Shaman and musician BYRON METCALF: Silence is “pregnant”

You worked with a plethora of artists over the years. What collaborations were/are the most interesting and important to You and why?

I’ve been collaborating with Steve Roach since ’99 and we’ve explored a massive amount of sonic landscapes together. During the earlier days of our working together, Steve also served in a role of mentor, especially in terms of audio processing and exploring the concept of ambient music having no boundaries or specific compositional structure. Being a drummer and percussionist, my natural approach is oriented toward more traditional song structure, arrangements and so on. So my relationship with Steve really helped me to stretch and grow in many ways.

I’ve also been fortunate to work with my good friend and colleague Mark Seelig on several albums. His flute playing and overtone singing are incredible.

One of my favorite collaborations was with Rob Thomas – one of the greatest didgeridoo players on the planet. We created the album “Medicine Work” together and I’m still knocked out every time I listen to it. In every way this album seems like a benchmark and I’m extremely proud of it. Rob and I also collaborated with Steve Roach on the album “Monuments of Ecstasy”.

I’ve worked with so many great artists and musicians over the years that its hard to name them all so I hope those that are unnamed here will understand and know that I’m deeply grateful for their support and friendship.

Can You tell me, in short the main ideas are behind Your music? Could You name Your favorite Your compositions / albums / collaborations? What about the new album?

The intention of my music is to support people in their quest for personal and psycho-spiritual healing and transformation. In addition to my music career, I also have an extensive background in transpersonal psychology and shamanic practice, all of which informs the music I create. For example, I know the types of rhythms, instruments and sounds that will quickly produce a shift in the listener to an expanded state of consciousness and awareness. There’s a scientific explanation for how that happens but I’m more interested in the therapeutic and transformational potential involved in these expanded states. Repetitive, consistent rhythms are the foundation of shamanic journey work and other forms of music that induce and support the type of expanded awareness needed for healing and transformation. This kind of thing comes naturally to me and that’s why my music is used so much all over the world in shamanic circles, the Holotropic Breathwork, trance dance, and various transformational arts communities.

My favorite album is almost always the most current one. But if I look back at my entire body of work, my favorite is probably “The Shaman’s Heart” because it has helped so many people. I have dozens of reports about how much that album has helped people heal and transform. One good example is a woman who healed a chronic, serious heart condition by entraining her heartbeat to the heartbeat rhythm in the music. She did this daily for a few months and her cardiologist was shocked at her progress and she eventually was able to discontinue her heart medication. This happened about 8 years ago. I saw her recently and she’s still doing great with no need for medication.

The newest album “Shamanic Trance Dance” is my first solo release on the Sounds True label. The label has been great to work with and they have a very large distribution throughout the world. I loved making this album for a lot of reasons but one of them was being able to work with a variety of musicians, many whom I had not worked with before but wanted to for a long time. I had been wanting to make a trance and ritual dance oriented album for a few years. so when Sounds True actually submitted the Shamanic Trance Dance concept to me I obviously said YES!

The sound is magic. You‘ve proved it. But, what ends, when there‘s no sound?

When I consider no sound, I mostly think of silence. I love silence and quiet. I never listen to ‘background’ music because I find it distracting. The same is true for the radio or a news program. I want to be fully engaged and present with whatever is happening in my life. Silence is “pregnant”. It has infinite and immense potential and if a person really listens, and is fully present with silence, the experience is often one of awe and discovery of one’s own True Nature and that of the Earth, the Cosmos and the Absolute. Infinite possibility and potential. I think this is why John Cage’s 4’33” was so powerful and so well received. It invited the listeners into themselves and into a more expanded awareness of a greater reality – of creative potential in and of itself. The Source. It supports an inquiry into ourselves and what is being created. It invites the questions; what is being created and who is creating it? Or from a larger perspective, ‘what’ is creating it? The inner-inquiry . . . the journey of self-discovery . . . never really ends.

What is and what is not a Sound Art?

The first thing that comes to mind is sound pollution. Vehicles, airplanes, machinery and that kind of thing. The noises and sounds of busy cities and modern societies and culture. I’m talking about the almost constant noise that we have become habituated to and numb to. Psychological research has shown that noise pollution is a major cause of stress related illnesses including depression and anxiety. It’s a very serious problem. Obviously any sound – any noise – can be turned into artistic expression given the right circumstances, but the kind of noise I’m referring to here is NOT art in my opinion.

What do You think about relations between the old art and computer art? Are they compatible?

I think all art is ‘compatible’ in the most basic sense of the word because it is art. There are those who prefer or even are attached to older technologies, mediums and artistic approaches but those are simply preferences and mostly subjective in my view. A good example is the never-ending debate regarding analog versus digital recording. A lot of musicians and engineers feel strongly that analog equipment and analog tape is the “best”. But the concept of “best” in this context is subjective. I certainly agree that recording through good analog equipment to analog tape has a certain unique quality and sound to it, and in some cases I prefer it because the harmonic distortion created with analog tape tends to sound pleasant to the listener and more ‘musical’. This is not the case with a digital recording. But there are many situations where I prefer the pristine clarity of a good digital recording system. There can be a sense of space and dimensionality with digital that I don’t experience with analog tape. I personally use a hybrid recording system in my studio that combines good analog and digital equipment. I don’t use analog tape however. It is too costly to maintain the recorders and the tape is also very expensive. And I don’t think tape would create a significant difference in the quality of my recordings and the music I create.

What do You think about thousands of neofolk/industrial/ambient/tribal/electroacoustic/avangarde etc. bands/projects? Is it a kind of trend, o just a tendency forwards better music?

I think its good that so many people are making music . . . regardless of the style or genre. The incredible technological advances we’ve seen in the last couple of decades have made this possible. But the downside is that anybody, regardless of skill level or lack of it, can make an album available on the internet. And since there’s so much stuff out there, its very hard to sort through the bad stuff to find the jewels.

There’s always a push toward new art – new music – something unique and fresh. Trends come and go and always will. Like all forms of music, I think the tribal-ambient and electro-acoustic forms will continue to evolve into whatever they will be. I don’t even try to predict what it might look or sound like. The “trendy” stuff will fade like it always does, but history has shown that good music – no matter what type it is - will survive the trends.

What do You know about Lithuania? What Lithuanian and foreign musicians do You value most?

I know very little about Lithuania other than some of what I’ve read and unfortunately I’m not familiar with Lithuanian musicians. I have a hard time keeping up with what is happening in the US. The one exception is Orlena Orlova (Alina Orlova - M. P.). I was exposed to her on the internet and youtube and I found her to be a very interesting artist. She is incredibly talented and I like a lot of what I’ve heard.

Most “foreign” musicians that I like are classic rock and roll artists from the UK. I’m a huge fan of Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton, Sting, Jeff Beck and so many others. And I also like a lot of the early electronic musicians such as Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, Jean Michel Jarre, Klaus Shultz, Vangelis to name a few. In the ‘world music’ category my favorite foreign artist by far is Mari Boine from Norway. I’ve been a fan of her music since the late 1980’s and she just blows my mind! Incredible artist! And I also want to mention Erik Wøllo – amazing ambient guitar player also from Norway. Erik and I collaborated on an album this year called “Earth Luminous” and Erik is also featured on a solo album of mine due this fall.

What inspires You most?

Authenticity and integrity. Being true to one’s inner and outer life without excuses or pretense. I’m inspired by anyone who is truly compassionate, forgiving and loving. People, who by their very nature, change the world for the better and are a positive influence to almost everyone who comes into contact with them. I’ve been fortunate to know several individuals like what I describe and also have had the honor of working and studying with some. I am very grateful for that.

Of course I also am inspired by good music. During a lot of my music career I was immersed in the “singer-songwriter” culture of Los Angeles and Nashville so I love hearing a good song. A good song – a really well written song – can touch me in ways that I find hard to describe and like nothing else does. And it should go without saying that I am inspired by musicians who have truly mastered their instrument. Watching and listening to a great musician is a gift from the gods!

What is Your shamanic healing? What techniques do You use?

I have studied with many shamans and indigenous healers from various cultures but I was mostly influenced by the shamanic practices in the Amazon. There’s something about the jungle energies that call to me and those traditions have greatly informed my music and healing work.

The shamanic healing approach I use is a model I developed over many years of research and practice. I call it “HoloShamanic Integration” - a unique and practical synthesis of shamanic and transpersonal theory, combined with ancient and contemporary music, sound, sound technologies and energy healing methods. I also use many of the exercises and methods I developed for my “Shaman’s Heart Program”. More information can be found on my website for both of these methods and more: www.holoshamanicstrategies.org.

What are You working on right now?

Several projects. I’m collaborating with Jennifer Grais on a new album. Jennifer is an amazing shamanic vocalist and healer from California. We’re currently in the mixing stage of this very unique project and I anticipate that it will be released in early 2017.

I’m also mixing and mastering projects for other artists and I’m gearing up for the promotion of “Inner Rhythm Meditations” - my new solo album on Sounds True that features Erik Wøllo on guitar and synthesizers and Peter Phippen on flutes. It will be available for pre-order later this month. And I’m preparing for a couple of live events – experiential workshops that will be held in West Virginia in November and next March. It’s a busy time for me with lots of great music to explore and create.

Thank You.

Links:

http://byronmetcalf.com/splashpage

http://holoshamanicstrategies.org/home

https://byronmetcalf.bandcamp.com

https://www.discogs.com/artist/200167-Byron-Metcalf