I created this blog to describe and analyze the experience of producing my first official album- "Sri Gaja"- for Waveform Modulations. In this blog, I will explore the world of "Sri Gaja" and detail the musical creation that will be taking place over the coming weeks and months leading up to a 2010 release of this album. I'll be leaking preview/full tracks as well as loops that can be used by other producers to explore different paths of the "Sri Gaja" concept.
I am extremely honored to be releasing "Sri Gaja" on Waveform Modulations. As a label, WM has promoted the more experimental and cutting edge styles of 21st century electronica, championing the mystical/esoteric side of futuristic sound creations and featuring producers from across the United States as well as the UK.
Needless to say, I am thrilled to be able to go into the creation process with a truly open and unbounded energy.
For every producer, the creation process is totally different. Some start with one particular musical/rhythmic element, some sequence the progression mathematically and color in the shapes, and some start with a basic mental concept and experimentally 'solve the puzzle' of the track through testing sound after sound. There are endless ways, and the beautiful thing is that all are the correct way.
My method (and probably the method of many other artists) is to channel from the abstract into concepts from words, images, or mind sounds and go blindly into the actual creation of the music. I feel that if one 'tunes in', the music will manifest itself via previously existing thoughtforms or instantaneous jumps of energy that can be translated from the abstract into musical notes, sounds, or rhythms.
Like most musicians, producers, and composers, my mind very seldom stops creating sounds, hence my spaceman nature...much of the time I am totally immersed in another dimension, hearing or creating music, and very likely appearing catatonic.
This is the model I have chosen to create "Sri Gaja". I have been pondering what to do with the album since spring, and have been awaiting the right time to start. I kept my mind and thoughts open to ideas for many months, knowing I would recognize the right idea when it came. Shortly after Transformus 2009 (the southeasts annual burn), the elephant came to me.
It was not too long ago that I recieved the concept- tribal rhythms were floating in my mind along with thoughts of the ancient fire ritual when I noticed the elephant. The tribal rhythms became a pounding, spaced out broken beat- very much in the dubstep style but even slower- the snare drum hit was being represented by a massive elephant's heavy leg slamming the earth- shaking the ground with every step . Each gracious movement of this giant creature was part of the deeply layered rhythm- from the muscle contractions in its shoulders to the sway of its huge belly as it moved around- the elephants movements and the music were one and the same.
Naturally, I became fascinated with the elephant and realized how incredibly majestic the creature is, yet how incredibly gentle and peaceful it is at the sametime- a wonderful manifestation of yin/yang energy...a beautiful and perfectly controlled wobble- symbolically representing the mystique of well crafted subsonic movement.
I began researching more and more about elephants, about how they live- their incredibly complex social order, their rituals of mourning the dead, their astounding memory and emotional depth, and the lessons humankind have learned from the nature of this pachyderm.
In both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, elephants are deeply revered as sacred creatures for their nature as 'gentle giants', for the fact that they inherently have so much power to use for good or bad in their sheer size and might, much like an actualized human mind, so they became a model of the disciplined mind- like lightning in a bottle.
Taking in as much information as I could about elephants and their role in this world, I found the name 'Sri Gaja' to be appropriate for the intention of this album. 'Sri' is the prefix Indians give to honor or venerate sacred entities and 'Gaja' is the Hindu word for elephant. My goal with the creation of this set of music is to primarily honor the creature's sacred nature, which extended to the concept of telling a musical story of an ancient warrior elephant- an actual individual ancient warrior elephant named 'Sri Gaja' and the experience of his earthly manifestation.
Since this will be a very long and drawn out process, I will be sharing my journey in learning more about 'Sri Gaja', his journey, and the creation of music that will express the experience. As I mentioned before, this is my very first official release, so it will be interesting to experience this process for the first time and see how it all turns out!
I'd be glad to answer or address any questions or comments on this forum, so feel free to start a dialogue or send some feedback.
Best,
Pericles
(for music and more info, visit www.myspace.com/djpericles)
From Monkey business to Sri Gaja. Your path is one that is ever growing and manifesting into something that is truly artistic. I am very intrigued that you used an ancient warrior elephant as your theme. I see elephants are very mysterious creatures that demand respect when in their presence. I think they are very commanding creatures. From their destructive power to their depth of their soul, which can be seen through their eyes. I am excited about the possibility to help you in your process of telling the story of Sri Gaja.
ReplyDeleteFirst thought:
Telling the story of Sri Gaja full life (from young elephanthood to him (or will it be a female warrior?) becoming an old wise warrior)
Or maybe just emphasis the decision he made/events in his life that made him the Warrior elephant.