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Jon Hopkins announces his new album Music For Psychedelic Therapy, which will be released on November 12th (digital / CD) and February 11th (LP) on Domino. Today he presents the final album “Sit Around The Fire”, a unique collaboration between Hopkins, producer and head of ceremonies East Forest and the legendary guru, the late Ram Dass.
Music for Psychedelic Therapy is Hopkins’ first full-length since his sister albums, GRAMMY-nominated Singularity (2018), “a beat-music odyssey that thrums with spiritual resonance” (Pitchfork) and Immunity (2013). For this collection, Hopkins wanted to do something that points in the opposite direction, something egoless and introspective, done with total, raw honesty. “It felt like it was time to reset, wait for music to come in from another location,” says Hopkins. That place ended up being the Tayos Caves in Ecuador, where Hopkins embarked on a life-changing creative expedition in 2018.
“Sit Around The Fire is born out of one of the deep synchronicities that started this thing (Music For Psychedelic Therapy),” comments Hopkins. “I was contacted by East Forest, who had been with Ram Dass in Hawaii for some time before his death. He was given access to several less heard lectures from the 1970s and asked them to set them to music. He sent me some starting points, including the beautiful choral singing he recorded that opens the piece. I put on my headphones and with Ram Dass’ voice in my head, I sat at the piano and improvised. What you hear is the first thing that came out – it just appeared in response to the words. “
The “Sit Around The Fire” video was made by Tom Readdy and Lucy Dawkins at Yes Please with beautiful animated images from the pages of Ram Dass’ iconic Be Here Now, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Hopkins says of Music For Psychedelic Therapy: “What came out of that experience is an album with no beats, no drum sound, something closer to a classical symphony than a dance / electronica record. Something that is more like an experience than listening to a piece of music. Maybe something that is a lot more emotionally honest than I was comfortable with before – an amalgamation of music, nature and my own desire to heal. The freedom from traditional rhythmic structures released so much – it felt like I was free to explore a new form of rhythm, one that you discover when you just let things go without getting in each other’s way.
“Music For Psychedelic Therapy is not ambient, classical or drone, but has elements from all three. For me it is both a place and a sound. It works for the sober mind, but takes on a whole new dimension when introduced into a psychedelic ceremony. In my own psychedelic explorations testing this music, I found a quote I had read that would keep coming back to my mind. ‘Music is fluid architecture, architecture is frozen music.’ I love this idea of music as something that you inhabit, something that has an energetic effect on you. In fact, the title appeared to me in this state. Psychedelic-assisted therapies are legalized all over the world, and yet it feels like no one is talking about the music; music is just as important as medicine. “
Music For Psychedelic Therapy was self-produced and recorded. Field recordings for “Tayos Caves, Ecuador” are from Mendel Kaelen and multidimensional synthesis and forest edging are from 7RAYS.
Hopkins, in partnership with New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed podcast host, Aubrey Marcus, will host the inaugural Music For Psychedelic Therapy event on September 21st in Austin, TX. The evening features a ceremonial concert performance from East Forest, followed by a full-length immersive rendition of Music For Psychedelic Therapy. There will also be a live Q&A between Aubrey Marcus and both artists. Tickets are available here.
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