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Music and Alchemy

Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted



Alchemy - The word is derived from the Arabian phrase "al-kimia," which refers to the preparation of the Stone or Elixir by the Egyptians. The Arabic root "kimia" comes from the Coptic "khem" that alluded to the fertile black soil of the Nile. Esoterically and hieroglyphically, the word refers to the dark mystery of the primordial or First Matter (the Khem), the One Thing through which all creation manifests. Alchemy, then, is the Great Work of nature that perfects this matter, whether it be expressed as the metals, the cosmos, or the substance of our souls.



In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it.
-Ernst Fischer

From my understanding up until this point, the true alchemist is one who takes on the
Great Work which means to bear the torch of the Ageless Wisdom that can be found as the truth in every great religion. In Christianity you have the Gnostics, Islam the Sufis, Judaism the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, Buddhism has Zen, and so on. When you compare the esotericism and mysticism of all of these paths you realize that they are all pointing the same direction. These mystics all take on the Great Work of transmuting lead in to gold. This is just an allegory for the transformation of the mundane into the divine, merging the higher and the lower, combining heaven and earth.


There are many greetings that cultures use to recognize this Divine Essence such as Namaste, Sat Nam, and Inlakesh.

The unifying principle behind all of these paths is the Undifferentiated Life Essence that permeates all forms.

It has been a great pleasure to see modern integration of this unifying point manifest into form. Music can be seen as an alchemy of musicians, instruments, and notes. It is always an alchemy of styles and influences, thoughts and philosophy. I have always been interested in a unifying approach to music where sound is seen as a interconnected matrix. Continuously I find myself gravitating towards musicians that have this more cosmic vision - anything that is created out of this alchemy ultimately widens the listeners perception to this Consciousness. It is a way of introducing new life and new energy out into the masses, a form of magical influence whereby the listener is given an opportunity to allow the unfoldment of his/her Consciousness.


"The business of music is more often than not a world of small minds and little soul, where success is dictated by the ability to locate trends and accordingly manufacture the most lucrative product available. In this context, the lowest forms of capitalism emerge in insidious ways: the isolation and ghettoization of easily controlled "genres" and the encouragement of planned obsolescence as ways to keep up the flow of "product" become the techniques for success. Vision, integrity, significance and expression -- the driving forces behind the creative act -- are sacrificed as mere obstructions to the workings of business.

Bill Laswell has made a career out of fighting these forms of decadence and stasis in the name of creativity and magic. In 2010 he formed M.O.D Technologies (Method of Defiance), the ultimate vehicle and outlet for projects that consistently challenge beliefs in various networks and levels of the status quo, delighting and angering his fans and critics alike."








The main artist who ignited my passion for music, sparked my torch, is the legendary bass player/alchemist/producer/wizard Bill Laswell. Bill's consistent axiom has been "Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted". It's Bill's boundary destroying, genre defying style that initiated me on my quest for sound and creation. It all goes back to the first "non-mainstream" album I purchased - Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix. This album completely blew away all of my previous notions of what music could be by combining mind altering tabla rhythms, drum and bass, and a myriad of great musicians. I now play tabla because of this inspiration. Bill's genre-less style is the embodiment of this unifying principle in action. He consistently connects to the formless creative spirit that unifies all creative acts and channels this formless energy into cymatically altering vibrations while dealing with the buSINess of the music industry - a remarkable feat indeed.





The artists who inspired me to play didgeridoo, Inlakesh, also embodies this Perennial philosophy. Inlakesh is comprised of didgerimystics Rob Thomas and Tanya Gerard. The name Inlakesh itself is a Mayan greeting that essentially means "I am Another You". For those of you who are unaware of the music of Inlakesh - it is quintessential deep dreamtime didgeridoo vibrations with cosmic overtones and rhythmic excellency. I highly suggest all of their CDs, especially "The Gathering" and "The Dreaming Gate". When listening to The Dreaming Gate one can sense the seams of this physical reality coming apart and the magic of the dream starts to seep in. Out of all the stylization to emerge out of the didgeridoo community their music comes closest to what the didgeridoo embodies for me.

"Below the Abyss contradiction is division, Above the Abyss contradiction is Unity

Truth is a Three Edged Sword. It is the Dynamic Tension between "opposites" that creates the energy that powers Creative Change and Evolution. Opposites are always intrinsically related and progress to a Higher Synthesis. Crowley called it the "None - Two Orgiastic Dynamism". One must Transcend the Polarization of Ideas, even as they are grasped dualistically, and fight Dualistic Absolutism, also known as Binary Fascism, which is the tendency to insist on the (false) ultimate separation of "opposing" Points of View, Philosophies, Countries, Races or whatever. Do not regard either one side of any Duality as "good" or "evil" except in a limited (local) way. Behold all opposites as necessary complements. Unite all apparent opposites in a Transcendent (Higher) Synthesis. Use the Dynamic Tension between Contraries to propel yourself beyond yourself.

Don’t confuse the linguistic meta-levels. Deny false dichotomies (binary fascism, dualistic absolutism) by Uniting all opposites. Let every idea go forth as a triangle on the base of two opposites, making an apex transcending their contradiction in a higher harmony.

There is no Division between the Light & the Dark, Higher & Lower, Inner & Outer, etc.
Kether is in Malkuth and Malkuth is in Kether, after another manner. As Above, so below. (Principle of Fractile Symmetry, or Parallelism across all scales of Being.)"




Rob Thomas of Inlakesh

All systems in line with nature are emergent whereas our monetary-military-political system is established.
A man of high caliber in terms of integrity to this boundary-less unifying principle is social engineer Jacque Fresco. Jacque's lifelong project for the betterment of humanity has been designing a monetary-less social system that is currently called "The Venus Project". Jacque is now 94 years old and continues to tour the world giving lectures. Jacque's ideas have found new life in the critically acclaimed and controversial movie series in which the established structures of our time are seen as paralyzing-parasitic entities that are standing between humanity and its true potential. The newest film of the series - Zeitgeist III - Moving Forward - which aims to transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical "life ground" attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a "Resource-Based Economy". The movie can be seen online for free by clicking HERE. Both Bill and Jacque have an unwavering integrity that unites their seemingly distant fields to bridge the difference between cultures, groups, boundaries, and people.


“Democracy is a con game, it is a word invented to outplay people, to make them accept a given institution. All institutions sing ‘we are free’. The minute you hear ‘freedom’ or ‘democracy’ – watch out, because in a truly free nation, no one has to tell you that you’re free.” - Jacque Fresco

In the same vein as the above mentioned contributors to world unification, I am embarking on a new musical sojourn that could be labeled a sort of "Techno-shamanism". In this project I seek to blur the lines between the ancient wisdom of Indigenous society and Western science, creating a template upon which people can see how these two seemingly contradictory points can be merged with the benefit of both. It is time that we integrate and reconcile our roots. The key is to create a synergy between the wisdom of the ancients with our modern scientific approach. I have recently found a great sound engineer and producer that wishes to help me on this journey, I am expecting to break ground on this very soon. I wish for it to be a collaboration with some of my musical inspirations, perhaps even Inlakesh and Bill. A percentage of all sales will be donated to a non-profit organization "Harmony of Health" which goes toward the advancement of alchemically concocted herbal healing products, elixirs and, most of all, healing centers that are to be built all over the world. Energy gathered from this project will also go towards education on sustainability and gardening. This project is greater than my career as a musician and is in fact, not about me at all. It is to be a collective expression of musicians and artists who are interested in furthering the healing of the world. I foresee as many as 5 to 15 artists collaborating on this project, creating a super force of sound and energy to help unite and heal the masses. If there is anyone reading this that wishes to help this vision in anyway, please let me know. I can be reached by email at Dash.Frequencies@gmail.com

The Method of Science - The Aim of Religion

L.V.X

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