Falling into Sound
MARK WALTER
As soon as I walked into the Durbar Hall, built in 1886 and designed by Caspar Purdon Clarke, I felt an air of relaxed calm. I was about to find out just how well this enchanting space, with its wood-carved walls, wooden floors and amazing ornate plastered ceiling, lends itself to an immersive sound experience.
The collaboration of this experience is The Butterfly Wheel, whose band components are made from Alice Ancient (vocals), Myrrh Moon (keyboards and backing vocals) and Maria Christofi of The Sound Apothecary. They are all driven by a shared interest in myth and esoteric philosophy, and this brought them together late last year to explore the immersive sound experience together.
The Butterfly Wheel takes to the stage first: Alice wearing a resplendent headdress with Myrrh in a flowing black and gold headpiece with a long red and gold sparkling dress. This starts the storytelling part of the evening. The first track has a haunting feel to it and the audience, who by this time had laid out their mats, covered themselves over with blankets and shielded their eyes with masks, have relaxed into the mood of the night, one of immersive stillness. Alice’s deep soulful voice and Myrrh’s soft backing vocals and keyboards lend to a hypnotic soundscape that echoes softly around the Indian-style carvings of the Durbar Hall making the floor-laying audience that much more relaxed – until there is silence, and the Butterfly Wheel comes to a peaceful end.
The Sound Apothecary takes us seamlessly into the second half of the performance; Maria appears from the darkness in a vibrant silver costume from the lofted rear of the Durbar Hall and the immersive part of the sound bath starts with the sound of the drum gently vibrating around the space. Maria tells me: “The concept of our ‘sound immersion’ is rooted in the intention to create a journey of sound that presents a new experience underpinned by the storytelling of The Butterfly Wheel’s song. I wanted to create an event that is a step beyond a traditional sound bath and that takes participants through various stages of not only hearing sound but feeling it too, via the vibrations of the gong and other instruments.”
The sound builds from the gentle caressing of the drum to the deep earthy sound of the sun gong and crystal bowls as the drum hits the deep notes and takes over the space: this is where I felt the total immersive experience. The evening ends with Myrrh Moon from the Butterfly Wheel quietly walking through the audience with bells and gentle-sounding chimes. There followed a long silence which allowed the audience to gather their thoughts on the whole sound experience. They then gathered their belongings and serenely walked out into the night air.
Maria’s next event Crystalline Dreams’ Sound Bath is on Wednesday 31 May at the Observer Buildings, Hastings as part of A Curious Town Festival. Maria is also doing pop-ups at St Andrew’s Mews and is available for one-to-one sound therapy sessions and regular sound baths. The Butterfly Wheel and The Sound Apothecary will be appearing separately at the Hastings Garden Festival on 18 JuneYou can see The Butterfly Wheel at the Folklore Rooms, in Brighton on 23 June. Follow The Butterly Wheel and The Sound Apothecary on Facebook.
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