Beverly Glenn-Copeland announces his first album in almost two decades

The Ones Ahead is Glenn-Copeland’s first studio LP in almost 20 years and the first since the 2004 album, Primal Prayer. To accompany the announcement Glenn-Copeland has shared lead track and album opener “Africa Calling” – a song that honours Glenn-Copeland’s West African heritage.

Commenting on the track Glenn-Copeland says: “In the ‘80s I had the honour of performing with an incredible artist named Dido, a master of the drums indigenous to West Africa. The beauty of this drumming tradition is explored in ‘Africa Calling’. Over the years, in many conversations, I have come to understand that I share an undefinable, unnamed feeling – a calling – with many other members of the African diaspora, a bone-deep need to explore and express our heritage. Alongside the grief, there is a longing to know our roots, hidden from us as family lines were torn apart in the terrible days of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In a world still caught in the ties of colonialism, I know I am not alone in needing to heed the call of this generations-old longing.

Glenn-Copeland recorded The Ones Ahead in collaboration with producer John Herbermann and Indigo Rising (Bianca Palmer, Jeremy Costello, Nick Dourado, Carlie Howell and Kurt Inder), the band who accompanied him on his inaugural European tour. The album was recorded in a remote studio in Nova Scotia in late 2021, then finished in 2022, with Herbermann recording live from the floor, capturing the dynamic interplay among the group.

He self-released Keyboard Fantasies in 1986 via a 200-copy cassette run, selling just a handful while the rest waited in storage. In 2015, a Japanese record collector emailed Glenn-Copeland about selling the remainder; a new generation had unearthed his art. The music spread globally, and a few years later, in his 70s, Glenn-Copeland embarked on his first European tour to share his songs with live audiences, a journey captured in Posy Dixon's 2019 documentary Keyboard Fantasies.

In 2021, he released the remix album Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined, which featured reimagined versions of the album's songs from contemporary visionaries such as Arca, Blood Orange, Julia Holter and Kelsey Lu. More recently, having been blown away after seeing him perform live in Stockholm, Romy from The xx sampled Glenn-Copeland on her new single “Enjoy Your Life”.

Tracklist:

1. Africa Calling
2. Harbour (Song For Elizabeth)
3. Love Takes All
4. People Of The Loon
5. Stand Anthem
6. The Ones Ahead
7. Prince Caspian’s Dream
8. Lakeland Angel
9. No Other