Steven Halpern is an American new-age musician. He is a Grammy Award nominee and is considered one of the founding fathers of new-age music.
Steven Halpern is an American new-age musician. He is a Grammy Award nominee and is considered one of the founding fathers of new-age music.
Halpern played trumpet and guitar in the New York City jazz scene of the 1960s, but became disenchanted with it and moved to California. There he began exploring the idea of creating music entirely for the purpose of relaxation, which he called "anti-frantic alternative" music. [1] He began creating music that did not adhere to traditional Western tonality, but which instead consisted of static, minimalist pieces for electric piano inspired by Eastern music. He is a proponent of theories which emphasize the healing properties of music. He has been named by MTV as "the original new age artist", [2] beginning his new age performance career in 1969. [3]
His first album was Spectrum Suite, released in 1976 and which is considered to be one of the first true new-age music albums. He began an alternative marketing campaign in order to raise awareness about his music as the genre was not yet widely known. He focused at venues like health food stores, yoga conferences, and alternative retailers. [4] In Billboard Magazine , John Diliberto stated that this album and Halpern's independent marketing techniques "pioneered the market". [5] The inspiration for the album came partly from an experience Halpern had in the California Redwoods, as well as trance or altered states he felt were inspired by his moments there. [6]
In the following ten years, Halpern sold more than one million albums, which he released through his independent label, Halpern Sounds. In 1985, he signed with Gramavision and began releasing music through more mainstream labels. [7] Gramavision also licensed Halpern's prior albums for sale in more traditional retail sectors, as well as alternative ones. [8]
Halpern has recorded more than 50 albums. The most commercially successful of these was 2000's Deja-Blues, which reached #18 on the US Billboard Top New Age Albums chart. [9] Halpern's musical albums have been known to sell at a consistent rate for up to 25 years after their release, [10] and by 1996 he had sold more than two million albums. [11] In addition to being a recording artist, he is known as one of the founders of the new age music philosophy, which created the musical trends within the genre. [12] His aim was to replace more static noise providers like television or radio with sounds that he thought resonated better with the chakras (energy centres in the body, according to yogic philosophies). [13]
He is the author of two books: Tuning the Human Instrument and Sound Health. Halpern has provided readings from his books and lectures in accompaniment to his performances. [14] Halpern was an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists. [15]
Halpern has been involved in the recording of self-help audio cassettes since the 1970s. His techniques included the use of self-hypnosis and subliminal persuasion, to try to release the listener's mind more directly from the stress affecting it. Often one side of his recording was meant to be played at night before bed, and the other meant to be played in the background during one's daily activities. Voices inaudible to the regular ear are imbedded in the tape, attempting to suggest positive ideas to the mind. [16] Halpern has also designed recordings that are meant to be played for up to 8 continuous hours, to be used by people experiencing medical distress such as childbirth or surgery. [17]
Halpern's music was specifically utilized in the self-help recordings of John Bradshaw, a public figure in alternative addictions treatment through the 1970s and 1980s. [18] Part of his philosophy is that ambient noise coming from one's surroundings is psychologically and physically damaging. In his book Sound Health: The Music and Sounds that Make us Whole, he wrote that even at home, the combined levels of sound around us can harm the body. [19] In 2014 Halpern appeared in the documentary The Business of Disease, produced by Sonia Barrett. He shared his insights about the healing effect of sound and the negative effects of electrical outlets near our beds while we sleep.
In 1989 Halpern was awarded the Crystal Award at the first International New Age Music Conference. [11] In 2013 Halpern was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for his album Deep Alpha. [20]
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Despite a short mainstream career spanning only three years, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.
Bush are a British rock band formed in London in 1992. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Gavin Rossdale, lead guitarist Chris Traynor, bassist Corey Britz, and drummer Nik Hughes.
Jamaaladeen Tacuma is an American jazz funk avant-garde bassist, composer and producer born in Hempstead, New York. He was a bandleader on the Gramavision label and worked with Ornette Coleman during the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in Coleman's Prime Time band.
New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than trance, or to create a peaceful atmosphere in homes or other environments. It is sometimes associated with environmentalism and New Age spirituality; however, most of its artists have nothing to do with "New Age spirituality," and some even reject the term.
Ian McFarlane is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
Ravi Coltrane is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi.
Oliver Lake is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Artists Group in St. Louis. In 1977, he founded the World Saxophone Quartet with David Murray, Julius Hemphill, and Hamiet Bluiett. Lake worked in the group Trio 3 with Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille. Lake has appeared on more than 80 albums as a bandleader, co-leader, and side musician. He is the father of drummer Gene Lake. Lake has been a resident of Montclair, New Jersey.
John Wallace Carter was an American jazz clarinet, saxophone, and flute player. He is noted for the acclaimed Roots and Folklore series, a five-album concept album set inspired by African American life and experiences.
Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres.
Laraaji is an American multi-instrumentalist specializing in piano, zither and mbira. His albums include the 1980 release Ambient 3: Day of Radiance, produced by Brian Eno as part of his Ambient series.
Space music, also called spacemusic or space ambient, is a subgenre of ambient music and is described as "tranquil, hypnotic and moving". It is derived from new-age music and is associated with lounge music, easy listening, and elevator music.
Paul Brownlee McCandless Jr. is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the American jazz group Oregon. He is one of the few jazz oboists. He also plays bass clarinet, English horn, flute, penny whistle, tenor saxophone, sopranino saxophone, and soprano saxophone.
Gerald Maxwell Rivera, known mononymously as Maxwell, is an American singer-songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence following the release of his debut studio album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996), which received widespread acclaim and spawned the hit singles "Ascension " and "Sumthin' Sumthin'". Through the album and its follow ups, Maxwell has been cited—along with Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, and Erykah Badu—for ushering in the neo soul movement and its sensibilities into mainstream popular music during the late 1990s.
David Darling was an American cellist and composer. In 2010, he won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. He performed and recorded with Bobby McFerrin, Paul Winter Consort, Ralph Towner and Spyro Gyra and released many solo albums. Among these were 15 recordings for ECM.
Paul Horn was an American flautist, saxophonist, composer and producer. He became a pioneer of world and new age music with his 1969 album Inside. He received five Grammy nominations between 1965 and 1999, including three nominations in 1965.
Dean Evenson is a new-age musician, composer, producer, and videographer. Dean plays several instruments including the Western concert flute, Native American flute, synthesizer, and keyboard. His music generally features sounds of nature combined with flute melodies and other instruments for ambience, massage, meditation, yoga and relaxation.
Peter Kater is a German-born American pianist, composer and Grammy Award winner.
Clarence "Herb" Robertson is a jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. He was born in Piscataway, New Jersey and attended the Berklee School of Music. He has recorded solo albums and has worked as a sideman for Tim Berne, Anthony Davis, Bill Frisell, George Gruntz, Paul Motian, Bobby Previte, and David Sanborn.
Effortless Relaxation is an album by Steven Halpern, released in 1991. All tracks except Pachelbel's Canon were written by Halpern. The album was reissued in 2003, incorporating subliminal suggestions, and with a slightly different track list.
David & Steve Gordon are a new-age and chill-out music recording duo.
steven halpern.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
