In this episode of the Shakti Hour’s Sacred Music Series, Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Drums & Drones sits down with Melanie to listen to and discuss the music of Pauline Oliveros.
What are the different forms that sacred music manifests in? Brian explores this question with Melanie and shares the sacred roots behind his own projects.
Links from this episode: Sacred Music Series | Pauline Oliveros | Horse Sings from Cloud | Chase Brian | Chaikin Records | Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Show Notes
Sonic Sattva (Opening) – We sample the track “Horse Sings From Cloud” from Pauline Oliveros’s album Accordion and Voice. Brain shares some of the unique methodology behind Pauline’s song arrangement. He and Melanie reflect on the sacred quality of Pauline’s music, which incorporates several principles from the Hindu tradition.
“My understanding is that in the chanting of OM there are also the important associations that come along with it. To associate Om with divinity and its different aspects. That is an important part of Om as a meditation, which can be a little different from how it functions with sound and music, but ultimately they lead to the same place” – Brian Chase
Facilitating Space (13:30) – Brian and Melanie talk about the space that music can provide to allow for the expansion of consciousness. He reflects on the implicit and explicit spirituality in his own musical projects, like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Drums & Drones.
Contemplative Listening (25:25) – We learn more about Brian’s spiritual background and personal practice. He and Melanie also talk about the presence of meditative listening in our culture.
“Art is a language in itself, and music is the language of sound.”- Brian Chase
Explore the intersection of music, spirituality and consciousness with David Silver and Raghu Markus on Ep. 11 of the Mindrolling Podcast
