Internationally-based couple May Vary had clear intentions for their release “We Are the Destination.” It was designed to help facilitate an inward process, and to tell a story that might foster a space of art-making, or meditation, or both. Despite its clear vision, the music is not about an end, or a goal, but a process of becoming. This is meditation music that compels the listener to enter the moment rather than choosing disembodiment or evasion. It also suggests that one needs to go through to go out: one cannot bypass one’s experience. As the title aptly suggests, “We Are the Destination” offers a journey of presence.
The tempo, consistent throughout the piece, is subdivided gradually which allows for rhythmic diversity. Loose sections take shape, and yet the “parts” flow so elegantly and easily into one another that no harsh compartmentalization occurs. The sound moves like a river - just flowing without destination. The opening sections feel sacred yet inviting, creating a sense of safety. Rain sounds give way to soothing hand drums, before enchanting piano weaves itself around rhythmic variations. Later, the vitality of the piece is emboldened as hypnotic drumming builds and intensifies, impelling the body to move while asking the mind to be still. Acidic lines surface and dissolve against a backdrop of intricate rhythm. Eventually, we’re led towards a sparkling conclusion, and “We Are the Destination” unfolds like a cosmic, glittering array. Like all true shamanic journeys, we’ve touched the stars while remaining completely rooted in the body, through a process of active entrainment and deep immersion.
Throughout, there’s a sense of improvisation or flexibility, and yet all elements are perfectly attuned to each other through harmonic intention. Because of the rhythmic pulse that transmutes and changes form without losing its steady tempo, the body is pleasantly held captive. May Vary has achieved a masterful balance, for what results is deep engagement without being forced into it. “We Are the Destination” allows for contemplation, but also touches the emotional self. It’s easy to get lost and found in, but either way, the listener is perpetually arriving.
credits
released October 29, 2020
Written, produced and performed by May Vary
Rain recording by Crystal Field Sound
Mastered by Keith Fullerton Whitman
Art Direction by Loveland Studio of Design (L.S.D.)
Liner notes by Taylor Bratches
Going In is a sub-label of The Bunker New York, dedicated to long-form musical compositions geared towards meditation, plant medicine ceremonies, psychedelic therapy, yoga, massage, or simply spacing out and going inside yourself.
supported by 16 fans who also own “We Are The Destination [Going In 009]”
A wonderful, long-form listening experience that melds the pure synthetic with the raw edges of organic sounds, bringing in surprising elements like the accordion and recorded sounds with the breath and pulse and EEG traces of an organism emerging from the signal. It can hover in the periphery as a color to the room you're in, or bear the scrutiny of deep listening without shying away from the complex texture of both sweet and sour. joebelknapwall
Prana Crafter’s “Bodhi Cheetah’s Choice” is an album of mystic, drifting guitar work alternately haunting and searing. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 8, 2018