Your Shop Guide - Mushroom online

planet earth, the solar system, the
milky way galaxy and the greater
cosmos. At this level it is plain to see
see that the cosmos is just an extension
of our bodies, of which we are
not yet fully aware.
Although cosmic and atomic vibrations
are usually way outside the
audible spectrum, the power of
the octave enables us to turn any
of them into music. For example,
the 32nd octave of the solar year is
136.1Hz. This frequency has had a
special significance in the east for
centuries, it is sometimes known as
the Cosmic Octave.
There are many harmonic relationships
between natural cycles, the
lunar cycle for example is the 13th
harmonic of the solar year (13 x
28 days= 364), and the orbital frequencies
of other solar planets are
closely related through the Golden
Ratio Phi (1.618...). Although
its important to understand that
this isn’t about precise mathematics
- if every cosmic frequency was
perfectly harmonic, nothing would
ever change! The degree of harmony
is also vibrating. If we switch
on multiple harmonic oscillators on
a synth, we get a static, lifeless buzzing
tone - we must de-tune the
oscillators from each other to create
movement.
However too much de-tuning creates
instability and dissonance, forcing
us to take action to restore harmony.
Imagine all the systems of
the universe, from quarks to galaxies,
spinning, vibrating independently,
their frequencies oscillating
in and out of harmony with
one another around a commonly
felt equilibrium point (called Love?).
When the overall vibration becomes
too dissonant, great amounts of
energy and creativity must be summoned
to evolve a new, more stable
configuration of frequencies, bringing
everything a step closer to that
imagined point of perfection.
As human beings, we have a unique
capacity to create new vibrations. I
love to try and create sounds in my
music that have never before occurred
in the universe.
What affect will they have out there?
Music doesn’t just disappear after its
played - not only is it absorbed into
consciousness through our ears,
sound waves sink into our cells and
the atomic lattices of the material
around us, and as the air molecules
compress up against each other, the
sound frequencies are converted to
low energy electromagnetic waves
which radiate into the galaxy. The
effect may be insignificant by our
human standards of scale, but the
energy is out there (and in here),
vibrating in its own dimensions of
significance.
I am interested to explore the idea
of tuning music to cosmic octaves
such as 136.1Hz, 194.18Hz (24th
octave of the day/night cycle), and/
or other fundamental/sacred natural
frequencies.The tempo can
also be tuned to the root note (like
136.1Hz and 127.6bpm). Music can
be designed for maximum resonance
with itself, the body and the
cosmic environment, locking in to
the vital vibrations of reality - a bit
like hacking the
matrix.
But I also
wonder
whether music even
needs to be that precise. If
it brings people together in
celebration and love, if it excludes
or exploits no one and pro-
motes joy and well being, then to
me it is evident that it must be contributing
to greater harmony in the
cosmos. It is the universe singing to
itself. That yearning for love that we
all feel in our hearts, may be our
individual experience of the universal
force which is pulling all frequencies
toward that singular point
of perfect harmony - the strange
attractor - an inevitable state of the
cosmos where, for a moment, all
oscillators come in to phase and
harmony. All becomes One, creating
an almighty buzz of energy before
dropping into a whole new groove.
Intuitive speculation it may be, but
that’s why I make music.
Steve Young
Thanks to LSD
(London Street-
Art Design) Magazine,
this article
extracted from full
text LSD Issue 7
83