Cameron Wilson

Cameron Wilson seeks to understand different worldly perspectives and tell stories of shared human understanding through his work as a drummer, producer, songwriter, and inter-disciplinary artist. A native of Augusta, Georgia, Cameron came to the University of Michigan in 2017 to pursue a degree in percussion performance and jazz studies. He is a founding member of slapslap, America’s favorite post-war bassoon-funk band comprised of two electric bassoonists and two drummers.

When performing, Cameron Wilson is known as Pepperoni Wilson, a dynamic songwriter and performer and “Southeast Michigan’s premier Avant-Garde chef.” Pepperoni will be releasing their debut album, ‘How to Be Tiny’ on January 10th on all streaming platforms.

You can stay up to date with Cameron AND Pepperoni by following their Instagram (@belly5000) and following ‘Pepperoni Wilson’ on all music streaming platforms (Spotify, iTunes, etc).

How Some Jelly Fish are Born

Inspired by the 1960 documentary by Jean Painleve of the same name, “How Some Jellyfish are Born” is an exploration of symmetrical lifetimes and existential joy through the medium of dancing deep sea critters. As each jelly enters into pixelated existence, they immediately begin boogie-ing, woogie-ing, and everything in between.

The piece utilizes computer programming to semi-randomly generate the pitch, rhythm, and timbre of the three main synthesizers, which are linked via OSC signal to the movement of the three jellyfish on the screen. The jellyfish are created by drawing rectangles and rotating that area of the screen with each new frame, resulting in a radial-esque visual effect. The performer guides the behaviors of the jellyfish live using a MIDI controller and keyboard.

As the Jellies continue their journey through space-time, they multiply. They become their past and future selves, resulting in a joyfully cacophonous conglomeration of jelly stardust by the end of their performance.

In addition to detailing the journey of these three fish friends, this piece is also a prayer, a divine celebration, and a statement of intention. It represents my hopes to expand outward in ten radially symmetric directions at once, beyond dualistic thinking and into reflecting and becoming what is around me and beyond me.

Lyrics:

I was born a bird

I’ll die a fish

I’m going higher

Seeking deep blue bliss

I’m growing

Dying

Rising

Multiplying

I want space to breathe

I want room to grow

I got an ocean of thoughts

Wanna let them go

I’ve got hundreds of brothers

I’ve got millions of mothers

Untold stories

Where did they go

Did they float away

Dissolve my skin

Take away my eyes

I am becoming something old

Something small, something quiet

Quiet, quiet, quiet

I am becoming

Something old

I want to become

Something bigger I want

Love

I want to expand

Let me grow my hand

Let me grow

I want to grow