Stephen Halpern , Ph.D is an internationally acclaimed composer, recording artist and educator whose music is created for relaxation, meditation, health and well being. For over 20 years, he has promoted the healing powers of music for personal excellence and spiritual growth. He is the author of Sound Health (Harper & Row), Sound, Stress and Inner Peace , and Sound Matters . He was interviewed by Peter Tjeerdsma at his business office in Fairfax CA.

In the early 70's, you were experimenting with a form of music that later came to be called New Age or Ambient music. How did you first start getting recognition and circulation? Were you getting radio airplay?

You know, it might be helpful to offer a bit of background on your question. Yes, in 1969, there was no field called New Age music- let alone ambient, World or Contemporary Instrumental. Rock was still young, and a lot of it was still politically conscious and visionary and experimental. The beat was bigger than ever, as was the volume. On the other hand, the music that I had heard in dreams and meditation had NO central beat- it was more the rhythm of a deep breath. There was no recognizable melody or chord progression - and there were no words! Nothing like it existed, which is also why it produced radically different responses in listeners. The most universal effect was that it created feelings of inner peace and evoked a natural relaxation response.

I came to understand that my job went beyond just playing the music. My job was also to educate my audience as to the benefits of relaxation, and why music like this was not only good to listen to, but also good for their body, mind and soul. In a sense, I've been continuing to educate and motivate ever since. I've been a cheerleader for harnessing the healing power of sound and music since 1969. I began sharing this new form of music where I was working when it first starting coming through-at a small human potential retreat center in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was like a smaller version of Esalen; every week, a leader in the consciousness movement, like John Lilly and Stanley Krippner, would facilitate a workshop, and I would play for them and the attendees. Word of mouth was the primary vehicle. The response was quite positive and universal. Many of these folks invited me to their home cities to give concerts and workshops.

After my first album, SPECTRUM SUITE, was released in 1975, I called up Unity and Science of Mind Churches around the country, as well as yoga centers and big book stores, and setup as many as 40 weekends a year. In each city, I'd set up press, TV and radio interviews. That really got the recognition factor into gear. There wasn't much radio airplay at that time nor is there now, for that matter. There was a brief moment in the mid-80s when this music was heard on a number of radio stations, but other than specialty shows and talk radio, it was never a major factor. Whole Life Expos and other similarly-named events were also helpful in getting the message out to the public: I'd do lectures and workshops, as well as concerts, and was also the first new age musician to have a booth at these shows. There really weren't any New Age radio stations anywhere at the time that I'm aware of.

What's weird is that many people are so far behind the times that if a station played a New Age format ten years ago, if the call letters were the same, listeners didn't seem to notice that the stations were playing classic rock and pop artists like the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan.

They shifted their formats pretty quickly then?

That's a fact of history. Advertising income really determines whether a format lives or dies, and most stations weren't able to stay afloat. There's another factor that really needs to be noted. Many of the classic and authentic New Age compositions are NOT appropriate for general airplay. To properly and safely enjoy the music, you need to lie back, take a deep breath and close your eyes... You couldn't possibly dictate to the listening audience a prescribed time and place to listen. I remember tuning into a radio station as I was driving near Santa Cruz one morning, and nearly floated off the road... I was brought back into my body by the horn of the driver who had been in the lane next to me.

Another factor is that the music began to split into two subgenera. The one that got more airplay and higher sales was the type that sounded more familiar, and which had more rhythm. It was really Instrumental Pop. The marketing departments at the big major record labels jumped on the bandwagon, and had the financial clout to essentially take over and co-opt the existing name (New Age) rather than think up a new one. Also: anytime there's a choice between a snappy rhythm and melody versus a deeper, more introspective soundscape, the beat will win. I'm not saying there's anything necessarily wrong with such music, but it's like a weed, choking out the original music that created the field in the first place. I'm for co-existence and inclusivity, not monopoly.

So how did you come to record your first album?

Whenever I'd perform my music live, people would ask for a copy for themselves. I'd record an individual reel to reel or cassette tape for them, and they'd say, "Thank you for the gift." They didn't understand that it cost me time and materials and I didn't understand how to sell anything. I was running out of money fast. It was obvious I needed to do things differently, but because of the state of the technology, there were very few independent recording studios. This meant that if you weren't signed to a major label, you couldn't get access to a studio. That all changed fairly rapidly, and I connected with a private studio over the holidays in 1974, and went into his studio the first weekend in 1975. I turned off all the lights, meditated for a few moments, offered a silent invocation that the music would be a contribution to the lives of those who would hear it, and recorded the entire first half of the album in one take! It was like musical Zen. Solo electric piano, just opening up to the flow and letting the music play through me.

The next day, I invited an extraordinary musician to duet with me. Iasos said, "Don't even tell me what key you're in. Just roll the tape." He proceeded to play some incredibly inspired music. Compare this totally in-the-moment style of recording with the piece-by-piece overdubbing that is the norm for most recordings over the past 25 years. It's even more non-spontaneous as people record bits of a song into a computer and let the computer put it together. In the early days, and in certain genre, like jazz, the songs would be recorded in one take. You might do alternate takes, but there wasn't the amount of overdubbing that came in as the technology changed.

Technology has been a two-edged sword. It's allowed me the opportunity to explore levels of creativity within myself, like on HIGHER GROUND, where I do 10 layers of overdubbing. But there's also a special vibe when you're totally in the 'hear and now'... totally in the moment. That's how it was when I recorded with Paul Horn in 1984 on CONNECTIONS. The first day in the studio, we meditated and attuned for a moment, then I said, "Let's do the first song in D minor. Follow me." We listened to each other, we listened to the spaces between the notes. It was an exquisite dance... almost like making love.

Unless you've been living in a cave the last ten years, it's clear that the entire field of contemporary music has changed dramatically from those idealistic early days. Many of the musicians who were composing, performing and recording their music started their own independent record labels in the years following my example. We were learning by the seat of our pants. I knew basically nothing about the business end of things, and rather quickly found out that idealism and 'artistic purity' won't survive in the marketplace unless you also learn the laws of business.

Yes, it is possible to bring consciousness and integrity into business, but there are certain immutable laws that didn't care whether you have a contribution for humanity or not. Most of the independent record companies either failed or got bought out by major labels. For instance, for the first several years of our business existence, Windham Hill and my label grossed virtually the exact same sales per year. Then they hit the big time. Many people think they are still just a large independent label, when in fact they have been completely taken over by one of the largest companies in the world!

The challenge has always been for us independents to keep the spirit in the way we do business and not to let the bean counters completely run our show. It's also meant that we have to compete against labels that have huge advertising budgets and phenomenal clout in the retail stores. They can virtually 'own' shelf space -which makes it very hard to get our music noticed. I actually had the vice president of one of the large companies tell me to my face (on the phone) we have enough money to buy our way into a dominant position in the field, regardless of the music or the research. We can blow you folks away. And that's exactly what they proceeded to do. That still goes on today. It's not a level playing field, but it's what is, so we deal with it the best we can. Sometimes, the music itself is secondary to the marketing. Witness the so-called "Mozart Effect" that we are currently bombarded with.

You've managed to balance survival and creativity for a long time. How have you dealt with that?

When the music first started coming to me, I thought that was the fulfillment of my mission; to hear and play a new form of music that would be great for meditation, relaxation and healing. I quickly learned that was only part of the job description. I had to learn about how business works, and I truly had a conversion experience, wherein my resistance to the concept and philosophy of business was transformed.

I came of age in the 60s, and 'business' was seen as Establishment, and the enemy. I had to learn about marketing, media and writing ads, and discovered that it required a different kind of creativity. It was a different vibe than music, but it required me to tap into a level of creativity that continues to excite and inspire me. I also learned to delegate, and to surround myself with mentors and associates who could carry out the day-to day requirements of running a company.

It's been an on-going process, and the staff I have now is probably the best I've ever had. In 1985, when the major labels entered the New Age music field in a big way, I was seduced into a licensing deal with a New York record company. The first six months were heaven, the next eighteen were hell. Once I finally regained the rights to my own music, I had to basically start all over again. I've been independent ever since.


So you are able to maintain control of your own property?

Yes. I really had no choice. My music doesn't explode onto the best-seller charts, and most large companies are structured around hit records. My albums, on the other hand, continue to sell forever. SPECTRUM SUITE, for instance, sells as much now as it did when it was first released 23 years ago. If the music industry recognized sales in the 'alternative' market, I'd have a gold record by now. But they only count sales in music stores, not bookstores or New Age or metaphysical shops. There are a lot more independent activities going on over the last decade or so.

As we've seen, the Hollywood distribution mechanism is sending out more and more films that are produced independently. Have you seen people in the music distribution business who foster that, or do they tend to fight it?

That's an interesting question. Actually, there is some of both. In fact, very recently, Virgin Records just bought two major New Age labels and the largest music distribution company. It remains to be seen whether they truly serve the field with increased access to mainstream and alternative venues, or whether they surreptitiously destroy the competition. In the past several years, sales for most artists have gone down almost fifty percent. Certain artists have also become megastars. You're also seeing a continued flood of Celtic-based releases. Many of us thought that would be merely a passing fad. We were wrong.

Celtic music didn't grab you?

I've always enjoyed and resonated to those rhythms and textures. But I didn't feel comfortable jumping on the bandwagon just for the sake of sales. Because of the ideological basis of my labels' vision statement, I couldn't justify releasing music that didn't fit. People expected a certain vibe when they buy my music, and some actually got upset if I expanded and used percussion on an album. Needless to say, that's become somewhat of a drag to be pigeon-holed like that.

My recent release featuring a master drummer from Nigeria, Afro-Desia, is an incredible world music album that, alas, has not yet been heard by its deserving audience. But I have some surprises in store fornext year.

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