If Not Now... When? Album
The inspiration behind putting this new album together came to me over the past two years as I looked for new ways to share the essential Dharma with new audiences at a time when our ability to gather in person was so restricted. For a long time I have contemplated the idea of mixing music soundscapes with spiritual teachings and meditations in a attempt to enhance the states of consciousness we might enter while both listening to profound spiritual teachings and practicing meditation.
In my previous album I explored the synergy between world and eastern folk music and the key message of the Dharma. Of course we are all aware of the profound capacity for music to create mood and ambience, but with this new offering I wanted to explore the almost limitless capacity that electronic music presents to create new soundscapes. I remember when I was first practicing meditation deeply, as a recluse, in the monastic communities of Burma and India, whilst entering states of absorption, I experienced celestial visions which contained the most exquisite music quite unlike anything I had ever heard before and using instruments almost unimaginable to our worldly minds. The experience touched me deeply and I have long mulled over how our worldly limitations hinder our ability to explore the true potential of musical form.
Track Listing
1. I Stood at The Door 17:28
2. If Not Now When 27:05
3. Spirit of the Yogi 11:00
4. Meditation: Enter the Stream 13:04
5. You Are Love 11:11
6. Everything is Us 07:57
7. Meditation: Merging Into Oneness 19:50
8. Bonus Track: Virtue as a Doorway to The Divine 15:07
9. Bonus Meditation: Deeper Meditation 18:30
This album is essentially my own humble effort to delve into the world of electronic music in an attempt to create new sounds that might facilitate new and more nuanced experiences within meditation and whilst receiving teachings. My hope was that through music there might be a way to transmit these teachings both more deeply and to a wider audience.
The wizardry behind most of the sounds we have created on this new album I have to credit to Hugo (Ryder). Together we have contemplated many times the ways in which Devic music surpasses our own worldly music, and wondered whether one day there might be a way to emulate some of the extraordinary celestial sounds that are to be heard in the heavenly realms.
To make this journey even possible, Hugo has spent countless hours delving deep into the world of digital sound engineering in search of new ideas to weave around the vocals and narratives of the various tracks on this album. We created whole new virtual instruments to synthesise some of the sounds you hear on this album. Some even we had to play live in such a way that we would never again be able to recreate the sound or musical structure that emerged. And in many ways I hope that is what makes this album unique. While we wanted to create timeless pieces that could carry the Dharma for generations to come, much of it came into being literally in the moment, in such a way that we had to work with our first take each time something magical emerged.
We are just beginning to tap into this world but I hope that you enjoy what we have created so far, as much as we have enjoyed making it.
The album itself is a mediative and musical journey. While making this album I kept in my mind the listening experiences that had moved me so much in my youth when it was common to lie back and listen through a whole album from start to finish. Albums like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the Wall gave me the inspiration to try to create a similar continuous journey, both musical and narrative in nature, that would weave one track into another to create a complete picture ensemble. I strongly encourage you to put some time aside to sit back and dive in to “If Not Now When?” I feel the message it conveys is so important in these times and sincerely hope that we have created a sufficiently engaging listening experience to hold you along the journey it takes you on. But beyond that, I hope also it holds you and gives you inspiration on your own journey of awakening.
