This album is drawn of my experience playing music for yoga classes, as well as practicing yoga. It is not meant to be foreground music. I expect it to be animated by the sound of a yoga instructor's voice; gently guiding practitioners into a receptive state. It is structured in an innovative way: every track (save for two, which I'll describe later) is 15 minutes long, always divided in 5 minute sections. The format is ABA, so if the tracks are familiar it will be easy to know approximately where in the class we are. The two last tracks are each 7.5 minutes, and can be used to bookend a class playlist - the Pranayama track for meditation or synchronized breathing, and Savasana for deep rest.
The album could be played straight through, but I imagine it will be more desirable to create playlists from it, interspersing these tracks with other favorites. It is not meant to be perscriptive in any way, the track titles only a suggestion. I hope that it will be useful to yoga instructors, and also anyone that enjoys a home practice.
The musical approach comes from a belief in purely acoustic sound. Every instrument sounds as it did in the recording studio. I have nothing against electronics, and am beginning to integrate some into my live performance, but for this project, the base tracks are straight 5 minute takes; not sequenced mixes. Even though they are repetitive, the rhythms develop and unfold organically, instead of mechanical repetition. These musical values may sound like a refutation of contemporary pop music, but I am also very much inspired by EDM. I think some of the most interesting rhythmic ideas in popular music are coming from electro, and they can be re-appropriated instrumentally.
The dance floor can give a taste of transcendence, and therefore has spiritual value. The yoga studio undoubtedly is a place of spiritual investigation, and often that space is held by ambient tones, nature sounds, synthetic chords. This album is my attempt to offer a different aural aesthetic to the soundscape of the yoga studio, and the broader culture of western yoga.
I have developped original techniques on the guzheng in order to achieve the sounds I imagine when I practice. I hope that they may be useful to the practice of others.
Guest musicians:
Hali Kremen (violin on Balance and Centering)
Adam Kinner (saxophone on Balance and Centering)
Anh Phung (flute on Grounded Hatha)
Olivier St-Pierre (tabla on Vinyasa Flow)
Ian Macaulay (vocals on Gentle Floor Asana)
Kevin O'Neil (electric guitar on Introspective Folds and Twists)
Meghan Riley (vocals and singing bowl on Restorative Meditation)
All other instruments performed by Matt Wiviott
All compositions attributed to the moment of their creation, rather than any singular ego.
The influence of steel guitar on genres like Delta blues and country has long been underrepresented; this compilation aims to set the record straight. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 5, 2022
Clocking in at a brain-breaking 62 tracks, “Walk Tall for Papyrus” offers genre-spanning songs from members of a private Facebook group. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 5, 2021