I love music. It has taken me a lot of life experience to discover how important music is to me, especially which types resonate the most.
It wasn’t until I experienced music on a psychedelic plant medicine journey that I realized how important music has been to me since my teenage years.
The realization came about when I was 40 lying in a tipi on a DMT journey and being able to see music visually with my eyes open. Beautiful colorful scenery changing and following the music I was listening to. That night in the tipi was also my first time experiencing someone playing the didgeridoo live which still gives me goosebumps thinking of that deep growling sound with unbelievable overtones. The whole experience was so profound and beautiful that I had tears of laughter and bliss running down my cheeks.
I later found out that being able to see music is called synesthesia and is reported by many on psychedelic journeys.
These profound experiences deepened my appreciation for music, a journey that began in my childhood.
In the 80’s when I was 12 my dad bought a Commodore 64. That was my first introduction to a computer and also when I heard game music for the first time. I became fascinated with electronic music. The computer also added a new dimension to using a computer, not only could I play a computer game, it could also be programmed. My older brother picked up programming very quickly and he saw the potential and started developing games for the C64. I remember hearing the game music for some of those games and I was very excited.
My fascination with electronic music from games naturally evolved into a desire to create my own sounds and melodies. I bought a Commodore Amiga and music sequencer software in English. Being a Danish kid without anyone around to explain the musical terms, I had to learn on my own. By trial and error I eventually learned how to compose my own music. I learned about tempo, patterns, various instruments and their unique sounds, rhythms, synthesizers, and the frequencies the human ear can perceive.
Artists like Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, M/A/R/R/S (specifically the song Pump up the volume), Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, and Kitaro inspired me, among others. It was also around that time that acid house became popular and I spent a lot of time listening to the radio analyzing how the different popular songs were composed. I learnt about the concept of beats per minute BPM as I sat in front of the loudspeakers rocking my body with a stopwatch and counted the beats of the popular songs at the time. I came to understand music as patterns of sound frequencies unfolding over time.
The Commodore Amiga was also known for being the most graphically advanced computer at the time, and I saw the opportunity to express my inner visions by combining my own music with visually stunning real time animated graphics. In order to utilize the full power of the computer I taught myself the most efficient programming language to squeeze the most out of it.
Quite naturally I found other computer enthusiasts my age and I ended up gathering us in a team to develop computer music and visual arts together. I also discovered competitions throughout Denmark where teams competed to showcase their graphical and musical creations. We entered those competitions and had a lot of fun traveling around.
When my classmates spent their weekends partying and getting drunk I studied music composition, audio editing, coding practices, and learning about colors, perception and visual arts.
Looking back on that period, I appreciate the skills I’ve gained, enriching my journey in both professional and personal realms. Among these, analytical listening, critical thinking, and pattern recognition stand out. Analytical listening has deepened my appreciation of music and life’s intricate details. Critical thinking, nurtured through my experiences with programming and music, has been a guiding light in navigating complex challenges. Recognizing patterns has helped me connect diverse life experiences, offering insights that I hope to share in future endeavors. These skills, developed over time, have shaped not just my everyday life but also my explorations in the world of dreams, where music plays a key role.
Lucid dreaming opened another door in my musical journey, allowing me to experience music in ways that defy physical world limitations.
One of those experiences was when I was 20 and I had one of my first significant lucid dreams involving music. I woke up inside my dream to find myself hovering above a still lake light as a feather. At that moment, I heard ‘Play that Funky Music’ by Wild Cherry, a surreal experience of music coming from an unknown source.
At that time, unfamiliar with navigating this state of consciousness, fear of falling into the water jolted me back into my body.
Some of the other astral projections I’ve had with music have also been fantastic. I’ve played musical instruments that don’t exist in this realm.
Synthesizers made out of moving glass parts or guitars with unlimited strings that when played turned the guitar into a piano with endless electronic buttons and levers.
Four years ago, I began my journey with percussion, focusing particularly on the African djembe.
In my lucid dreams, I’ve received guidance on playing specific rhythms and techniques for using my hands to create distinct sounds on the drum.
Returning to the profound night in the tipi, my DMT journey not only unveiled the synesthetic beauty of music but also marked the beginning of a new chapter in my musical exploration. This transformative experience inspired me to curate music in a way that could enhance not just my own spiritual journeys but also those of others. It led me to create playlists that encapsulate the essence of these profound experiences, blending sounds that resonate with the soul and elevate the spirit.
Music, for me, has become more than just a collection of rhythms and melodies. It’s a gateway to beautiful transcendental experiences, a language that speaks directly to the soul. Whether it’s the deep, resonant tones of the didgeridoo or the intricate rhythms of the djembe, each piece I’ve selected carries a piece of my journey and a resonance that I hope will touch others as deeply as it has touched me.
Here are a couple of my current favorite tracks.
Dig the Didge, Rishi & Harshil
Duality, Tumbara
Remember to Breathe, Byron Metcalf
Good for drumming (playlist)
As I continue to explore the infinite possibilities of music, both in the waking world and in the ethereal realms of dreams and astral projections, I am reminded of the power of music to connect us to something greater than ourselves. It is my hope that through sharing these sounds, others too can experience the profound joy and transcendence that music has brought to my life.
As you delve into these playlists, I invite you to ponder: How does music speak to your soul, and where might it take you?
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