music
Welcome to NYC’s Psychedelic Film & Music Festival An Interview with Organizer Daniel Abella
One of the most intriguing film and music festivals is coming to New York City, and it’s all about tripping: The Psychedelic Film and Music Festival is billed as “an ode to the exploration of altered states of consciousness created by music, art, film and psychedelia.” Its mission is “to explore the outer limits of consciousness with respect for others and the planet. To create a new paradigm for the adventurous.” Highlights include a performance by psych-horror soundtrack musician Simon Boswell, a talk with ethnopharmacologist and botanist Dennis McKenna (brother of the late Terence McKenna), the world premiere of...
Terence McKenna’s Little Known Ambient Album About DMT
Dream Matrix Telemetry is the name of a 1993 album by UK ambient group Zuvuya and the psychedelic bard himself, Terence McKenna. Dream Matrix Telemetry — Now where have I seen those initials before? Ah yes, dimethyltryptamine, the so-called “Spirit Molecule.” McKenna’s calm, echoing monologue — set to a backdrop of bizarre but relaxing sci-fi synths and melodies — begins like this: D.M.T. is an extraordinary hallucinogen that lasts only a few hundred seconds at the peak of the flash. It is something which is smoked. Something waxy. Orange. Smelling of camphor. You vapourise it in a small glass...
LSD, DMT, and ‘Aliens Made of Light’ — In a Country Song?
As a self-proclaimed fan of Terence McKenna’s lectures and Rick Strassman’s DMT studies, with interests ranging from modern physics to religion and cosmology, Sturgill Simpson is not your average country singer. The lyrics of the opening track to his latest album, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, prove as much: There’s a gateway in our mind that leads somewhere out there beyond this plane Where reptile aliens made of light cut you open and pull out all your pain. Tell me how you make illegal something that we all make in our brain? Some say you might go crazy but then again it...
How to Make Celestial Music with an Oven Rack
Want to enjoy a trippy concert of chimes and gongs that only you can hear? Great, because that’s what today’s post is about. As you may have noticed if you have ever removed your oven rack for cleaning, striking it causes it to vibrate, and the vibrations create a chiming sound. But the sound is very quiet, which is why strings are necessary for this activity. The strings act as crude amplifiers plugged directly into the ears, transmitting the sound to the listener. This activity is fascinating enough if you’re sober, but it’s ten times more effective when...
Song: “Parabol” by Tool, slowed to 1/8 speed
The original track was otherworldly to begin with. But Tool’s “Parabol” has a completely different feel when slowed down by a factor of eight. Ethereal and haunting, it’s more like a Gregorian chant than a single from a rock album. I recommend good headphones and your favorite consciousness-modifier (legal, of course). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5_eGEF5dGI In case you’re thinking, “This is missing something…binaural beats?” I have just the thing. Now strap on your headphones and meditate. And if you’re one of those strange people who listens to music at normal speed, here’s the original along with some slowly shifting Alex Grey...
Stereodose: Streaming Radio for Psychonauts
Have psychonauts gone mainstream enough to warrant their own music player? Apparently so! One more sign that the Psychedelic Renaissance is gaining momentum and coming into its own. What’s next, a social media network? (Actually, there is one! I’ll post about it soon.) Stereodose an online music player dedicated to drug-induced states of mind. There’s the regular web app as well as one for Android. The iOS version comes out at the end of April. The interface is slick: select your drug (weed, ecstasy, LSD, or shrooms), your mood (with options like “thug life,” “shaman,” and “rolling balls”), and your playlist starts. What about...