On Savasana*2, I wanted to study how I sourced divine energy, understand it, and refine my skills in healing and sound. Allowing the music to create itself was a key factor in being able to source healing energy. I had to take away the foundation of what I knew, what I thought, what I expected. It had to be completely new, improvised; indeed, it had to be pulled out of thin air.
And so I started each time with nothing. I allowed the melody to come to me from the wind and I played what I heard. Play was the key word - I played with the music, venturing off into improvisations before returning to the melody. I watched the music play on people's psyche. I could beat them mercilessly with certain tones to break up blockages. I could soothe, caress, and heal. As I played for yoga classes throughout Europe and the US, it was completely different every time! It was evident that I would not be able to prepare for a recording session. So I booked the studio for three days around Christmas and waited without rehearsing. When it came time to record, I was less than excited. Exhausted from the European tour, my voice was scratchy, my body tired. Recording a CD was the last thing I felt like doing. Shouldn't I be sparkling fresh, shouldn't I get a massage, some healing treatment, something? Being present meant being here now, no matter what the circumstances. So I sat down for 8 hours and sang. Every moment revealed a different melody.
A few tracks were thrown out, but everything I recorded that day stayed. I played bass on a few tracks and then started calling musicians. The first was Baird Hersey, an overtone singer from Woodstock, NY (www.pranasound.com). He agreed to sing on the project, so I sent him some tracks. When I heard what he created, I was overjoyed. It was other-worldly, captivating, and like nothing I had ever heard before.
It also presented a problem. If I used Baird's tracks, I would not be able to use tamboura like I had used on the first Savasana CD. The tamboura created harmonic overtones, enriching to most Indian music, but these overtones were the same ones Baird was singing. In technical lingo, it's called sound cancellation. I would have to drop the tamboura.
That started me thinking, how could I create harmonic overtones with instruments other than the tamboura? I played harmonics on my violin. Katisse accidentally whistled some notes while he was recording and I asked him to do a whole track of whistling. He inhaled his whistles and caught some beautiful energy. Paul Hill sang OM drones. Brian Allen bowed notes on the upright bass. Kirk Margo played jazz and electric guitar. Paul Hollman played acoustic guitar and keyboards. I used feedback frequencies, harmonics on the violin, guitar and bass. Any harmonic frequency was added to the overtone library and used in the tracks.
Joyousness arose from the project. The musicians felt it, I felt it, and I hope you do too.
jai,
wah!
more info at: www.wahmusic.com
Fan Reviews
Sita/Barcelona, Spain
Your CD Savasana*2 is so so powerful, I'm having great meditations with it. Savasana*2 is your deepest work yet and is a real channel. I cannot listen to anything else. 03/06/05
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.wahmusic.com
Track List:
1. Heart Sutra
2. Saraswati
3. Radhe Govinda
4. Raksha Ma
5. Jaya Guru
6. Krishna Murti
7. Shiva
8. Ram Ram
9. Om Tare
10. Akasha Ma
11. Daya Karo Ma
Other Genres:
And so I started each time with nothing. I allowed the melody to come to me from the wind and I played what I heard. Play was the key word - I played with the music, venturing off into improvisations before returning to the melody. I watched the music play on people's psyche. I could beat them mercilessly with certain tones to break up blockages. I could soothe, caress, and heal. As I played for yoga classes throughout Europe and the US, it was completely different every time! It was evident that I would not be able to prepare for a recording session. So I booked the studio for three days around Christmas and waited without rehearsing. When it came time to record, I was less than excited. Exhausted from the European tour, my voice was scratchy, my body tired. Recording a CD was the last thing I felt like doing. Shouldn't I be sparkling fresh, shouldn't I get a massage, some healing treatment, something? Being present meant being here now, no matter what the circumstances. So I sat down for 8 hours and sang. Every moment revealed a different melody.
A few tracks were thrown out, but everything I recorded that day stayed. I played bass on a few tracks and then started calling musicians. The first was Baird Hersey, an overtone singer from Woodstock, NY (www.pranasound.com). He agreed to sing on the project, so I sent him some tracks. When I heard what he created, I was overjoyed. It was other-worldly, captivating, and like nothing I had ever heard before.
It also presented a problem. If I used Baird's tracks, I would not be able to use tamboura like I had used on the first Savasana CD. The tamboura created harmonic overtones, enriching to most Indian music, but these overtones were the same ones Baird was singing. In technical lingo, it's called sound cancellation. I would have to drop the tamboura.
That started me thinking, how could I create harmonic overtones with instruments other than the tamboura? I played harmonics on my violin. Katisse accidentally whistled some notes while he was recording and I asked him to do a whole track of whistling. He inhaled his whistles and caught some beautiful energy. Paul Hill sang OM drones. Brian Allen bowed notes on the upright bass. Kirk Margo played jazz and electric guitar. Paul Hollman played acoustic guitar and keyboards. I used feedback frequencies, harmonics on the violin, guitar and bass. Any harmonic frequency was added to the overtone library and used in the tracks.
Joyousness arose from the project. The musicians felt it, I felt it, and I hope you do too.
jai,
wah!
more info at: www.wahmusic.com
Fan Reviews
Sita/Barcelona, Spain
Your CD Savasana*2 is so so powerful, I'm having great meditations with it. Savasana*2 is your deepest work yet and is a real channel. I cannot listen to anything else. 03/06/05
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.wahmusic.com
Track List:
1. Heart Sutra
2. Saraswati
3. Radhe Govinda
4. Raksha Ma
5. Jaya Guru
6. Krishna Murti
7. Shiva
8. Ram Ram
9. Om Tare
10. Akasha Ma
11. Daya Karo Ma
Other Genres:
- NEW AGE: Meditation
- NEW AGE: Healing
- TYPE: SOUNDTRACK