Brian Campeau’s Ambience Driver – a record of B-sides and rarities which offers a glimpse into Campeau’s exceptional compositional talents.
One of the great hidden treasures of Australia’s music scene, Campeau’s music cannot be summed up into a single genre. His combination of experimental sampling, sublime vocals and intricate guitar patterning paints him as a virtuoso by any right. Campeau draws influence from Dirty Projectors, Perfume Genius, Fever Ray, and Sufjan Stevens and more, manifesting in tracks that flaunt elements of minimalism, indie-pop, folk and boisterous composition, all at different times. With so many flavours on offer, the first listen of Ambience Driver immediately sets it as a true feast for the ears.
“I had a huge collection of material from over the years that I quite liked but had never fit on any previous release,” begins Campeau. “As my releases are always conceptual, these songs sat by themselves in the dark, and I figured it was time to let them see the light of day. Hence, an album of derelicts.”
As single 1 from the album, Swipe Left tells an old tale of love and rejection refined through the scope of the modern-day man. Chirping in with a poppy, glitchy sample, Campeau brushes soft guitar work to create rich tones through a comforting, yet deceptive feeling of warmth. Upbeat music detracts from the reality of the lyrics – a soft sigh where introversion and loneliness can be heard on the exhale. Yet hiding behind these two elements there’s a balancing act between stripped down simplicity and compositional genius – resulting in the sort of song that’ll slip into your ear with ease before looping over and over in your brain in the days to come.
“Swipe Left is the first single and was written as a sort of experiment using a sample from another one of my unreleased songs,” begins Campeau. “It shall remain unreleased…”
“At the time, I was single and on Tinder and one particular week I was wondering why no one wanted to match with me, which explains the lyrics.”
For a record of oddities, Ambience Driver maintains a track-to-track flow that outpaces many a studio album with ease. Through all it’s diversity and intrigue, Campeau’s music innately locks a listener in from the get-go – the tonal warmth, insanely catchy and curious song-writing, fluid guitar work and earnest lyrics all speak volumes about Campeau’s compositional ability, which is nothing short of alt-folk’s best-kept secret. Touring is uncertain, as are the times, but keep a beady eye on Campeau’s Instagram and his new project with Hannah Cameron – Brain Romance – for more music during lockdown.
Brian Campeau’s Ambience Driver is available for streaming now.
