margonaut.com

Click on the big white van to see my Entheos pictures…

A few pictures from Sobey of the main stage, also known as the Entheos Lightship!

I’m back in BC visiting and just had the time of my life (so far) at the Entheos Gathering.

Unfortunately, I can’t find my camera cable, so posting pictures will have to wait until I get back to Toronto…

posted a new track to my Myspace page called “Ace Metrix” which uses this sound and this sound from freesound.org

click the screenshot to listen

Neto’s Aquatikon is is the first release from the new mid-tempo electronica label Omnitropic.

I find it highly original and compelling. It’s a free, legal download.

we are all drawn to each other
by mysterious forces
in this tribe

we were all born
to help Earth ascend
we feel it
we know it

media kidz!
how we love each other

sexy, romantic characters
sometimes we’re drawn to connect deeply
(heart and flesh)
then not

it’s the biological imperative

feel its vicissitudes
(be present in your own drama)

it’s the fastest way to evolve
after all

yet
let it come and go
enjoy it
cry about it
with passion

holistically unattached to how it appears
(love is all-ways here)

how-ever
re-member
the work must go on

I thoroughly enjoyed the Victoria Electronic Music Festival. I love to dance (it’s definitely in my top 5 of favourite things) however am done with the nightclub scene. There’s something so magical about being able to dance in the daytime, for free, right outside of City Hall!

One of the greatest things about this type of event is the people who wander in not knowing about the open joy of movement that is part of modern electronic music dance culture (FYI: no one calls it “raving” anymore) and seeing them join right in. That sort of thing can change a person’s life!

Victoria is an awesome town.

See my Flickr photo set for this event for more images.

Xander of Ektoplazm Records took awesome photographs of our Entheos Festival!

The video below shows a visual representation of brainwaves created while listening to a Pharoelidae track, very cool!

Brainpaint
www.brainpaint.com
BrainPaint is a state-of-the-art neurofeedback system that incorporates a comprehensive assessment tool, which systematically calculates protocol suggestions used to improve and restore activity related to brain function. This assessment tool is revolutionary, turning new clinicians into experienced practitioners in a fraction of the time. Seasoned practitioners will appreciate the automation – similar to that of computerized chess crunching data to explore the potential of future moves – allowing the focus to be on the human aspects of the session.

The Entheos Conference and Festival is coming up in June and though I have resigned from the management team, I plan on being on the dancefloor and am slated to perform as half of Pharoelidae.

The website is beautiful and the event should be too!

I spent the day in the studio with Akhentek working on the next Pharoelidae track for the upcoming Entheos Conference and Festival soundtrack.

We decided to base the track in the key of E because it closely matched a 528 Hz drone I wanted to base the track around.

I learned about the 558 Hz frequency (said to repair DNA) via Facebook, in a comment to the (crossposted) Hz so good post above.

We started out with minor however flute-wise it felt right to use the unusual Locrian mode. The bassline is especially interesting.

I look forward to sharing the track with everyone soon!

screenshot of the day (click to enlarge)

musical reference site of the day
http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse

video of the day

Entheos planning is coming up again and I’ve decided to step up for 2009.

The pre-flyer is beautiful!

design by Onbeyond Metamedia

Images of the day… Alex Grey painting Obama!

ancient angels
alien ambassadors
and aspiring adepts

allies amassing!

altered anatomies
adroit attitudes
and accelerating agility

advantageous abilities!

adoring adventure
always adapting
and activating ascension

an amazing age!

Things were getting so intense organizationally and interpersonally with the music festival I’ve been working so hard on lately called Entheos I was starting to feel crazy.

Here’s something I posted to the team to remind myself and everyone else why we do it…

WHY ARE YOU HERE?

May 17. 2008 10:23 | margonaut

sometimes a project this big can get overwhelming and we question our own involvement

however I know that there is real passion among the participants, we are doing this for bigger reasons than just to promote our own stuff

I am starting this thread to find out why you’re involved… what inspired you?

I have been going to festivals in 1999 in Ontario (I’m an “Omie”) and the experiences I’ve had have changed my life. Meeting people, the magic of free form dance, and above all (for me) the MUSIC.

I also take the “divine within” of it all seriously.

Part of what inspires me to work on events is so that others can experience this shift in their own way.

I got involved in Entheos last year initially to do promo and field online communictions. I decided to go up early with the main crew and do “whatever needed to be done” and ended up speaking in front of town council (who almost didn’t let the party happen), dealing with a lot of miscellaneous loose ends, and doing a LOT of dishes at HQ :)

This year I decided to be officially involved more and though it’s been more intense than I expected I am going to hang on and do my best to make sure that everything happens for our collective benefit.

Everyone’s help is SO needed and appreciated!!

I sincerely love Entheos & its crew. It is impossible to measure what this event will do, however it’s obvious many of us have an intuitive knowing that it is important in more ways than one.

Let’s work together and get this baby launched!

Enthusiastic Love,
Margonaut

en·thu·si·asm

Etymology: Greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein to be inspired, irregular from ENTHEOS inspired, from en- + theos god

1 a: belief in special revelations of the Holy Spirit
2 a: strong excitement of feeling : ardor
b: something inspiring zeal or fervor

While there are many “oracle” card decks out there, this one is one of the most original and unusual ones I’ve seen. The poetry is weird and wonderful and so is the art.

Check it out!

DREAM PAGODA TRANSMISSION

80 of the 200 decks have been given away to the production team and
artist collective along with a collection of potential contributors to
the project. The remaining 120 are looking to travel out into the world.

Though saying “we’re all one” is nothing new, the idea is becoming more and more mainstream every day.

Sites like this will help us get there.

The Global Oneness Project
http://www.globalonenessproject.org
We hear words like “global consciousness”, “paradigm shift”, “sustainability”, “world citizenship” and “social and economic justice” in response to the present planetary crisis and the need to protect life on earth for future generations, but what exactly do they describe? What is at the heart of that wisdom we all desire that would inspire us how to safeguard a healthy future for our great-grandchildren and our precious planet Earth?

We understand the answer to these questions to be what we call “oneness,” that is, the fact that all life is interconnected, and that everything affects everything else. Modern global realities have made this inescapably clear — we are no longer separate from one another. We feel that this mindset offers the vast and transformative possibility of a radically new way of being, thinking and acting in which we experience ourselves as intimately connected with the rest of the world.

From my perspective, this CD is one of the most original and beautiful electronic releases available today. I can not recommend it highly enough.

The music is unlike anything else out there yet is completely accessible. A friend says her parents just love it and have it on frequent rotation in their living room.

Anahata: The Unmade Sound
http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=6466
“The Unmade Sound” is an impeccably produced album with hyperintelligent melodic architectures. It is an ocean of perfect harmonics, taking listeners deep into melodies of dreamspace long forgotten. This album is a must have for chillout rooms around the world, providing a beautiful soft landing cushion for the morning downtempo environment. It also includes a remix of Shulman’s “The Unexpected Visitor”. This is the label groups’ first release, featuring a taste of the legendary chillout sounds being seeded and grown in the bioregions of British Columbia, Canada. The CD was proudcuced by the Entheogenetic Label Group, deep the heart of the Elphinstone rainforest with design by www.onbeyondmetamedia.com and cover art by www.divinereflections.ca.

Tonight I participated in one of the Dances of Universal Peace. These events combine versions of sacred song and dance from different religious traditions with an emphasis on simple steps and melodies so that all can join in.

It was uplifting and a bit of an energetic tune up! This week I’ve realized how important healing music is and will be in my life. Stay tuned for more on that…

Dances of Universal Peace
http://www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org
From the beginning of time, sacred movement, song and story have brought people together – at times of seasonal ceremony and celebration, as part of everyday life and life passages, in daily renewal and meditation, etc… The Dances of Universal Peace are part of this timeless tradition of Sacred Dance.

The movements and songs drawn from over 400 Dances include themes of peace (both inner and outer), healing (the Earth, individuals, and the global family), and the celebration of life’s great mystery. Dancers focus on peace and harmony creating a sense of solidarity and community while celebrating the underlying unity of all the spiritual traditions of the Earth. By experiencing these many traditions, a greater understanding and appreciation of other cultures, as well as one’s own heritage, is gained.

This post is to promote the wonderful work of St. Even, an artist who uses photography & technology to create beautiful portraits.

If you’re looking for an amazing gift for a divine friend, he also does comissions. Be sure & tell him I sent you.

This is a workshop I’ve encountered on the West Coast that has really inspired me and affected my thinking, especially around the future, the importance of personal integrity, and artful communication.

View their video for a small taste.

Crystal and Spore
http://www.crystalandspore.com
The Crystal and Spore collective reflects the relationship between synthetic and organic systems – that vital intersection between nature and culture where the future of the human landscape is continually being forged. Crystalline forms represent technology, manifest in the ubiquitous silicon chip that provides the digital means to create and receive information. The spore symbolizes the chaotically complex distribution systems of the natural world, through which living genetic information is dispersed.

Here’s an article I found the other day that explains a smart approach to solving problems that I’d like to see more of in this world.

This is a more sensible idea than the “our efforts aren’t working so let’s throw more money & time into doing the same thing we’ve always done” method.

Positive Deviant
http://fastcompany.com/magazine/41/sternin.html
Faced with a difficult task and an impossible time frame, Sternin reached for an unconventional solution: amplifying positive deviance. “We call conventional wisdom about malnutrition ‘true but useless,’ or ‘TBU,’ ” says Sternin, sitting high above White Pond, not far from Walden Pond, near Boston. Sternin is on one of his brief stays at his home in the United States before he returns to his work with Save the Children in Myanmar. “It’s all about poor sanitation, ignorance, food-distribution patterns, poverty, and a lack of access to good water. Millions of kids can’t wait for those issues to be addressed. While you are there, things improve, but as soon as you leave, things revert back to the baseline. Nothing has changed. The solutions are yours. The resources are yours. When you leave, everything else leaves with you.”

When Sternin and his wife first arrived in Vietnam, nearly half of the country’s children were malnourished. The TBU model simply wouldn’t work — not in the six months that they had to make a difference. Half in desperation, half in inspiration, Sternin turned to the theory of amplifying positive deviance: In every community, organization, or social group, there are individuals whose exceptional behaviors or practices enable them to get better results than their neighbors with the exact same resources. Without realizing it, these “positive deviants” have discovered the path to success for the entire group — that is, if their secrets can be analyzed, isolated, and then shared with the rest of the group.

I go to a lot of electronic music events but no one uses the word “rave” anymore. Parties have evolved into a variety of flavours. Here’s an article that explains a lot about why I still go, even though I’m in my 30s!

Rave new world
http://www.vancourier.com/issues05/124105/news/124105nn1.html
In their heyday in the mid and late ’90s, raves were the serious partier’s party. Content-free rhythmic beats, darkness punctuated by brilliant flashing lights, and large-scale drug consumption were the stereotypes, if not the norm. Raves died when police cracked down on the events, but as the dedicated ravers and DJs grew up or got old, they resurrected their culture and in many cases traded the party scene for what some believe has become a bona fide religion.

Focused on dancing and electronica music, the tribal and intentional raves draw inspiration from the world’s meditative and indigenous religious and spiritual traditions. Participants frequently incorporate smudging, chanting, and the building of altars dedicated to the four directions (north, east, south, west) and the four elements. Rave organizers avoid official dogma, but often incorporate Buddhist, yogic, or First Nations art and imagery into both advertising and the actual dance environment.

It is my great pleasure to be exposed to some of the most powerful art happening in the world today.

Visit this site and see how it resonates with you…

Elfintome Online Catalogue
http://www.elfintome.com/onlinecatalogue/art_catalogue.html
The elfintome visionary arts collective is designed to celebrate the spirit of the human creative imagination. As a medium for inspiration and evolution, visionary art is a cultural response to the current planetary healing crisis. As a spiritual toolset for creating sacred space, this art Work brings glimpses of the wondrous and divine elements that beckon from beyond.

Here’s a well-written article that mentions some of my favourite music coming out of beautiful British Columbia. Check out some of their work if you’re looking for something new and delicious to listen to!

Rhythms West
http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid=779&csid1=4308
For artists west of the Rockies the music of the people has been and continues to be nourished by mother nature. Within the electronic realm, organic undercurrents infuse both creative energies and digital sensibilities. At work and at play in BC’s nature-endowed landscape, Pred sports days at the studio that include a walk in the woods, Bluetech takes a daily hike that leads him to five waterfalls, and Dhula enjoys a studio commute framed by the Cascadian mountain range. Streaming into the global music crosscurrents and its infinite distribution channels and audio banks, the West’s up and coming electronica producers offer a dose of both frontier spirit and creative pragmatism, blowing aside genre confines and fostering an ever-present eye and ear outside — not only on the local landscape but the global soundscape as well.

What would society be like if all humans were psychic?

We’d finally be forced to be honest with one another, and would realize how much we have in common with even the most outwardly different people. Imagine that!

Tomorrow is Earthdance, which is a series of parties all over the world that happen at the same time with the intention of promoting global unity and peace. I believe this is a powerful thing, but even if you’re skeptical about that it’s quite a lot of fun.

I’ll be at the one in Vancouver, but check out their website for the location nearest you!

Earthdance
http://www.earthdance.org
Earthdance, the Global Dance Festival for Peace has grown to become the world’s largest simultaneous music and dance event. Founded in 1997, with 22 cities and 18 countries participating, Earthdance has grown to over 150 cities in 50 countries participating in 2004, with locations ranging from the club-lands of New York to the rainforests of Brazil. Every year, in alignment with the International Day of Peace, over 200,000 people unite in dance with hundreds of thousands more joining online in support of global peace and humanitarian aims.