“Music is life, and folk/roots/blues music gives us some of the most profound, soulful, and beautiful expressions of life.”

Brian Campbell:

Let’s Talk about the Planet in Fire

With the climate crisis reaching a crucial crossroads, Montreal-based folk singer Brian Campbell has penned a passionate call to do whatever one can to save the planet. From devastating fires internationally to Earth's unnerving rise in temperature, Campbell's latest single "Planet on Fire" is a proverbial eye-opening anthem on what needs to be done from big business on down the line. Yet the natural feeling of the terrific single is a bit outside the folk musician's wheelhouse. “Planet on Fire," is a stark, sobering account of what has transpired with global warming. Recalling the works of Fred Eaglesmith, and the iconic Bruce Cockburn, Campbell is accompanied by Chard Chénier on harmonica, giving the song a bluesy feel. Campbell's arranger and collaborator Martin Bennett provides some fine lead guitar playing to flesh out the already weighty, beefy single. Bennett, who also engineered "Planet on Fire," plays piano, a sampled bass and percussion, while Campbell sings and plays acoustic and electric guitar.

(Brian Campbell / Photo by Joe Bongiorno)

“Planet on Fire" is from the upcoming studio album Let's Talk, slated for release in late April 2025. Campbell described the album as an effort that "references communication and miscommunication in love, politics, and war." The single and album follow two full-length albums and two EPs Campbell's released over his career. A published poet with several collections, Campbell's musical journey began in Antigua, Guatemala. Taking a Spanish immersion course there, Campbell learned fingerstyle picking from a fellow student. Influenced by musicians like Dave Van Ronk and John Renbourn as well as Latin American singer-songwriters like Victor Jara and Violeta Parra, Campbell moved to Montreal in 1990 and composed over two dozen original songs in one summer.

Interview by Michael Limnios             Special Thanks: Brian Campbell &  Eric Alper

How has music and poetry influenced your views of the world? What moment changed your life the most?

Music and poetry are the forms of artistic expression I practice most and for which I have developed the greatest expertise. (I also love doing photography, but that’s a whole other thing.) The poetry and music have not only influenced my way of seeing the world, but the act of creating my own poetry and music has shaped my identity as well. All the different art forms have their strengths and finesses; none I’d say is in an absolute sense superior. Life-changing moments that immediately come to mind in relation to art are when I was sixteen, composing my first real poem, and at about twice as old, composing my first real song. By real I mean that I stand by them, as works of art, to this day. These were break-through moments I’ll never forget.  

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy and songbook? Is there a message you are trying to convey with your music/songs?

A few years ago, I came up with a working definition of a poem: a poem is an instance of concentrated, rhythmic language that strikes us with a revelation of what it is to be alive. Song is similar, except that it’s hybrid form of words and music. Some of my songs – “Planet on Fire” is one example – are didactic and even heavy-handed in their message. In others, the “message” is more implicit. But in all of them I’d say what’s expressed is that life is worth living and celebrating in its highs and lows; that a well-expressed downer is an upper; that life is ultimately an affirmation against death, even as death is integral to life; that whatever else, poetry and song are expressions of life, freedom, compassion, affirmation, abundance, even – one could argue especially - when they are protests against the denial those things. As for my sound, most of it is gentle acoustic folk, with quite a bit of fingerstyle on the guitar, although I do at times venture into more aggressive folk rock, as in “Planet on Fire.”

”To be open to new things, sounds, people, cultures. You can’t be creative in music, or any art for that matter, without having acquired some degree of that openness. Also to be patient and forgiving with yourself, in practice and performance.” (Brian Campbell / Photo by Thomas Colin)

Why do you think that Folk / Roots / Blues music continues to generate such a devoted following from Guatemala to Canada and beyond?

Music is life, and folk/roots/blues music gives us some of the most profound, soulful, and beautiful expressions of life.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of music?

“Past” could go back to the Neanderthals and beyond, but my immediate tendency when I hear your question is to go back in my mind to the folk revival of the 60’s and 70’s, with their antecedents in traditional folk. I’d say what I miss most from those days (days I only somewhat remember, and mostly second-hand through older friends and family) is that people bought and listened to albums – they put sweat equity into going out and buying them, and bringing them back home - read and remembered all the liner notes, and were disposed to listen to music in an impressively focussed way. I’m an album artist who takes great care in the order of songs on a record and the story they tell. Today though too many of us are very scattered in our style of attention; we are too influenced by the “thousand songs in your pocket” – excuse me, all of recorded music in your pocket - and for many, the closest thing to musical focus is the playlist! That super-abundance and super-availability cheapens it. People don’t take time to sit and listen to one artist for very long. A lot of the time that’s even true of myself! As for fears for the future, I’d say it’s that the scattering of attention could become more extreme, and with the rapid development of AI, music of the heart – what I think of as the best of folk/roots/blues – could be shunted into realms of esoterica or indifference. At the same time, AI might even provoke a revival of sincere expressions of music, music of the heart. 

What is the impact of music on racial and socio-cultural realities? How do you want music to affect people?

Music can and should be a rallying cry for the life-affirming values I’ved described, whether it take the form of a soothing balm for the soul or angry protest. The values implicit in music are suppleness, flexibility, compassion, openness. Authoritarians have a hard time finding music or musicians that fit into their rigid ideologies.

”Music and poetry are the forms of artistic expression I practice most and for which I have developed the greatest expertise. (I also love doing photography, but that’s a whole other thing.) The poetry and music have not only influenced my way of seeing the world, but the act of creating my own poetry and music has shaped my identity as well.” (Brian Campbell / Photo by Sharon Cheema)

John Coltrane said "My music is the spiritual expression of what I am...". How do you understand the spirit, music, and the meaning of life? 

I like what John Coltrane says. Life itself is its own meaning and affirmation, and music is a profound and joyful expression of life. 

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your musical journey?  

To be open to new things, sounds, people, cultures. You can’t be creative in music, or any art for that matter, without having acquired some degree of that openness. Also to be patient and forgiving with yourself, in practice and performance.  Perfectionism is actually highly imperfect: the tensions it creates can undermine the very effortlessness that’s necessary to play music well. Music is a thing we play. Playfulness: what is music, or any sort of art, without it?

What affects you most about acoustic sound? What's the balance in music between technique and soul?  

I love the sound of strings reverberating through wood. I also love breath blowing through wood too, and not only wood: brass and silver are also wonderful. Of course, for the sake of fresh arrangements and atmospheres, I also very open to computer-generated sounds and samples. You will hear for instance synth in some of my recordings! As for technique, someone said, and I don’t know who: inspiration’s great, but knowing the craft will save your ass. Technique is best when it facilitates soul.

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(Brian Campbell / Photo by Brian Ethel Meilleur)