Celebrating End of the World on 21.12.2012 with an ancient God

Have you been bombarded by emails, tweets, Facebook messages and even fictional evidences in your voice mail about doomsday prophecy?

Earlier this year, a poll by Reuters confirmed that one in ten is feeling some anxiety about Friday, December 2012. Later, NASA reassured us and media people guaranteed that the world is not going to end tomorrow.

But, December 21, 2012 marks the shortest day of the year known as winter solstice and it had been a major holiday for ancient Romans and is still celebrated in several modern cultures with drinking, dancing, gift-giving, special food, bonfires and candles. So, let’s celebrate ending of the long count in Mayan calendar with the Persian god Mithra; the savior of the world.

On Saturday morning of December 22, 2012 go out, take a walk. Turn the music on and before going back to normal and start thinking of Christmas planning and celebrations, Stop. Remain still for a second or as long as you can. Feel free. Breathe. Enjoy the moment.

Universal Hymn or Alien Communication

When the space craft was orbiting around the dark side of the moon and lost radio contact with Earth, the astronauts’ radio channel filled with a haunting endless melody, while they expected radio silence behind the moon.

They wonder where the source is. Why it is communicating through music? Is this voice less hymn the universal language?  

Was it God, Divine, Universe or Nature talking to them through reminiscent of a tonal-based New Age music or probably our ancient alien ancestors were trying to communicate with us? How to translate it to words?

On the other hand, is it a peace message or a warning to leave?    

The source of the sound was not as supernatural as our thoughts, since the haunting New Age music source was inter-solar and as usual there was a scientific answer for it. 

Jupiter’s magnetosphere is responsible for overtaking astronauts’ communication radio channel. With no other closer and more powerful signal to override Jupiter’s influence, the astronauts were treated to the kind of haunting New Age music track. 

It might not satisfy our delusional mind expectations, but let’s not forget that in ancient Roman myths, Jupiter is the king of the Gods, the God of Heaven and Earth and of all the Olympian Gods, and also known as the Justice God.

So, who knows? Beside scientific explanation by NASA for this endless melody, it is the universal power of Jupiter that generates and communicates in a haunting New Age music.

Find more haunting music at Silentaria channel.

Rebellious Electronic Music: Chaos in beliefs or living life to the fullest?

Is there a prescription to stop living in fear and guilt? Is rebellion one of the main ingredients? What if a masked man in white holds a key to answer? Will you listen to his music as a cure?

The rebellion concept has played a significant role in the evolution of contemporary music. Concepts and attitudes along with costumes and hairstyles have expressed various forms of rebellion in music history. Silentaria; an Electronic New Age musical project created by Rixa White; is intended to be in contact with that potentially rebellious part of us and awaken the rebel who is hiding somewhere inside.

Rixa White, a long-haired man in plain white, hiding his face behind a white mask is Silentaria iconic image. He might be the first New Age artist that purposefully focuses on encouraging his listeners not to fear, stop feeling guilty and live the life to the fullest, instead of forcing them to relaxation and serenity. Silentaria opposes presenting any step-by-step instructions or belief systems since persuading a particular constant direction will lead to conformity and obedience.

Beside his music, Rixa White’s poems and videos are in compliance with the aforementioned concept. For instance, against all advices that ask you to drop all masks from your face, “One Mask To Hide Them All” video emphasizes the doubt that even your face might be another mask chosen for you and encourages you to choose your own mask to tell the truth and become the change. 

 

With such a rebellious vision, he has been criticized as an unorthodox in New Age music world and been told that his rebellious music concept can create a chaos in beliefs and lead to melancholy. “It is my intention to release the well-hidden deep chronic sense of insecurity and dissatisfaction in my listeners. I insist on facing the life burden instead of pretending that everything is fine outside while suffering inside. Rixa White said as an agnostic atheist musician and added a quote from Nietzsche: “You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star" to answer the critics".

Silentaria’s multi-dimensional fusion music benefits from emotional melodies and diverse instruments and devices to create multi-layered themes with cinematic atmospheres, progressive orchestrations, polyphonic harmonies and hypnotic rhythms, that present elements of mystery, sorrow, epic, rebellion, romance and energy. 

With either despairing or challenging track and album names, it might be impossible to get caught in usual Electronic New Age music monotony while listening to Silentaria music. It turns from soothing instrumental (Farewell, Sorrowful Truth) into cinematic Epic (One Last Quest, Return of the Lost) and from energizing Electronic (Beyond Destiny, Real Fantasia) into thundering Rock (Deceived, Curtains over Eyes). It is quite easy to surround yourself by this hybrid music that demands your sub-conscious for exploring strange sonic shores.

About Silentaria: Silentaria (http://www.silentaria.com) is an Electronic New Age musical project founded in 2010 by Rixa White, an entrepreneur, pianist, keyboardist, composer and poet, known as “Man in White”.

The project’s music combines elements of Electronic, New Age, Contemporary Instrumental, Ambient and Progressive Rock genres. It is the reminiscence of music projects such as Enigma, Yanni, Jean Michel Jarre, Kitaro, Vangelis and Era.

Marian White

Publicity strategy: Throwing up on stage

Do you remember S1m0ne (2002) movie?

Let me refresh your memory. I am talking about a scene in the movie that Al Pacino (plays film producer) decided to destroy Simone popularity by making her to act like a pig in a barn.

And as in the movie acting like a pig increased Simone popularity, genius publicists expected and delivered the same popularity affect for Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

Dear fans, please accept throwing on stage as a popularity act (It works for Rihanna last year), as controlling pigs is kind of hard on a live stage. Otherwise, I am sure there was no problem for either of your favorite artists to act like a pig in stage.

 

By the way, anyone jumped up the stage to collect some of the vomit for adding it to an ebay auction? 

From Rebellion to Emptiness: an unconventionality in New Age music

Inspired by Wholeness and Emptiness philosophy, Silentaria manifests its slogan: “The Voice of Emptiness”. But how can an Electronic New Age fusion music with elements of Progressive Rock claim to be so?

Deep down inside, in places we do not tell our cool friends about, there is a part of us that loves to live different, question the beliefs fearlessly without worrying about "What comes if I do so?". Silentaria music is intended to become in contact with that potentially rebellious part and awaken the rebel who is hiding somewhere inside.

People often consider rebellion as a destructive and vicious objection in outer world against political or social norms, but it can be a form of constructive self-criticism when it is applied and interpreted in raising questions against restrictive beliefs and mindsets.

The rebellion concept has played a significant role in the evolution of contemporary music. Concepts and attitudes along with costumes and hairstyles have expressed various forms of rebellion in music history. Rixa White, a long-haired man in plain white, hiding his face behind a white mask is Silentaria’s iconic image. This mysterious image demonstrates Emptiness on the one hand and visualizes Rebellion against all masks that we wear in life on the other hand. “One mask to hide them all” as he says in his autobiography or perhaps he needs a mask to play a true story he carries within, as Oscar Wilde noted: "Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

It still seems a very odd move to present rebellion concept in New Age music and Rixa White might be the first New Age artist that has been raising questions and encouraging his listeners to activate an inner revolution instead of forcing them to relaxation and serenity. In fact, Silentaria invites listeners to experience the life as it is and opposes presenting any step-by-step instruction or belief system since persuading a particular constant direction will lead to conformity and obedience.

By observing and releasing the deep chronic sense of insecurity and dissatisfaction, rather than escaping, controlling, suppressing or denying it, the inner space will be unoccupied for Emptiness to descend. So, fear not and let the pure experience happen and observe both frustration and frenzy, witness them all and embrace the infinite possibilities that are unfolding from Emptiness.

Listening to multi-layered yet harmonious music of Silentaria opens a door to silence and as music depends on silence to distinguish sound, Rebellion becomes the key to Emptiness.

Listen to Silentaria’s Rebellious music; hear the quiet voice of Emptiness within.

Marian White

Read this article on Silentaria Blog

For more information please visit Silentaria and Rixa White page.

Find out how Silentaria is a diverse approach to New Age music.

Silentaria: a diverse approach to New Age music

After a long silence, Rixa White introduced Silentaria, an Electronic New Age musical project, in late 2010.

Silentaria is a made-up name with two parts of “Silent” and “aria”, indicating a quite hymn or tune. The combination is pointing to the silence of human inner side as a temple of silence which is the source of every sound. The questions are “What does Silentaria music signify?” and “How does the music communicate with its listeners?”.

Although Silentaria music is categorized in New Age, Rixa’s music is neither therapeutic nor related to any belief system at all. Tracks like “Lament of Being”, “The Ruined Innocence”, “What’s Real?” and “Vital Doubts” bring up the suspicion that this music is a kind of revenge against usual soft titles like the most relaxing New Age music in the universe.

Silentaria’s multi-dimensional fusion music benefits from emotional melodies and diverse instruments and devices to create multi-layered themes with cinematic atmospheres, progressive orchestrations, polyphonic harmonies and hypnotic rhythms. This emphasizes elements of mystery, sorrow, epic, rebellion and energy, alike a melody of the whole and releases the inner frustration to embrace infinite possibilities unfolded from emptiness. It brings Rixa’s vision to mind which is inspired by the Wholeness and Emptiness philosophy and manifests in Silentaria’s slogan: “The Voice of Emptiness”.

Beside aforementioned elements, Silentaria music encourages a pure experience of life. It insists on facing the life burden as it is and not pretending that everything is fine outside while suffering inside. By this way, we do not need to hide our true-self and stop throwing ourselves into good mood. Rixa White believes that music can be a cure, if we let ourselves into a pure experience beyond our conceptual beliefs, observe the trap instead of ignoring it and become a witness, a Silent Witness.

 “A slight change”, a poem by Rixa White explains it all:

The last not the least, it might be impossible to get caught in usual New Age music monotony while listening to Silentaria music. It turns from soothing instrumental (Farewell, Sorrowful Truth) into cinematic Epic (One Last Quest, Return of the Lost) and from energizing Electronic (Beyond Destiny, Real Fantasia) into thundering Rock (Deceived, Curtains over Eyes). But it is quite easy to surround yourself by this hybrid music that demands your sub-conscious for exploring strange sonic shores.

Listen to the music, share the experience.

by Marian White

Read this article on Silentaria Blog
For more information please visit Silentaria and Rixa White page.

A New Wave: Electronic New Age Music

“Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.”

Oscar Wilde

New Age music is an unfocused, multi-directional music with various styles and mainly defined by the effect of feeling it produces. So, depending on composer’s concern, it has been classified as spiritual, peaceful, healing, relaxation, meditation, peace, harmony and personal healing.

It has enjoyed using a wide range of instruments, including electronic, acoustic or a mixture of both with artists range from solo to ensembles.

As for the vocals, they usually are not common unless they are used as additional instrument like Enya's work or are based on mythology such as Celtic legends.

In the beginning, New Age music term was reserved for any Electronic and Instrumental music that did not fit under Classical or Jazz, but now includes Progressive Rock like Tangerine Dream, Post-romanticism instrumentalists like Yanni and Enya, Electronic artists like Jean Michel Jarre and even Ethnic- Electronic- a bit Classical artists such as Kitaro.

herefore, new age music would fit into multiple categories with an overlap to Ambient music, Classical music, Jazz, Electronica, World music, Chillout, Space music and others.

As a music genre, media and industry specifically marketed New Age music to a specific belief system like energy crystals, homeopathic medicines, wiccan paraphernalia and world religious movements. This conception led to a negative stigma for New Age genre and many musicians have resented and even rejected the New Age label.

Steven Halpern suggested Contemporary Adult Instrumental for New Age music that is not expressly spiritual in nature, Yanni clearly mentioned that he preferred Contemporary Instrumental and Loreena McKennitt asked Billboard to be placed on the World music chart instead of New Age.

While New Age music was deserted and regarded by many people as boring and artistically bankrupt, from the ashes, rises a new wave of New Age artists with elements of Electronic, Ambient and Space music that is not therapeutic, but more back to elemental New Age, mysterious, sensational and sensual spiritual. Some artists call it Contemporary Classical or Neo-Classical. These artists use computers, synthesizers, samplers and drum machines and mix it with natural sounds or sampled acoustic instruments to create complex textures and multi-layered rhythms.

Their music surrounds and invites the listener to explore strange new sonic landscapes. It could be relaxing and soothing or energizing and vitalizing, while it is always uplifting and harmonious.

Listeners are responding more favorably to this new hybrid music that demands their sub-conscious and capture their imagination.

So, now that the New Age angle came to the forefront again, it is time to lose yourself in the music and enjoy the experience.

Marian