The Wheel Turns: Avram Brown’s Debut Album Weaves Indie Folk into Psychedelic Dreamscapes

Avram Brown, under his musical alias The Wheel, spins a captivating tale of melodic songcraft intertwined with lush, kaleidoscopic production in his self-titled debut album. A seasoned producer and session guitarist, Brown collaborates with notable names like Raymond Richards, Kyleen King, and the late Ralph Carney, infusing his indie folk-rock roots with psychedelic dreamscapes. This album, a labor of love and artistic exploration, represents a journey of self-discovery and transformation for Brown, as he transitions from a background role to the forefront as an artist.

In this deeply personal project, Brown collaborates with his friend and fellow producer Raymond Richards to focus entirely on his artistry, while inviting other talented musicians to contribute their unique flavors to the album. The resulting work is a cohesive blend of introspective lyrics and expansive soundscapes, marking a significant milestone in Brown’s career. In a candid interview, Brown reflects on the inspirations behind the album, the story of its lead single “Coyote Mask,” and his plans for the future as The Wheel.

1. Can you describe the moment you realized that The Wheel had come full circle for you?

I think the realization that this album had brought me full circle really crystallized into focus in the summer of 2023 when I went to Telegraph Mastering to witness Adam Gonsalves cut the lacquer master. There was something about seeing and hearing the physical vinyl process unfold right before my eyes that reminded me of the awe I felt about records as a kid. I fell in love with vinyl when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old, so the idea that I had gone from obsessive listener to musician to producer to maker of my own record was actually quite moving.

2. How did your experiences with different musical genres influence the sound of this album?

Having produced everything from experimental dub to hip hop to bluegrass over the years, making this record was an exercise in listening to what each song really wanted and doing my best to bring in elements that felt both texturally unique and harmonically helpful to the motifs I was hearing in my head. I wrote almost all of the songs on acoustic guitar or piano, so chipping away at the three-dimensional stuff coming out of the speakers was sometimes pretty experimental. 

I’ve always gravitated toward both the abstract and the simple if that makes sense. I think we ended up with a pretty good balance of the hues of simple songs, melodic motifs, some darker harmonic concepts and some sprinkles of the weirdness that seems to show up in the stuff I love most.

3. Could you share the story behind the lead single, “Coyote Mask,” and its significance to you?

I don’t want to prescribe what the lyrics should mean to the listener because a song can mean different things to different people, and I think that’s a sacred relationship we all have with the music that moves us. I can say that I was processing the end of a relationship with my partner of 14 years when I wrote it. 

It was a song that revealed itself all at once, almost in its entirety, while I was sitting at the piano one day. I was realizing that aloneness doesn’t have to equate to loneliness and can actually be quite beautiful. I’ll add that the chorus feels like a prayer or a confession asking for my own authenticity. Something about the song feels like a peeling back or deconstruction in some way.

4. What does the album’s self-titled name represent for you personally and musically?

The Wheel means a few things to me. The cyclical, full-circle nature of my musical path is a huge piece of the puzzle. There’s also the Buddhist concept of The Dharma Wheel. Plus, there’s a longstanding tradition of naming musical projects after songs by artists we love and revere. “Radiohead” is of course a song by Talking Heads, “Sisters of Mercy” is Leonard Cohen, “Death Cab for Cutie” is from a scene in The Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour, and so on. 

For me, The Wheel is also an homage to a song that the Grateful Dead played live several times, but they never actually recorded a studio version. It’s one of the few songs credited to Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter and to Bill Kreutzmann. I was fortunate enough to jam with Bill for a few hours at a halloween party that he hosted in Hawaii a few years back. That night made a pretty deep impression on me.

5. Now that you’re “coming out of the cavern,” what’s next for you and The Wheel?

A big focus for me now is honing a live sound that feels like it respects the three hues of songwriting, sonic textures, and a healthy dose of improvisation. Playing with cats who can communicate improvisationally while respecting the ethos of the songs is kind of everything right now. That and chipping away at new music in the studio is really where my focus lies at the moment. I do intend to tour and release new music in 2024.