The multi-talented musician Kyp Malone shares inspirational music from Alice Coltrane and speaks with Melanie about finding a personal practice and music as a vehicle for transformation.
Kyp Malone is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who works with bands like TV On The Radio, Iran, Rain Machine, and Ice Balloons. Kyp is also a multi-media artist and actor who has appeared in film and television.
Links from this episode: Sacred Music Series | Kyp’s Multi-Media Art | Rain Machine | TV On The Radio | Ice Ballons | Transfiguration (Live)
Show Notes
Transfigured (Opening) – Melanie and Kyp listen to a performance of Transfiguration by Alice Coltrane, from the record Transfiguration Live at UCLA. Kyp describes the transcendent experience he had listening to the album for the first and time. He and Melanie dissect the unique combination of blues and traditional Indian music bridged together on Alice’s Oberheim OB-8 synthesizer, which provides a unique voice to her performance.
“I was on tour in a hotel room drawing with Tunde and both of us had the experience where we felt we were flying with Alice through the music, traveling through time and space. I have only had that experience with music a handful of times; often it is transportive and moving, but it is a rare occasion when I have felt like something has picked me up and taken me to another dimension.” – Kyp Malone
Finding Yourself Through Practice (8:25) – Kyp and Melanie talk about the influence that Alice Coltrane’s spiritual practices had on her music. They discuss the importance of discipline and putting the work into any practice. Kyp shares how improvisational music developed a practice and way to connect with spirit.
“When I first started to play music freely, I felt this is what prayer is supposed to be. I did not have all the words for it that I have now, but I definitely knew that if I was to commune with the Divine, privately or publicly, this is the form that it takes for me in this body at this time.” – Kyp Malone
Listen to Melanie’s conversation with cantor, pianist and composer Judith Berkson about finding a spiritual practice and more on Ep. 28 on the Shakti Hour Podcast
Reconnecting and Moving Forward (15:30) – The two discuss the karma that we as a society are working through at the moment. Kyp shares some of the practices and resources that he has found useful in grounding himself and turning a mirror towards himself and the parts of himself that he needs to work on. He and Melanie reflect on the infinite ways in which the Divine manifests and how it reaches out to people in a way that is best for them.
Paths to Leadership (45:00) – How can we make change and influence the world in smaller ways that don’t involve public office or direct activism? Kyp and Melanie discuss the need to raise our voice to injustice and how, even with small gestures, we can make a reverberating impact on the world.
