“Float” is a word that’s used a lot in yoga when discussing alignment and controlled movement. Written to accompany a set of Kundalini Yoga workouts, this piece settles into a deep, dark “floating” space with drones, slow melodies, and lots of delay. Bill, one of the instructors, says this track gets him particularly “high” during meditation.
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The twelfth track on my SoundCloud Playlist is “Float” from the Spirit Trainers’ Companion Music CD to the DVD “Practical Yoga for Everyday People.”
After composing all of the music for their 2005 TV series, “Guru2Go” (15 episodes on Discovery’s FitTV), I was asked to compose the music for the Spirit Trainers’ yoga DVD a year later. To create the Companion Music CD, I selected my favorite compositions from the DVD, extending a few of them, and then re-mastering all of the recordings. I was asked to make up titles for the compositions for the CD. To do this, I tried to find interesting words said by Bill Donnelly or Jeff Bader (the Spirit Trainers) during their instructions for each yoga pose that my music accompanied.
The DVD features 3 Kundalini Yoga workouts. In Set 3, “7 Chakra Workout,” one of the poses taught is “Neck Turns.” The instructions go something like this:
On an inhale, let the head gently turn to the left. and then exhale, letting it turn all the way around to the right… Let the head float on the top of the spine… Keeping the breath steady as if you are saying “No” to anything you no longer need in your life. This is a great exercise to do when we want to say “No” to our addictions; “No” to old habits that no longer serve us; “No” to any unhealthy relationships that are in our lives. As you are doing this wonderful neck stretch, say “No thank you” to the old patterns that no longer serve you.
“Float” seemed a good way to describe the music so it became the title of my composition. The music was composed to go with the video. I created it while watching the video. The style of the music is based on what I was writing for the Guru2Go shows.
“Float” features modified loops of drums, percussion and other unusual things from Spectrasonics’ Stylus RMX. The recurring 3 note motif was played with Applied Acoustics Systems’ Lounge Lizard EP-3. All of the other synthesizer sounds, including the lead synth playing the melody are from Spectrasonics’ Atmosphere. In addition, I also played the melody with an electric guitar – a Fender Stratocaster through a Line 6 Pod Pro. The music was recorded, mixed and mastered using MOTU‘s Digital Performer software.
A few years later, Bill commented on the music:
It is interesting how your music really goes deep. Particularly in “Float,” the sounds seem to really engage the brain and penetrate deeply – I always get really “high” when I do the meditations where I have used this track.
For more info about the Spirit Trainers, please visit their website: Spirit Trainers