In 1970, when sound-healing and video pioneers Dean and Dudley Evenson first became aware of the serious environmental issues threatening our world, they wanted to find a way to help educate people about the plight of the planet. They got that opportunity two years later, when they worked as videographers at the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden.
“In Stockholm we met and were exposed to the wisdom of the fifteen Native Americans who were at the conference talking about Mother Earth,” recalls Dudley Evenson. “We documented this historic event with the new, portable Sony video camera that had just become available, and looked for ways to apply these new ideas.”
The next year, Dean Evenson was invited to Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation videotaping Lakota elders, activists and medicine men, who spoke strongly about the challenges facing the earth at that time. Again the Evensons con templated this new information and tried to figure out a way to share what they were learning.
Soundings of the Planet
A few years later, now living in Tucson, Arizona, the Evensons decided to form a record label, Soundings of the Planet, to distribute what Dean describes as “the music that was flow ing through us.” He spent the night in a desert canyon, and as the sun rose, he used two stereo mikes to catch the sounds of the birds at dawn. The Even sons’ first album, Desert Dawn Song, included these sounds of dawn in the desert along with the couple’s calming music of flute, harp, cello and vocal tones.
“This album was one of the very first to include meditative music along with field recordings of nature sounds, and it ushered in a based music to people living in cities who made decisions about the fate of the planet.”
The Evensons have continued to create this special type of music, and over the past 35 years they have released more than 80 albums and videos dedicated to their vision of creating “peace through music.” Dean has spent many hours next to flowing rivers or ocean beaches, and in wetlands, forests and moun tain valleys, recording both audio and video. These “soundings of the planet” have found their way to a number of popular, award-winning albums and DVDs. The added bonus, Dudley says, is that the music seems to have a heal ing effect on listeners. “Even though we didn’t start out trying to make healing music, that is exactly what happened,” she says.
Earth Resonance Frequency
The Evensons also added to their recordings the Earth Resonance Frequency (ERF) of 7 .83 hz (cycles per second), which is the actual resonance of the planet’s atmospheric cavity, Dean explains. “This is also the same frequency that our brains emit when on the cusp of the alpha and theta brainwave states,” he says. “This tends to have a positive, healing effect on people, adding to the already peaceful state the music and nature sounds create.”
For more information on Dean and Dudley Evenson and their music and videos, visit Soundings.com; search “soundings of the planet” on Facebook or YouTube; visit their blog, HealthyLivingDreams.com