Gihon Spring

[glia]

Sound-bathing is often associated with exploration of spirituality and provides a healthy outlet for undisturbed introspection if we seize the opportunity to enjoy such time.

Perhaps I took the metaphor too literally, but…I find it interesting that many cultures around the world view bodies of water as inherently spiritual. Something special happens when we are around them or even think about the seas, rivers and lakes we’ve encountered: they seem to facilitate reflection on things unseen (within our mind and in the universe around us).

In my personal practice, I often enjoy using selected bible passages to focus my mind during meditation. This method can prove useful as a kind of mirror and, therefore, I viewed this initial preparatory time like one taking a moment to peer at their reflection in a deep pool just before entering it.

Then, eventually, I let myself ‘ease into the water’.

A brief opening movement invites listeners to submit to the cycle while contemplating what sounds may comes next…

Technical Notes

software and m4l devices by order of use:
polyrhytmus @benniii
aalto @randy
pools @Justmat
sway @carltesta
prosody @andrew
Ghz plugs + aaltoverb while mixing

hardware used:
monome 128
motu ultralite
norns
minidisc

Thanks/Credits

Aside from the developers mentioned above, who’ve so generously shared their apps for free (and often lent their time to explain the tools to me in more detail)…I must thank my partner and Benjamin Krarup for their support + encouragement. Such steady support and friendship were essential while preparing this composition.

Cover Design: Ben Krarup
Arrangment/Mixing: Glia

[glia]

i have 2 aalto patches to share which were used for these recordings

rising

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falling

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thought about sharing more detail upon release but instead chose to allow listeners the opportunity to experience the piece with only basic notes in mind

for those who want more…

i love when a song (or film, or meal) leaves me feeling refreshed

gihon spring is a devotional song cycle that feels refreshing (to me) . it reminds me of time spent pondering imperfection > healing > perfection and the transformative cleansing power of water

• the first movement (until ~ 01:45) was made while my mind settled on imagery that was once a dream of mine: lazily floating on the surface of the dead sea

• the second movement, pool of siloam (until ~ 12:32) made after meditating on effects of imperfection, attempts to find relief, and more broadly…the agitation King Hezekiah felt under pressure from Assyrian armies in 732 BCE

• during the final movement (until ~ 22:35) my aim was to represent the remedy, water of life which provides healing at a genetic/microscopic level and paves the way for true, unending peace of mind

[glia]

quick note for fans
GHS has been added to spotify and a few other streaming platforms

Gihon Spring

[RABID]

Meditated to this today(i just do zazen-style… mainly emptying the mind and synchronizing with the breath and the heartbeat, but if i focus on anything, it’s the idea that everything in the universe is all one single awareness… your music here helped me get fully in the zone to perceive that oneness: all the pain and suffering of the world framing equal waves of joy, whether in the past or coming from the future, like shards of a prism, splintered by time, glimpsing pieces of the truest light…).
It’s a beautiful work, glia, thanks for putting this out, it will be something I return to frequently, i can feel it already

[glia]

this is one of the highest compliments i’ve ever received

very glad you enjoy this piece + sincerest thanks