FEATURE: Soundings of the Planet: A Journey From Video Pioneers to New Age Music and Mindful Meditation

Over 50 years ago in 1970, a young couple -- Dean and Dudley Evenson -- got their first video camera, the Sony Portapack, and they literally helped launch a revolution in portable video. This was the first time that everyday people could videotape what was going on in their lives. Prior to that, only a few television channels made video but suddenly the power of media was in the hands of the people.

However, since there were hardly any playback decks in the country and that period pre-dated VCRs, DVDs and the internet, there were virtually no distribution outlets beyond a few Public Access cable TV shows. Now of course with smart phones, YouTube and social media, video can be easily created and shared.

They traveled the country, seeking, observing, and attending  events of the time. They were mindful of the changing times, and gathered countless hours of footage with artists and gurus alike.  Here is one of the most recently released archive stories:

Chief Frank Fools Crow (c. 1890-1989) was a spiritual and civic leader of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He worked tirelessly to preserve tribal sovereignty and treaty rights and led the traditional faction during the 1973 Wounded Knee Occupation. He hosted the first ever negotiations with tribal members and White House representatives on his land. Dean Evenson and the video team had traveled to South Dakota then to videotape the standoff. When the occupation ended, Dean stayed in South Dakota for a month, learning from elders and tribal members about their traditions, their respect for the planet, as well as the challenges they faced. 

Founding the record label...

In 1979, husband and wife team and Soundings of the Planet co-founders, Dean and Dudley Evenson, decided to blend their peaceful music of flute and harp with the sounds of nature and start their own record label. They wanted to carry the message of the earth through their music into urban areas where decisions about the planet were being made. This inspiration came to them directly from their contacts with Native American elders and medicine people. They were also motivated to create a more peaceful and meditative form of music that would support yoga and massage and their evolving spiritual path. 

This anniversary video tells the tale...

Music of Peace and Healing...

In this interview, the couple speak with sitar master Deobrat Mishra from his home in Varanasi, India on the banks of the sacred Ganges River. Deobrat represents the 11th generation of the Benares Gharana vocal lineage. India’s rich heritage of music is at risk of being lost so to preserve this precious legacy, Deobrat and his family formed the Mishra Academy of Indian Classical Music which replicates the system of passing down knowledge from master to student. Deobrat composes in traditional Indian raga style and has collaborated with Dean Evenson on the album YOGA MANTRA featuring the Gayatri Mantra and six other devotional chants.

Listen to their latest release with Deobrat & Prishant Mishra, titled YOGA Mantra: https://orcd.co/yogamantrapre

The Gayatri Mantra is considered one of the most important, powerful, and ancient Vedic mantras. A mantra (otherwise known as a chant) is a word, sound, or sequence of phrases repeated, to aid in concentration or meditation. 

Traveling to Monet's Gardens...

Dean Evenson has always loved the paintings of Claude Monet and now he has experienced in person the beauty of the flower and water gardens that the Impressionist master cultivated and painted for 40 years. For Dean, spending five days videotaping Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France was a dream come true. There are many reasons Dean has been attracted to the paintings and life of Claude Monet. Dean and Dudley created a beautiful album based on their journey. 

Authoring Affirmations...

Life gets better when we think and feel better about ourselves.

This collection of 52 high-powered affirmations is based on practical wisdom helping us affirm and manifest the best parts of our being. Out with the old, negative, and self-limiting thoughts – in with the new, empowering and positive beliefs. Affirmations allow us to recondition, re-program and re-set our perceptions and beliefs with greater clarity and wisdom—so we can be happier, more at peace, and more successful in our lives. 

Each affirmation is complemented with beautiful contemplative photography and additional background information, allowing you to go deeper while personalizing each affirmation to fit your own life. Every week, explore and fine-tune another facet of yourself. Being able to focus on one guided meditation a week is an effective way to entrain yourself with more positive thought patterns—while allowing time to immerse, reflect, assimilate and integrate each one of these provocative and positive affirmations. 

Immerse yourself...

Incredibly rich content is presented in a pleasing way at the Soundings of the Planet website and YouTube channels. Visit again and again to enjoy hours of watching interviews or relaxing to music and videos; stay tuned for the duo's new lifestyle channel, coming soon!

https://soundings.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/SoundingsofthePlanet

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundingsMindfulMedia

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Music Review: Healing Music Volume 2

Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Valerie Romanoff has succeeded in delivering the ultimate two-disk relaxation album. Comprised of seventeen tracks, Healing Music Volume 2 is a two-hour serenade rife with delicate textures and brilliant guitar work. Most clocking in over five minutes each, these songs are designed to keep the listener in a peaceful mindset from beginning to end. The free-flowing nature of this music promotes a sense of openness and clarity and promote an uplifted state of mind.

Having studied music since childhood, Romanoff has always been driven to create atmospheres with her extensive knowledge of different instruments and genres. She categorizes her work into a spectrum that she likes to call “STILL, CHILL, THRILL,” all of which she uses to determine what kind of "life" or vibe each track will take on. She describes “STILL” as music for times of reflection and relaxation, while “CHILL” encourages active thought, and “THRILL” ignites energy during energetic peak times.

Staying within the realms of STILL and CHILL, disk one of Healing Music Volume 2 features eight of Romanoff's full-length compositions. “Pink Skies Over Still Water” showcase Stevin McNamara’s beautiful sitar playing as well as Tom Rossi’s ethereal flute. Paired with Romanoff’s guitar work, this trifecta comes together to create a piece with plenty of space, atmosphere and overflowing joy that continues on into “Pink Skies Over Waves.” Further down the list, “Om Shanti Shalom” has more of a groove than most of the other songs do. It is carried by solid percussion and her guitar playing layered on top of some ambient synthesizer work.

Disk two offers nine tracks which are radio edits of the songs on disk one, providing a compact version of the compositions from the previous disk. Concluding the second part of the collection is the bonus track “Prelude Went Beyond.” A celebration of love, it includes Tom Rossi once again on the kora as well as McNamara on sitar. Loaded with layers of strings and a variety of ornamental flourishes, the listener is left with a warm glow of motivation and positivity.

With this second album -- and a variety of notable singles including one with beloved yoga master Tao Porchon-Lynch -- Valerie Romanoff emerges as an exciting new voice to follow in the arena of World and New Age music. Her lively social feeds, especially Instagram, offers a daily dose of positivity and good energy.

For more information on Romanoff and a list of her upcoming talks and live performances, visit www.valerieromanoffmusic.com. Healing Music Volume 2 is now available anywhere music is sold or streamed, as well as on her Bandcamp page.

- Samantha Garcia

Music Review: MYSTIC by Al Conti

  

Even before inviting us into the grand sweeping musical experience of his latest masterwork Mystic, Grammy nominated new age and world fusion composer arranger and multi-instrumentalist Al Conti intrigues us with the darkness and light of the CD’s compelling artwork. In a monastic setting, a lone seeker dressed in a red robe stands before a mysterious black door, as sunlight pours through stately columns on the left, but not the right. We wonder, is he contemplating a trip towards the light, or towards exploring the mystery of the other side? Or is he the generator of the light that’s flowing out? As we contemplate these questions, Conti sets the musical stage for this mystical opening of a door on the opening title track by laying down a haunting ambiance behind the ethereal wordless vocals of Charlee Brooks and The Oxford Court Monk Choir.

Al Conti's new album is MYSTIC

These vocals bookend the piece and helps it build to a dramatic conclusion – which of course, is just the beginning of the journey. As a sensual groove and exotic keyboard melody take hold, Conti is pulling (or, rather, sweeping) us toward the heart of his exploratory journey – given extra emotional heft by Butto’s whimsical flute solo. Infusing the soul with relaxation, “Trance” puts us in a moody, musically liquid space before evolving into an exotic and hypnotic ballad featuring an elegant lead melody on the Indian santoor (played by Vanil Veigas, whose mastery graces a total of seven tracks).

The chamber music and rock influenced “Contemplation” features the mystical charms of another special guest, harpist Pamela Copus (2002) interacting with George’s soulful violin lines; later in the piece, Pearce’s soulful and crisp electric guitar echoes sweetly over the lush ambience, then creates a hypnotic steel string harmony behind the harp  melody. “Ritual” alternates atmospheric dreaminess with dramatic drums and percussion fills, bells and powerful keyboard chords. Underneath all that is the deep rhythm of a beating heart, as if on a mission to pump life into the spirit. Capturing the lighthearted side of Conti’s fluid musical spirituality, “Devotion” is a playful and poppy, sensual and infectious romp based on a pilgrimage song from the Middle Ages. It was inspired by a visit to a cloister and reflects humanity’s constant struggle to sustain one’s own devotion and balance.

Driven by Conti’s elegant, contemplative piano melody and some later caressing string harmonies and a gentle violin solo by Manoj George, we are drawn into a “Prayer” whose ultimate aim is to become one with the cosmos – and grateful for all things. In this state, it’s easy to have “Visions” of what Conti’s inspiration, 12^th Century mystic Hildegard von Bingen, called “the shade of living light.” Conti proves a masterful weaver of trippy sonic delights here, tying seamlessly together a gentle flute line, a resonant santoor melody and a deepening wash of dreamy ambience even before the rhythms enter the picture via Karthik K’s ever present tabla. The stark, ambient and trance-inducing “Pilgrimage” was inspired by Spain’s renowned Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage. It features an initial conversation between dark and light elements via Conti’s keyboard melody and George’s violin – then as the tempo picks up, Conti swirls his ancient flavored keys with a lively, dancing violin and the fiery electric guitar of another guest star, Jeff Pearce.

The artist wraps the collection with “Anima Aeterna,” a contemplation of one of the most mystical concepts of all, the human soul. He expresses this never ending mystery via Brooks’ dreamy vocalizing, lush atmospheres, a unique combination of santoor, electric guitar, tabla and other exotic elements. With this artful, sweeping blend, Conti helps us explore the eternal while inspiring the mystic in us all to engage in our surroundings. Mystic is deep and insightful work that can be grasped on many emotional and spiritual levels. While it can be enjoyed all the way through for its dual ability to relax and exhilarate, upon further careful listens, one comes to appreciate the artist’s incredible tapestry of textures.   

Mystic releases worldwide on October 7, 2016.

                                                  -- Jonathan Widran