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STEVEN HALPERN |
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As Western shakuhachi master Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin says, “Even one note of these ancient instruments, enhanced by the power of the breath, can bring enlightenment and inner peace. Indeed, one form of Zen Buddhism is called ‘Sui-zen, or Blowing Zen”. Performing on his Rhodes Mark 7 keyboard and ambient synths, Halpern features Argentinian master musician and sound healer Jorge Alfano (shakuhachi and bansuri flutes), Schawkie Roth (bansuri flute) and American Grand Master, the late Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin (shakuhachi flute). The way that Halpern weaves their melodies around and through his lush orchestrations creates a sonic tapestry that invites the listener to experience a blissful state of inner peace. With its brainwave synchronization frequencies, Deep Theta Vol. 2 (432 Hz) brings the listener into a “theta” state for deep healing and meditation, which makes the album perfect for achieving mindfulness and inner peace.
This included multiple layers of keyboards that added additional harmonics and dimension to the original Rhodes electric piano.” “On other tracks, I would extract Jorge’s melody and compose a whole new arrangement around it. The result was a remarkably different and unique second track. Most people won’t even realize it’s the same flute part. They’ll be deep in the theta zone, and not hung up on intellectually analyzing what they hear. With all my albums, my intention is to create an experience of mindfulness and inner peace.” Describing his role as producer on Deep Theta Vol. 2 (432 Hz), Halpern explains, “As I listened deeply to the music over many months, I was sometimes guided to improve on the improvisation that each flute player recorded. Sometimes their most inspired phrases happened only after three minutes into the track. I could hear, in my mind’s ear, how the music wanted to be.
Halpern continues: "One of my other techniques is to adjust the timing of phrases to be similar to the rhythm of a deep yogic breath. Thus, In order to maintain the meditative vibe, I would often add a deep breath of silence between the flute player’s phrases. I doubt most listeners would ever notice this, since they never heard the unedited track. But their breath, and their soul, will notice the difference.” Halpern states, “The head space I get into as a recording artist is a different kind of creative space than as a producer, but each is a ‘natural high’ with its own treasures and rewards for me.” “Can this album help you meditate like a Zen monk in 22 minutes? Who knows… but by providing the listener with a proven portal to get into that deep meditative brain state, you don’t have to waste 20 minutes getting into meditation, you get there at the speed of sound.”
Indeed, one of the hallmarks of my music is the expanded sense of time, which allows the listener to achieve a Zen-like, mindful state of mind.” Halpern cites the 1965 album classic, Music For Zen Meditation by the late jazz clarinetist and band leader Tony Scott as being an early influence, not just on him but all the musicians featured here. Another touchstone influence Halpern suggested is A Bell Ringing In The Empty Sky by Goro Yamaguchi. Remembering the early influence both of these albums had on his own music, Halpern says, “Before I recorded my own albums, I would always feature these albums in my healing music workshops. I remember always being surprised at how many people did not like the sound of those instruments. However, they loved the sound of my Rhodes electric piano. So it was natural for me to combine the two tonalities to ‘sweeten’ the sonic palette.”
That’s one of the perks of being a sound healer: I get to work with music that evokes a high coherence state of being and inner peace. That’s why I love being a recording artist and sound healer.”
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At the forefront of the sound healing genre which he pioneered 50 years ago, Steven Halpern enhances his legacy with the 2024 album release of Deep Theta Vol. 2 (432 Hz). The 13-track, 71 minute album is the first to pair the timeless tradition and sounds of ancient Japanese shakuhachi and Indian bansuri flutes with the Rhodes electric piano and ambient synths.
In contrast to most of Halpern’s albums, Deep Theta Vol. 2 (432 Hz) features a collaboration with another artist on every track. Halpern explains, “This album is a combination of spontaneous improvisations recorded live, as well as many tracks in which I spent many hours of post-production on my own.
So, my job was to make the inaudible, audible, so that others can hear what the music really wanted to be. For me, the music often has a life of its own. That’s why I have always described my creative process as co-composing, even though there’s no one else in the studio with me other than the engineer. I connected with my guides early in my career, and they have been a source of inspiration throughout my career.” 1 small.jpg)
Re-emphasizing these key concepts, Halpern explains, “As the producer, I did a lot of intricate editing to create more ‘space’ in each flute performance. In so doing, I updated the essence of traditional Shakuhachi music, which is unique in that it typically has no central rhythm pulse.