On January 4, l975, I was the first client of one of the first indie multi-track recording studios in the San Francisco Bay area. Little did I know that the session would launch a “quiet revolution” in modern instrumental music.

Since that time, it’s been my honor and privilege to touch the lives of millions throughout the world through the music that I’ve recorded. It may surprise you to know that, in recent years, due to touring and daily business exigencies, I don’t get to be in the recording studio as much as I would like. So on January 4, 2005, I booked time in my favorite studio (as I traditionally do each year, as a holiday present to my Self).

I anticipated working on a new album, but my Muse had another agenda in mind. In a rapid-fire series of intuitive impressions, I received very clear instructions on how the 30th Anniversary Edition of Chakra Suite was to be re-sequenced and re-formulated. Like a timeless reunion, several songs from the second half of earlier incarnations of Spectrum Suite and Chakra Suite also made their presence known.

I had not expected this, though something magical and unexpected often occurs when I’m in the studio. But one thing I learned from my mentors in college: “When the Muse speaks, you listen!”

Improving On Perfection

When I recorded this seven part composition in 1975, I amazed the recording engineer by playing the entire sequence as a first take. No mistakes—just a pure transmission of healing energy. (Most recordings have many edits and are only finished in the final mix.) But I had already been performing this healing soundscape for over four years, so I just closed my eyes, went into a meditative state, and let the music play through me.

Let me pause for a moment to give you a little background on the concept of chakras. For thousands of years, yogis, mystics and traditional Chinese medical practioners have known of the existence and importance of the chakras, which are the seven etheric energy centers. For optimum health and spiritual growth, keeping the chakras balanced and in tune is a key consideration.

I learned about chakras when I began studying yoga in 1967, but it wasn’t until the new music came through that I had the opportunity to do the obvious: composing and recording a soundtrack that would balance and tune the chakras with sound.

This is possible because each of the seven chakras relates to a specific musical keynote and a color of the rainbow. (Interesting, isn’t it, that there are seven tones in a major musical scale, and seven colors?) Thus, by resonating each chakra in a consecutive and ascending sequence, it is possible to literally “tune the human instrument.”

When I first recorded the suite, our analog equipment was the state-of-the-art. Happily, the state-of-the-art has continued to improve, and I re-recorded the composition in 1988 when CDs were replacing LPs and cassettes. The sound was so pure and clean, listening to the music on CD was like being right there in the studio. (This is not the case with many CDs, but that’s another topic.)

In 1975, the concept of “chakras” had not yet entered the consciousness of the wide range of individuals that it now has, thanks to Shirley MacLaine, yoga, and general evolution. I was therefore counseled to title the album Spectrum Suite, because I was working with several octaves of the electromagnetic spectrum.

By 1999, yoga—and chakras—had entered the mainstream, and it felt right to re-christen the music with the more descriptive and appropriate title Chakra Suite for the 25th anniversary edition. Utilizing the latest recording software, my engineer, Warren Dennis Kahn, and I were able to add even more warmth, luminosity, and a three-dimensional ambience that truly improved on the elegant simplicity of the 1988 recording of the solo Rhodes electric piano.

I was so inspired by what I heard that I couldn’t resist adding layers of evanescent, sparkling atmospheric tonal textures to the solo electric piano with my favorite new keyboard.

It was sooo good, in fact, that I wished everyone who had heard the earlier versions could hear the new version. If you are one of the million or more individuals who has heard the music, you can get a sense of what I’m excited about by listening to the new samples which will be posted soon on my website, www.stevenhalpern.com.

But to truly appreciate and enjoy all the aural pleasures, you must listen to the new CDs themselves without MP3 compression They will be making their debut in April, on the 30th anniversary of the month the first 1000 pressings of the LP arrived on my doorstep. April is also an anniversary of another sort—my birthday.

Here is how you can get this CD for free. To celebrate both of these milestones, I will gift everyone who orders any CD from my label, Inner Peace Music, with a free copy of Chakra Suite for the entire month of April. (This is in addition to our traditional preferred customer bonus: “Buy 3, Get the 4th CD Free.”

I’d love to know what you think when you compare the two versions. Of course, I also realize that many of you will be hearing it for the first time. I ‘d love to hear from you, too.

Answered Prayers, Angelic Keynotes and Chakra Suite

As I type this, I am reminded that although many of you have been tuned in to my work for many years, many of you are new. I’d like to share just a little bit of background of this music.

Early in my life, I recognized that I had a special connection with music. I’ll be going into more detail in my forthcoming book, so for now I’d like to summarize by dividing my musical life pre-November l969 and post-November l969. Throughout high school and college, I had a successful career as a high-energy jazz, rock and R&B performer whose main instruments were trumpet, guitar and bass. On a number of occasions, I enjoyed what I later learned were peak experiences, in which I entered ‘the zone’ where the music played itself.

These were always a function of high intensity jazz or trance-inducing rhythmic grooves. When I returned to normal waking consciousness, I felt exhilarated, cleansed and peaceful. I began to wonder if it were possible to go directly to the peaceful place without as much stress and catharsis.

I began reading about the ancient healing traditions of Orpheus and Pythagoras, and began praying for insight into what healing music might sound like in the late 20th Century.

Around November 20, l969, I received my answer. Shortly after arriving in California for a two-week visit before returning to Buffalo and graduate school, I was guided to visit what I was told was a Zen Center near Santa Cruz.

While meditating in a sacred redwood grove, I “heard” music in my inner ear. It was unlike any I had ever heard before, yet hauntingly familiar. The exquisitely angelic music opened my heart and lifted my soul, surrounding me in a halo of inner peace and unconditional love.

At the core of my being, I knew in an instant that my life’s mission would involve working with these healing energies. From the beginning, I was also aware that composing this music was an act of co-creation with an unseen angelic “band.”

In the 30 years since that peak experience, Chakra Suite has traveled the world, radiating its peace and harmony throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It has truly been a blessing to be associated with this music.

I have had the honor and privilege of meeting and working with many of the leading healers and scientists of our time, including Dr. Marcel Vogel, Dr. Andrijah Puharich and Itzhak Bentov. Chakra Suite has been tested and proven effective in numerous laboratory, clinical, hospital and therapeutic settings in the USA and Europe.

Steven Halpern is an award-winning composer, producer and recording artist who has touched the lives of millions around the world. “The maestro of sound healing” is currently celebrating his 30th anniversary of his first release.

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Steven Halpern is an award-winning composer, producer and recording artist who has touched the lives of millions around the world. “The maestro of sound healing” is currently celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of his first release. Visit www.stevenhalpern.com to hear samples.

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