Bass frequencies from a massive sound system pulse in my body and seem to shake the concrete walls of a cavernous warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn. There’s a growing excitement in the audience, and I feel tendrils of adrenalin reach their fingers through my spine. I allow the feeling to move out through my limbs, and imagine connections of radiance to the Earth and sky anchoring me in the present moment. I remember my intention to allow the true spirit of the music to move through me as I step on stage. The lights shine through my eyelashes and create an altered vision of the room. Faces flicker before me, the beat thunders through my being, and I begin to sing. Soon we’re all moving together to the same song, and I ride the sound of the drums through a dreamscape of sound. . .I am a musician intoxicated by the divine presence that resides within all things. I am inspired to share my fascination with the mysteries of life, and the magick that lies beneath the surface of ordinary reality in all of the art I make. Creativity is a doorway into other worlds for me, and I feel constantly called by songs on the wind. Our ancestral roots are full of music created to alter consciousness, inspire connection to spirit, and tell stories of other worlds. Singers and fiddlers were carried away by faeries to play for their court, and medicine men slipped into wild trances to deliver messages from beyond the veil with rattle in hand.
Today many creative people still live out this very old tale. Artists speak to the muses, wear wild costumes, and spark trance-like movements from behind walls of booming sound. With modern tools at our command, the intention to create music with meaning is being revived around the world. We’re blessed to live in a time when primal “secrets” are laid bare all over the Internet, and a global society voraciously shares information of rediscovered metaphysical techniques. The restoration of our connection to the divine is waiting for us in art that we make and consume. Many artists are grasping the potent opportunity to help create a more healthy, inspired and connected world. Festivals, parties, concerts and even corporate events cater to a re-imagined audience who seeks to find a new resonance with the mysterious nature of reality.
Across time and continents the story changed very little for a long, long time. Human beings learned to make art in a sacred way and share it in reverence with each other. The thing that sets these ancient performer-priests apart from many modern-day pop stars is a connection to the Earth, the ancestors and an intention to envision humanity’s collective evolution. The rise of the modern world has left important parts behind through our belief in only that which can be seen with our eyes and most powerful microscopes. All of the arts create an opportunity to touch another realm if we choose to use them in that capacity. We can see things never seen before on the inner screens of our minds, and communicate this experience in story, song, form and movement. It’s our job to recover these parts, and help bring more meaning to the creations of our world. The need to reconnect with archaic memory of harmony with the planet has never been more important, and the role of the artist to inspire inner exploration never more needed than now.
Being exposed to other creators on this path, and deciding to shape my craft through meditation, dreamwork and sacred movement, I connect to a bottomless well of ideas, symbols and stories waiting to be told. Creativity is a way we reach out to the deepest parts of ourselves, and offer a ray of hope in days of trouble and loss for the planet. We stand on the shoulders of millions of men and women dedicated to creating art with an intention to heal and protect our precious world. They sing out to us through the long corridors of time, and ask us to remember the words to a new song of transformation. Let us all sing it into being again, and dance a new dance together into our sacred future together.
[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]Kai Altair is a songwriter influenced by transformational culture, myth and dreams when creating music and multimedia stage shows. A student of ancient musical, movement, and healing traditions, Kai Altair’s intention is to inspire connection to the multiverse, and help create an elevated state on the dance floor.
