo-classical, and experimental and primarily built around the artist’s vision and drive. The albums are available via the website or Bandcamp but there are physical release outlets in Germany, U.S.A. and Canada.
Along with albums Alskan Tapes is also involved in film work. He has worked on numerous film scores and soundtrack compositions, including collaborations with likes of Leonardo DiCaprio foundation.
“Film work kind of fell into my lap at the right time”, says Kendall. “I was making classical-adjacent music when some directors contacted me for custom work on commercials, which I often do. Slowly, the snowball grew and a few years ago, I scored my first documentary, "Harvest Season" directed by Bernardo Ruiz. Now, I'm working on my first feature film, "Rooster Prince," directed by Josh Soskin. This kind of work isn't my focus, but it's a nice break when a project comes up that I resonate with.”
Kendall says ambient music resonated with him as it allows the listener to find their own way into the music and also for him to build up and fill every pocket in the piece to the minute degree.
“Instrumental music in general not only allows for the listener to assosiate themselves in the music, but also allows the composer to get VERY granular in production. Adding little nuances and putting a lot of detail into the music is what got me hooked. In other types of music with vocals these things would end up getting buried. Also, the community around instrumental music is very positive, especially online, there's many groups that dig very deep into the music, and it's awesome to see.”
And such a community exists too in Durham Region. Artists such as Rob Teehan, Candace Leca and Michael Paglia, Mappe Of, work on soundtracks and song placements and there are also ambient artists such as Hymns 57, and Spanned Canyons who are also from Brooklin.
So yes maybe something in area inspires. Maybe it’s the silence of these lands.