B.Traits has curated a new show and experience that examines ambient music, sound activations and meditation.
The Canadian producer, real name Brianna Price, will bring her "multi-sensory" concept to the newly renovated East London venue EartH, formerly known as Hackney Arts Centre, on November 21st. Paciphonic will feature "ambient and minimalist music, sound and frequency activations and gentle group meditation" on EartH's 360-degree soundsystem, making use of L-ISA's Hyperreal Sound technology.
"Meditation has had a profound impact on my life," said Price. "It's not only helped me manage anxiety and depression, but has also expanded my creative horizon and defined an accessible calm in my daily life." With Paciphonic, she wants to "build an inclusive community, to collectively enhance and improve our well-being."
B.Traits told Resident Advisor more about how meditation has helped her creative process and output.
"Over the last few years, touring life for me has exposed some anxiety and at times, feelings of depression and exhaustion. It can be stressful trying to please everyone, trying to stay at the top of your game, release music constantly, play as many gigs as are requested. Stress causes me to constantly question myself rather than trust my instinct, and when I'm under stress, inspiration can become all the more elusive. For example, when I begin a new project or have a big gig coming up, my mental thoughts can spin out; I'm pushing myself to 'nail it.' This performance pressure can become frustrating, and when there is little to zero creative flow, I begin to feel nervous and compulsive. Stilling my mind is where clarity in creativity and solutions to my problems are found. When I meditate, I'm to able alter my state of consciousness, my self awareness deepens, I'm able to recover from fatigue, and to reduce stress."
She also told RA that she hopes Paciphonic, which she's been working on since 2014, will fill an important health gap in the scene. "There should be more events that exist within our community that are driven towards helping one another. It's time we have something that sits within our scene that fits in with our interests and passions."
She adds that the atypical nature of this experience should not discourage listeners from trying something out of their comfort zones. "I've been trying to figure out how to introduce frequency and sound healing and meditation to artists, DJs or patrons who are unfamiliar with the concept and how to make it accessible for them, without the overly 'cosmic' undertones. I've been to numerous 'sound baths' and group meditations and realized that some of them (the good ones) are not far off of something you might experience during sets by some of your favourite DJs."
EartH is currently crowdfunding to build studios to provide music education and professional training to young people in the community. Support the campaign here.
Listen to B.Traits' RA Exchange from earlier this year.
Photo credit: Katja Ruge