And now for something completely different. This is meditation but not as we know it. In the artist’s own words his electroacoustic improvisations have become “more minimal and increasingly focused on field recordings of the elements.” Having performed in Buddhist centres it involves the sounds of the five elements to heal body and mind with the songs from streams and rivers, wind and trees and our close connection to nature.
An important aspect is Herve’s work is the use of resonant frequencies found in natural sounds, selecting and sculpting tonalities used in sound and vibrational therapy using healing frequencies from nature.
I found this work intriguing and at times beguiling, conjuring up images in my mind from the percussive elements making me think of crackling fires and rainforests. Some of the imagery is more specific with dripping water, bird cry and bee buzz, and surprisingly the sound of cows mooing, which I found at first disconcerting then strangely comforting.
I am fortunate enough to live in a rural area surrounded by trees and sheep. I am also a regular practiser of meditation with the help of a guide and it puzzled me why I would want to put this on during my meditation sessions, as it is much more varied and evocative than typical Chakra release and the removal of negative energy soundtracks. One reason might be that more traditional instruments such as shakuhachi, a Japanese end-blown flute and bells, as well as mediation bowls are also used in addition to synthesised or computer-generated sounds.
Could I transit to a more expansive approach? Well, the underlying drone is still a hook to hang onto and focus the mind, and I realised that by having more to pay attention to, my meditation sessions could be sustained for a longer time by Hervé’s listening meditations, which of course are also designed for listening to in segments (there are a large number of them).
Meditation music is very important in these troubled times and I welcome more of it to be sent for review on this site.
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