LIQUID MIND
Liquid Mind X: Meditation
(Real Music)

 

As I personally recall it, 2012 was a transitional year with lots of big changes in my life. In a twist of fate, it was also the year that keyboard synthesist Chuck Wild released the tenth album by his musical imprint as Liquid Mind.

The 2012 CD release of Liquid Mind X: Meditation on Real Music remains one of the truly essential Liquid Mind albums as it centers its aura around mindsets of meditation.

As he writes in the Liquid Mind X CD liner notes, during his own health crisis, Chuck was confronted by his doctor with a simple yet effective three word remark: 'Meditation or Medication'.

Not enough doctors regard the value of meditation as a conscious alternative to consuming copious amounts of pills, whether it be sleeping pills, pills for stomach aches or pills for hypertension, the latter being a veritable epidemic in the modern world.

Although it may seem daunting to the average person as to what type of meditation might be best, listening to Liquid Mind X: Meditation is a good place to calm your mind as you start to experience meditation. Simply sitting in a room or outside with your eyes closed, observing your breaths while listening to Liquid Mind X: Meditation may lower blood pressure and tame your tension yet the music is also a good choice for electronic synth music fans seeking a pure, ambient music experience.

Ever the musical adventurist when it comes to enhancing the value of human health through meditative music, Chuck Wild shared that one doctor even recommended a standing meditation that could be done anywhere by simply stepping aside from the hustle and bustle of the day, closing one's eyes and breathing.

The six-track, 60-minute Liquid Mind X: Meditation CD offers an inspiring display of Chuck Wild’s patented synth soundscapes, with each track played at gentle, calming tempos that seems to suspend time and space. With song titles such as “In Fields Of Peace”, “In The Silence Of My Soul” and “The Joy Of Quiet” to name a few, the track names offer a glimpse into Chuck’s musical mindset on this album which, in fact, serves as a continuum of all the Liquid Mind albums that, although following different sonic trajectories, offers a parallel approach with one common goal, to calm you.

An album that was in the top ten of the Billboard New Age Album Chart for 107 weeks, and as recently as January 2023, Liquid Mind X: Meditation presents the supremely relaxing music of Chuck Wild and Liquid Mind in the finest imagined sonic light.

 


 

mwe3.com presents a 2023 interview with Liquid Mind
Chuck Wild remembers Liquid Mind X: Meditation

mwe3: 2012 was a transitional year for many. What was your mindset regarding the creation of Liquid Mind X: Meditation that was released on Real Music that year. What did Terence and the others at Real Music think about the album?

Chuck Wild: I knew that Terence Yallop and his wife Karen Kael had been meditating to my music for many years, and as well, I started my own journey to healing using meditation in 1987, but I felt hesitant to title an album with the word "meditation", since meditating is such a personal thing.

Meditation can be a "letting go", a connection with something greater than ourselves, or as a tool to make better decisions in our lives.

In my experience, the benefits can vary greatly from person to person. Many folks sit quietly, others go for a walk in a remote place, some choose music, some even dance as their meditation. Terence and Karen encouraged me to proceed, as a way to interest others in a healthy and beneficial activity.

mwe3: You wrote in the liner notes that your doctor issued a proclamation regarding your own health issues when he said to you ‘meditation or medication’. Seems like an easy choice for some but for others, not so easy?

Chuck Wild: I was having intractable panic and anxiety attacks, it was a very difficult period in my life post-Max Headroom, which had put me in a state of continual tension from overwork - 20 hour days for that show.

So, it was quite tempting for me to try the meds, which I did for only one day. I disliked the loss of energy, and in particular, I didn't want to give control of my being to a medication. I'm not anti-medication, there are some miraculous ones, however, at that point in my life, I chose to try meditation instead.

I was agoraphobic at the time, refused to leave my house without being accompanied by a friend or assistant. I did eventually agree to take some gentle Chinese herbs for a period of time, but for me the meditation was the key that unlocked the door to returning to a healthy life.

I've learned that even a brief period of meditation can bring me a new perspective, helps me make better decisions, clear out emotional baggage, and help to release the stress of living in what is sometimes an "information overload" world. Some use meditation to detach from our world, I use it to clear my mind help make the world a more tolerable place.

mwe3: There are so many different forms of meditation and there’s almost as many as there are cultures in the world. Is meditation a universal healing power that remains untapped by and large and what are your recent thoughts on meditation?

Chuck Wild: I bought a book called How To Meditate and read it cover to cover. As well, I was under the good care, almost daily at some point, of Taoist masters Mao Shing Ni and his brother Daoshing Ni, and they are advocates of meditation as well. I'm very grateful to my dear friend JS Kingfisher who had recommended I consider acupuncture as part of my healing, which helped heal the sleep deprivation I'd had during the TV series. These days I do a simple counting for shorter meditations, one that I describe here.

mwe3: I know you’re a classical music maven so does the sound of the album have a kind of classical style, albeit from an electronic music perspective. Any reflections on your musical mindset when you set out to record the Meditation album?

Chuck Wild: As a young boy, I used to sit behind our church organist and watch her play not only hymns, but also slow meditational music, which she told me was largely improvised. I always loved that music, and my experience as a child helped mold the Liquid Mind style.

During the recording of Meditation, I was working in pop music as a songwriter, demo producer, and studio musician at times, but my preference has always been in the direction of Beethoven, Bach, Chopin and Rachmaninoff.

mwe3: You’ve used a wide range of electronic keyboards over the years but does anything stand out in your mind while recording the Liquid Mind X album?

Chuck Wild: Nothing in particular, it's more about the ambience, the reverbs, the delays, the EQ, reduced treble, enhanced bass. Almost any synth would work.

mwe3: Would you consider another Meditation album in the future and what plans do you have for 2024?

Chuck Wild: Possibly at some point, I'll give it some thought. The titles of my albums have always been reflective of my own life journey, and I'm currently recording my 19th album, (15th studio album), with co-producer Jonathan Marozik and hoping to finish by mid-2024, though as the saying goes "life intervenes" lol, so no guarantees…

 

 




 

 
   
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