Brian Campeau

Brian Campeau (born 1980) is a Canadian musician, based in Sydney, Australia.

Brian Campeau
May 10, 2015
Background information
Born1980 (age 39–40)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
OriginSydney
GenresRock
Occupation(s)Musician, producer
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active2004–present
LabelsVitamin, Inertia Music
Associated actsThe Smokey Murder Sticks
Websitebriancampeau.com.au

Early life

Campeau was born in 1980 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Having played guitar since the age of 5, Campeau began as a classical player, being taught in Paris, France. Shortly afterwards, his family moved back to his birthplace where he was exposed by new guitar teachers to different, more rock-based styles, which would serve as major influences later on. Towards the end of high-school, he and a few of his friends formed a short lived, but local successful power pop band named The Smokey Murder Sticks. This band relied heavily on the sounds of Weezer, the Police, and Black Sabbath, and managed to release a few demos before disbanding a few years later. The drummer (Jasen Colson), however, would come as an integral part to Campeau's development as a musician, introducing him to bands such as Yes and Genesis. Campeau and Colson soon formed a duo, and began recording complex arrangements at home studios, mostly for the sake of experimentation and creativity.

Career

After completing a BA in philosophy in Guelph, Ontario, Campeau moved to Sydney, Australia. Campeau slowly built up his recording studio and began composing and recording music, involving mostly intricate guitar work and vocals, layered with programmed beats and synths. He recorded a few demos before releasing Brian Campeau and the Solitary Game in 2004.

His follow-up album Two Faces, which was initially released through Vitamin Records in 2007 was recorded using found sounds (similarly to Matmos), and second disc, made up of exactly the same songs as the first, was recorded with different versions of the songs. This album was well received in Australia, and was also well reviewed by many publications and radio stations, including Triple J,[1] Sydney's FBI Radio, and the Sydney Morning Herald.[2]

After about two years of touring and recording, Campeau released Mostly Winter Sometimes Spring through Inertia Music in 2009. The primary focus for this album was to use only one instrument per song, using different aspects of each instrument to create layers of melody and percussion. Musicians on this album included Elana Stone, Zoe Hauptmann, Kate Adams and Ruth Wells. Some of the instruments used were upright bass, melodica, harmonium, various guitars, and saxophone. This album was also well received by numerous publications around Australia,[3] and led to an extensive tour of the west of Australia.[4]

As well as running The Plex Recording Studio[5], Campeau is involved in several projects in and around Sydney.

  • The Rescue Ships: a duo with Elana Stone (currently recording a full-length album)
  • The Green Mohair Suits: a bluegrass band with Jason Mannell, Richard Cuthbert, Mikey Floyd, and Ben Romalis
  • Jimmy Swouse and the Angry Darts: a rock band with James Maybury, Chris Arnott, Dave Sattout and Josh Ahearn (currently recording a full-length album)
  • The Elana Stone Band : with Elana Stone, Aaron Flower, Zoe Hauptmann, and Evan Mannell
  • Manger: a semi rock-folk band with Zoe Vaughan, Oli Pieterse, and Mikaela Adams

He has also worked with Melanie Horsnell, Angus and Julia Stone, Passenger (Mike Rosenburg), Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers, and Emma Davis.

His song 'Montreal' wasn chosen as the main song for NAB's 'More Give, Less Take' advertisement campaign.[6]

Discography

Brian Campeau
  • Brian Campeau and the Solitary Game (Independent – 2004)
  • Two Faces (Vitamin music – 2007 to 2009)
  • Mostly Winter Sometimes Spring (Inertia Music – 2009)
  • Don't overthink it, overthink, overthinking (Art As Catharsis – 2015)
  • Old Dog, New Tricks (Small Pond/Art As Catharsis - 2018)

The Green Mohair Suits
  • Sing Songs from the Heathen Hymnbook (Independent – 2009)
  • "Untitled – The Green Album" (Independent – 2012)
  • "Wooden Duck" (Independent - 2014)

Jimmy Swouse and the Angry Darts
  • (why can't we do it in the) Boardroom (Independent – 2010)
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References
  1. Triple J – Review of Brian Campeau
  2. Sydney Morning Herald – Review of Two Faces
  3. Sydney Morning Herald – Review of Mostly Winter Sometimes Spring
  4. Music Feeds Article on Brian Campeau's Mostly Winter Sometimes Spring tour
  5. http://briancampeau.bandcamp.com/album/the-plex-recording-studio
  6. News on Montreal being used for NAB ad (taken from his website)
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